I've just spoken to my dog's vet. She has been in contact with the other vets (exotics vets and the rescue centre's vets) and has also told her colleagues about the situation in case they have any ideas. Natalie, our exotics specialist vet says she has never come across a situation like this in her career, which seriously worries me, but we just have to wait for the pathology results. I spoke to the vet at the Woodgreen Animal Sanctuary (they have their own vet centre). It was really awful having to read out the ferrets serial numbers and tell the story again of how they died and I kind of lost it.The good news, for other owners, is that their stock is healthy, but they are in contact with Natalie and will warn the staff about symptoms to look out for. Another couple of ideas I want to throw into the mix: * Aspergillus fungus. We don't have the same species as causes so much damage in the USA, but its still a potential problem. Not sure of the symptoms however. * Hepatitis. Before Fiora died, her liver ALT levels were 15x high normal. One vet told me "any animal that has a liver could get hepatitis" but he isn't a ferret specialist. * Mushrooms. A woman in UK died recently from eating deathcap mushrooms she found in her garden. But could the spores be dangerous? * Lung worm. We have a lot of slugs and snails this year. * Lyme disease * Floor glue or window sealant * Heavy metal poisoning These ideas are probably daft, but I'm just thinking out loud. Anna Hayward [Posted in FML 7797]