thanks for your advice folks on tieke and his hair loss. dr. schiff came over this morning, swabbed his ears, checked his skin, and then showed me two of the hugest parasites i've ever seen - yup - he has ear mites. seems that he is so allergic to the mites that it was causing an infection on his tail. none of the other ferrets or cats are bothered by it, but everyone got a shot, and everyone has to have ear drops once a day, with tieke getting amoxicilian as well. not nearly as bad as a tumor. oh and he gives "herd" prices. beckers and the wild ten [Posted in FML issue 0633]