How much water is it normal for a ferret to drink? I ask because Silk seems to be drinking LOTS. We give him water in a ceramic ramekin which holds about 3/4 cup water at a time (and no, he doesn't tip it or splash in it being a dignified older gentleman), and we have to fill it at least once a day. He weighs less than 1 lb. I thought maybe evaporation was the culprit, but he's also producing a high volume of urine. We just cleaned his litter recently, and it currently contains 5 "solids" and a wet patch that is 5-6 inches across (hard to be too exact, as his habits aren't perfect). He's healthy, alert, nice thick coat now. No dehydration (skin pinch test) so some of the water is staying inside at least. My worried mom voice says "Oh no, he's diabetic!" while my rational scientist voice says "You don't even know how much a ferret is supposed to drink and pee. He started drinking more when he started growing back his coat and gaining weight this winter. Any advice? If it's urgent, please mail me privately, as my list mail is getting to me about a week behind. Also, with respect to the Chicago Anti-Cruelty situation: I read recently that our local humane society kills all ferrets it receives. Darn near broke my heart considering all the money I've given/raised-for them. So I called. Turns out it's the evil government, not the evil society. Being in a public building (even though it was built with private funds--go figure), they can't keep ferrets in defiance of county rules. Their policy is to give the info on our local ferret group to anyone wanting to give up a ferret. That way, the person has access to ferret shelters who will find the furry a good home. The ones the Humane Society winds up with are generally neglected, poorly bred specimens who are so personality-damaged they wouldn't find a good home anyways. Now I feel sympathy for the Humane Society and more pi***d than usual at our local government. ******************************************************************************** Wendy Hudson [log in to unmask] The clan: Lloyd (husband) Maggie (english springer spaniel) Friday and Marcus (cats) Silk (ferret) Fletcher (bird) [Posted in FML issue 0757]