I'm catching up on some of the selected FML's before I leave town on the 4th of June....you all have so many questions and my time has been so limited that I can only check in here and there. Re: Issue 837 Lyn about strains of ferrets prone to cancer I have not noticed any particular colors to be more prone to cancers than any others. The preneutered ferrets (neutered prior to weaning) seem to have a high incidence of endocrine cancer (insulinoma and adrenal disease). Certain populations (this includes both ferret "farms" and private breeders) have a high incidence of lymphoma (which makes sense as we think that this is a viral problem and it may be in the breeding population). Other than that...you take your chances. Re: Benn with the chronically upset stomach. I would be very concerned that your ferret has a stomach foreign body (particularly a hair ball, which is common in ferrets that are over one year of age). This can lead to a easily upset stomach and unusual stools and periodic loss of appetite. In addition I might be concerned about lymphoma (a cancer that can attack any organ of the body at any age) and a pyloric disease (again the most likely is cancer). Your vet should do at minimum, a complete blood cell count to screen for lymphoma, and a fasting X-ray with a possibly barium study. Ulcers of the stomach do occur, but are RARE in the pet ferret and much more comon in the laboratory ferret. Another more obscure disease, but still a possibility is eosinophilic gastroenteritis. If this was my case...I would be doing the workup that I suggested and if that was all normal and the problem persisted I would do endoscopy or an exploratory. I don't think that this should be left unattended. ( I also know that you may have a chronic Helicobacter infection, which may lead to ulcers and I know that Dr. Williams likes to use Amoxicillin for that...don't know if you have tried it....but we see it rather rarely.) Re: Clinton Mahoney Brown specks in the ears. The normal color of ear wax for a ferret is a reddish brown and just because there is wax present is not evidence that there is a mite problem. The specks on the abdomen are also just waxy secretions. There will always be a certain amount of wax in the ears. If you take a bright light and shine it in the ears you should be able to see the mites running around in the ears...they will be about the size of a pin and pure white. You can also have your vet check by taking a sample of the ear wax and looking at it under the microscope for mite eggs. Most of the time, we don't see mites much anymore. Bottom line...make sure you have a problem before you treat it. Dr. Susan Brown [Posted in FML issue 0845]