I realized last Thursday that my older ferret (Skittles, around 7) had lost a lot of weight. With two other ferrets in the cage (both under 1 year old) I didn't know if she was eating. She was lethargic and weak Friday and seemed to be dehydrated (her scruff stayed pinched when you squeezed it). I sent her to my vet with a friend, who promptly told me to take her to another vet as she was not familiar with all the problems ferrets can have. (I thought she knew about ferrets and was surprised that I was referred elsewhere) I was pretty upset at having to wait til the next day to take her, but Skits was okay (the same, no better) by Saturday morning. She seemed to be drinking a lot but not eating anything. They said she was dehydrated and squeezed a urine sample from her (Skits didn't enjoy that much, but being the patient ferret she is, and sick to boot, she just hung there and grimaced) They said she had blood in her urine but no sign of diabetes. He then said he need a blood sample and tried to get some blood from her. Poor Skittles! Their blood vessles shrink when they're dehydrated, and the vet had a devil of a time finding a vein. After a long time (it seemed like forever) of probing and probing for a vein, he shaved her neck and tried again. Before he finally managed to find a vein Skittles had three holes in her neck and and I'm sure she was very, very sore. :( The vet didn't look too happy about it, either. (He seems to genuinely care about the critters) He only was able to get out 1/4 of what he needed (and normally would have had no problem getting). He told me about a procedure of getting blood directly from the heart, but he said he used to do it all the time but since he "had trouble" with one animal (I assume it died) he doesn't do it routinely anymore. (I think he was asking did I want to risk Skittles dieing to find out exactly what was wrong with her or would I rather try to get her rehydrated and try the neck again in a few days). We decided to treat her with antibiotics (it's a name I've never seen before, it's white and you don't have to refrigerate it). They gave her sub-q fluids (she had two camel humps when I brought her home) and she was perkier already, even before we left the office. I'm really worried about what is wrong with her, but the vet said he's hoping it's an intestinal infection (which would explain the blood in the urine). I'm worrying that I'm going to run out of money to treat her and really don't want her to die, but this visit was $58 alone and without all the blood tests he wanted to run. :( A tumor has not been ruled out yet. We're all hoping the antibiotic helps. After she came home from the vet, she had a couple runny BMs and yesterday she had a really totally disgusting one that was nothing more than blood and mucus. (oh ick) I've been force-feeding her chicken babyfood mixed with cooked egg yolk and she fights me every dropper-full. I have no idea how *much* of this stuff I need to get into her to keep her alive. She seems to be drinking on her own, but will only sniff at the food dish. I have her in a separate cage now so I can monitor food/water intake and BMs. (The cat decided to help her by eating all the food by snatching one pawful at a time, so I had to put her cage in a different spot. *sigh*) The poor thing is weak and boney, but she's moving around better (certainly fighting me more vigorously) but she still seems dehydrated to me. I wish I knew what kind of fluid they use. I know how to do sub-q shots and would feel better if she had more fluid in her, considering how loose her BMs are. At least they're poop-colored again. I guess the babyfood is doing *some* good. Any encouragement or suggestions from the vets on this list would be appreciated. Heck, any encouragement from *anyone* would be appreciated! :) --Barb-- (Snowball, Katie and sick Skittles) [Posted in FML issue 1112]