Andrea, >3 yr old ferret, food is not passing out of the stomach and she is losing weight rapidly (in a few days). The most likely thing that will cause rapid weight loss in a ferret with food not passing out of the stomach is a complete or partial obstruction of the GI tract. These are not always found on x-rays and ultrasound (most of the time we have to do a barium series---give the patient oral barium which shows up on xrays and if the barium is not passing there is an obstruction). The treatment for an obstruction is surgery ASAP. If we wait too long the patient may be too weak to make it through surgery. It sounds like your little girl may need at least a barium and surgery. There are a couple of questions I have, though. Did they do any bloodwork? Is she pinful on abdominal palpation? Is she lethargic or vomiting? Any stools passing and if so are they tarry (black) or do they contain blood. Any hair loss? Any collapsing episodes or gazing into space? It does not sound like a typical adrenal tumor (there is now an effective blood test for adrenal tumors, which is more worth the money then ultrasound). As usual there are other diseases that could cause this too (stomach ulcers, eosinophilic gastroenteritis, dental disease, megaesophagus). GI foreign body sounds like the most likely, by far, from what you have said so far. Feel free to call me at the office Saturday if you want to talk about the case (7AM-1PM) Dr Weiss 301-299-4142 [log in to unmask] [Posted in FML issue 1137]