Hello FML Becki - you just cracked me up on "for vetinary use only" on Nutrical. I have never seen a vet squeezing and tube a sucking it down. Many of the products we use are so labeled - and I could be wrong about this because maybe you have hit on something we did not know - but I think that this disclaimer is for Rx use on our pets. Have you ever tasted nutrical? It is yucky. So is ferretone. For the life of me, I do not know why our ferrets love it so much. But then again, I am not a ferret, although I do catch myself saying "dook, dook, a-dook" sometimes. For Dave Gold - A very good manual on colors and judging standards has been put out by L.I.F.E. and you might wish to acquire this. Please contact [log in to unmask] for information. M.S. - genito-urinary problems are not uncommon in ferrets. From your discription, sounds like a vaginitis - pehaps caused by e.coli contamination. However, I note several have already replied on this matter and am assuming you have already taken your baby to the vet. If you have not, please do so immediately. A good tip, by the way, and especially for whole jills, it to clip the hair around the vulva. Since the perenium (area between vulva and anus) is so close in ferrets, fecal matter caught on hair around the vulva can cause problems. Write back on FML and let us know how your ferret is doing. Katy & Chloe - you gave me quite a start when I saw the name Meg linked to a recent loss - especially since I have a ferret named Zoe, which might be pronounced the same way as your friend's poor baby. While we all know not to step on any floor clothing or rug lumps, sometimes accidents do happen. And when they do, we all feel a horrible grief and guilt. Any ferret that has been stepped on (aside from foot or tail steps) should be checked over very thoroughly, both by owner and vet. I have had two such accidents in my house. Both involved internal bleeding, and sometimes nothing is obviously wrong with the ferret. About a year and a half ago, I had a young jill go over the top of my beds headboard at about 90 miles an hour. She seemed to be slightly stunned, and as I moved furniture to get to her, she suddenly ran out, and my bare foot "rolled over" her body. I picked her up and laid her on the bed. A thorough and gentle examination did not show any obvious breaks or pain sites. I put her in the "hospital" cage and observed her. She seemed to be o.k. but had "shut down". In other words, this extemely active youngster was not behaving in normal fashion. So, I packed her up and headed directly to the vet. Her vet examaned her very thoroughly and found nothing wrong. However, I was still worried because she was so quiet, and at my insistance, he did a body x-ray. She was bleeding in her lungs. Stethescope did not pick this up. After several days on lasix and antibiotics - she was raring to go. I did keep her contained at some difficulty for nearly a week. This story had a happy ending. And I only tell it because - if you have stepped on the body of your ferret, you do need to have your ferret checked out immediately Since Meg did this and her vet found nothing life threatening on examination - well, what else can you do? A previous step on accident examination on another ferret also revealed nothing. However, x-rays showed a clot located in kidney area - surgery saved this ferret. What is the moral here? I am not sure - but perhaps it would not hurt to x-ray or do sonograms on ferrets who have been stepped on.. I am so sorry for Meg's loss and grieve with her. It was not her fault. No matter how hard you try to avoid it, accidents do happen. It is so hard to find the right words to comfort a friend over a loss. Just be there for her - encourage her to talk out her grief, pain and self-blame. Also, even tho I know she probably is afraid to get another ferret right now - this might be the best help for her. Keeping pace with and worrying over a new baby or two will distract her and help her heal. It goes without saying that no other ferret can replace Xoie, but another ferret can sure take up that empy loss space in your life. Best regards from another Meg [Posted in FML issue 1239]