One of my guy's hasn't been eating his own food for close to a month now, and I'm beginning to get desperate.... Here's the details. (Sorry so long.) A month ago Fezzik (2 yr old MF ferret) suddenly got a huge swelling on his behind. It consisted of a hard internal swelling and a "surfacy" bump where it seemed to have come to a head. The surfacy part was an ugly shade of purple, and looked quite painful, although Fez was hardly fazed. He also seemed to be running a fever. We rushed him to the vet, who examined it and lanced it. The vet (Dr. T) said that given the fever, the sudden onslaught, and the fact that pus was released after lancing, it appeared to be a localized infection, not a tumor. But he said that he couldn't be sure at this point that there wasn't a tumor under the surface that was causing the infection, and suggested that we use amoxi-drops for a week and then re-examine it. The surfacy aspect of it cleared up right away; the hard, internal swelling stayed the same for a few days, and then finally began to shrink. When we went back in a week later, Dr. T. was quite encouraged by the fact that the internal swelling had shrunk so much. He said that had it been a tumor, it shouldn't have shrunk, and might have increased in size over the week. Given that it didn't appear to be a tumor, he didn't want to operate. It's pressed up fairly close to the anal tract, making it a difficult place for surgery, and since it was shrinking with the amoxi, it didn't seem necessary. We agreed to use the amoxi for another week and call in with reports every 3 days or so. We also agreed that should it begin to swell back up at any time, we'd immediately bring him in for surgery. By this time, it became apparent that Fez wasn't eating. When the whole thing started, we hadn't been surprised at his lack of appetite, attributing it to his generally feeling unwell. We assumed that as soon as we took care of the swelling, he'd start back up. But with the swelling decreasing, the fact that he wasn't starting to eat became a major concern. He'd been somewhat chubby at first, so he wasn't skin and bones, but he had lost weight. Dr T wondered if he'd associated being sick with his food, but he wouldn't try any other brands, either. Fez will drink sustacal, although he needs to be offered it by hand, and encouraged. Since he normally likes to try and steal a dog kibble or two (the joys of anything forbidden!), we tried giving him "opportunities" to steal them more often. In this manner we can get him to eat 3-4 dog kibbles a day, generally. (I know dog food isn't appropriate for ferrets, but it's solid, and better than nothing... He won't touch his Iams or Pro-Plan, or Nature's Recipe, & I already know he doesn't like TF). His stools became mostly liquid, since he was on a mostly liquid diet, suggesting that he wasn't just sneaking his food when we weren't watching. He's not dehydrated, drinking plenty of water. We continued in this manner for some time, with little change. After another week on amoxi, we stopped the antibiotics. The swelling didn't increase, but neither had it continued to decrease. We went back in to the vet. Dr. T did a needle probe and found that the lump (now about a centimeter in diameter) was full of pus; that is, it appeared that the body had encapsulaeed the infection, but that it still was just an infection. Dr T also took x-rays, to make sure there weren't any signs of bony growths, and to check on the size of the lymph nodes along the spine (apparently normal). We switched to a new antibiotic, Baytril, which Dr T said had a broader spectrum and also was good at getting in to hard, encapsulated swellings like we were seeing here. It's now been a week on the Baytril, with no change. The swelling does not appear to pain him in any way, but he still will only eat a couple dog kibbles a day and his sustacal. I'm trying to hold back these offerings until later in the day, hoping that he'll start eating his own food if he's a little hungry. But its now been a month all told. Dr T has no suggestions about his not eating; he says the swelling shouldn't be resulting in this, and wonders if something else is wrong. If so, surgery on the lump would likely make little difference; but perhaps we're wrong about this. Fez *is* eating enough to keep his weight up, but I worry about how long he can live on stuff not nutritionally designed for ferrets. I'd be grateful for any advice anyone has. (Note: the other 2 ferrets are fine, and eating normally, so it doesn't appear to be a contagious disease, or that the food is bad, or anything else that would affect more than just him. Fez still plays normally, although his metabolism has slowed down a bit, in keeping with the lower intake). -Rochelle [Posted in FML issue 1251]