To Lorraine Thompson: > Does anyone know if ferrets can have allergies? ... The vet said her >lungs were clear and there were no signs of any physical distress. She had >a slightly elevated temperature so the vet put her on antibiotics. I went >the full course but the noise continued. I ended up taking her to the vet >AGAIN because the noise got louder. Again nothing--the vet said something >about loose cartilage in the throat area. Anyone ever heard of this? Lorraine: Ferrets can certainly have asthma or bronchitis - allergies is a more difficult condition to diagnose. I have had one ferret with bronchitis, who got it twice, both times at the end of spring when the house AC started up. I have also seen a few other ferrets with bronchitis. We generally treat for a few weeks with a drug called Theodor - a long-acting bronchodilator, and it tends to resolve in a week or two. I'm sure that ferrets, like most other mammals, occasionally get allergies, but to what I'm not sure. If the same problem happens again next year, I would suspect an allergic/bronchitic problem. I am not familiar with laryngeal cartilage problems in ferrets (although we do see them in dogs and horses.) Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP Dept. of Vet Path, AFIP [log in to unmask] OR Chief Pathologist, AccuPath [log in to unmask] [Posted in FML issue 1278]