What can anyone tell me about jaundice in ferrets? Around 10:30 this evening I noticed Buddy was turning yellow. I rushed him to the emergency vet clinic, and the vet there said he was very jaundiced, slightly dehydrated, and his temperature was rather low; around 35-36 celcius. He was very active during the car ride over and during the exam. The vet said this is a good sign, but that in her experience the prognosis for this is not good, though I should consult my own vet in the morning as she had little experience with ferrets. She gave him subcutaneous fluids and suggested I give him a hot water bottle to sleep with to keep his temperature up. Some background: Bud hasn't been eating well for the past several days. I have been trying to separate him from the other ferrets, as he is supposed to go on medication for thin tail fur, but he hates the medication and nothing I've tried could make him take it. I had planned to gradually mix it with his food, which required that he be separated so the other ferrets wouldn't eat it. It seemed his loss of appetite started when he was first separated from the other ferrets, and every time I caved in and put him back with them he would eat again, so I figured his loss of appetite was because he missed the others or felt uncomfortable in a strange new room. Also, over the past couple of days Bud's pee has become very dark. I was going to call my vet first thing tomorrow, but when I saw Bud this evening I knew something was *very* wrong and I got him to the emergency clinic as fast as I could. Incidentally, I hadn't yet started Bud on the medication for his tail. I don't know if it could be related, but Bud had adrenal surgery August 22nd. He also had a number of nodules removed from his pancreas, and samples taken of his spleen and liver. No problems were found on the spleen or liver. Anyone interested can view Bud's pathology report at the following web page: http://www.cs.uregina.ca/~john/Ferrets/bud_patho.html A rundown of his progress after surgery can be seen at: http://www.cs.uregina.ca/~john/Ferrets/bud_progress.html Anyway, I've scanned all back issues of the Ferret List for information on jaundice (who can sleep at a time like this), but didn't find a single case. I also searched for "turn yellow", "turning yellow", and "yellow skin". Nothing. I checked all my ferret books, and again there is no reference to jaundice. Can anyone tell me the probable cause and prognosis? The emergency vet said it's probably a problem with his liver, and as I mentioned she didn't think the prognosis was good. Can anything be done for my little boy? I'll be calling my vet first thing of course, but any advice from anyone out there would also be much appreciated, as will any prayers you care to send our way. -- John Rosloot, Caregiver to Buddy, Cassidy and Sammy Technical analyst, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Regina Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada http://www.cs.uregina.ca/~john/ferrets.html [log in to unmask] [Posted in FML issue 1416]