Well, I just got back from the Vet. My bandit's face was swollen this morning and he wouldn't even eat a piece of banana (his favorite). I was waiting when they opened the doors. Thinking he had a abcessed tooth (one of his front teeth was brown since I adopted him). The Doctor said she thought it may be a tumor and would keep him, sedate him & take a needle aspiration of the swelled area to see if it was puss or if she should test for cancer. The x-ray was ok, but she felt a 'tender spot' in his abdomen. Sure enough, the 'lump' was not puss from an abcess, so she sent a sample to the lab. She also pulled the tooth. I guess I'll know more Monday. In the meantime she gave me CHLOR-PALMITATE (an antibiotic) to give 1ml 2/day. Has anyone heard of this stuff? The good news is that he ate when he got home-headed straight for the banana dish. He's sleeping right now and I'll be watching him for the rest of the weekend. I was hoping it would be a long time before I had to go to the vet for anything other than vaccinations. I've lost three other ferrets over the years and dread these visits because they ultimately end up the same way. It breaks my heart. I hope this is different this time. I just wanted to get this off my chest. My friends already think I'm a 'ferret freak' They wouldn't understand. All I ask are for your prayers. Here's Hoping, Donna [Posted in FML issue 1566]