Hi all-- Had some scares this month. About 2 weeks ago, I saw Mort in the litter box and when he walked away I noticed his dooh was wrapped in a gelatinous glob of bright red. Panic. Intestinal bleeding, puncture, something terrible. I totally freaked, and was about to rush him to the vet when I found an open package of cherry JELL-O. I was so relieved I thought I might cry. I still watched his doohs, but there remained only traces of red jelly. Whew. This past Thursday Pepper got into the off-limits bathroom, into the cabinet, and down a small hole around the pipes. He's not a little boy, he's a 4 pounder. And that darn hole was just too small for him to come back out of. He kept poking his head through trying to get the ferretone I had for a bribe, and he'd get completely stuck. I even grabbed his scruff and tugged (pretty hard, too!) and couldn't budge him. Eventually he got wise and poked his front feet and shoulders through first, and I grabbed him. You should have seen the muscles along his body working the snakelike motion to get out! I didn't pull him, just exerted a steady pressure on his front end while he worked the muscles towards his bottom and he finally got free. What a relief. Friday--Pepper again. Vomiting in his cage. Shaking his head violently as he did it, sending yucky stomach contents all over the cage, the blankets, the food, and the other ferrets. YUK! Now I know ferrets don't usually vomit. While I was cleaning up I noticed something bright GREEN. Bright green and rubber. Pretty large. I cleaned up the green rubber piece, but couldn't identify it. It was nothing that had been a part of anything I owned. I *KNOW* about rubber. Little rubber things are kept up high. The koosh ball I play with at work stays at work. Superballs aren't allowed in my house, as fun as it is to watch ferrets chase them. The green rubber thing had to have been under the bathroom cabinet where Pepper was exploring the day before. It was of course, after 6 pm on Friday. These things never happen at 8 am on Monday, you know. Panic again. Intestinal blockage. Small stools with green flecks. Ugh. Get out the FAQ. I lubed him up with cat lax, put him in a kennel all alone (wow, was he ever ticked off about that! this is one boy who never wants to be a lonely only ever again!) and checked on him every three to four hours. Monitored his intake, output and energy level. Intake low, output mushy, energy level completely normal--maybe even a bit higher than usual due to being mad about sleeping all alone. I couldn't get any reaction to belly palpitations, so assumed he wasn't having abdominal pain. His body felt normal. He played normal. Seemed fine. This morning I dissected his dooh from last night and found a big green rubber thing. Well, not huge, but about 1cm sphere. Ugh. Almost as big as the one he vomited up. One more night in isolation, and as long as he's eating and dooh-ing, he'll be sleeping with all his pals tomorrow after playtime. It pays to have extra cages. I'd have no way to determine if he was potty-ing at all when he was sharing a box with 4 other ferts. As guilty as he makes me feel when I put him to bed alone, the peace of mind I get from knowing what he's intaking and outputting is worth suffering through some door scratching. Pam Grant--saw your article about shelter ferrets in Critters USA--terrific message! Thanks all, (and watch out for that cherry Jell-O!) --Sheri [Posted in FML issue 2105]