This is in regards to the poor little guy I wrote about yesterday. I stopped to see Deb (our animal control officer) this morning and she called the vet while I was there. The poor little guy did in fact have fleas and ticks. He had *NO LESS THAN 80* ticks on his poor little body!!! From the looks of what I saw yesterday, they sure didn't look like regulation size wood ticks, more like dear ticks, but then I'm no entomologist. Anyway the poor little guy has massive infestation. The vet would normally have anesthetized him (the ferret <G>)to remove them and clean him up, but he is quite weak and probably anemic from the fleas and ticks and he would not tolerate anesthesia well, he appeared to have a bit of labored breathing, again probably from the blood loss. The vet used a topical medication and the ticks were falling off him. The vet wanted to keep him at least another night. He again noted that the little guy is a young male sable ferret. I'm almost certain he is neutered. He is quite willing to be handled and I'm sure this is not just because he is weakened...he *tried* to play with my fingers in between scratching. I will check with Deb tomorrow. Till then, please send warm wishes to this poor little orphan! Janet PS: Has anyone got the scoop on the RI ferret horror? I saw on Boston news this AM a short blurb about a ferret who had been wandering around neighborhoods and bit quite a few people. I'm not 100% sure, but I thought they said they were testing him for rabies which would mean he is not with us anymore. During the broadcast they showed a lady holding one of Kodo's T-shirt, but made no comment on it. Just wondering. [Posted in FML issue 2082]