Just a note to let you know about Simon. He's not doing well, and unless things change for the better, it looks bleak for his long term survival. Simon is a 5-6 year old MF sable I was lucky enough to adopt from TLE a few years ago. He was part of a four fert group (all MF) which included Gus, Nosette and Balistic. What a wonderful group of ferts! Some time after the group was adopted, my entire business was struck by a bacterial infection I ultimately traced to a contaminated bulk feeder. It hit a half dozen ferrets very hard, especially Simon and Gus. Gus seemed to be recovering but passed on and a necropsy showed he had a malformed heart. Simon very nearly died, but slowly recovered. Both Simon and Bear have since been on the thin side, and both becaome ill with a mystery illness this last early spring. Both recovered, but remained thin and with ratty looking fur. Still, they were quite active, playing and getting into trouble with all the other ferts. I first noticed Simon was not playing well; instead of his usual method of play, he was just investigating and wandering away. While a number of my ferts do this, it was not typically Simon. When I picked him up, I noticed he seemed to chew his teeth; an indicator of pain. Feeling his abdomen, I noticed his spleen was greatly enlarged and his tummy seemed sore. I lsitened to his lungs, which sounded sort of "wet," and his breathing was slightly labored. His poopie was pudding-like; dark orange-brown, in small quantities that left a bile-like stain. He would occasionaly scratch or paw at his mouth, and he would gag and attempt to vomit. He was very quiet, and seemed to just lay around. When offered petromalt, he refused to take any, which for Simon was very unusual. He was slightly dehydrated, but because his lungs sounded wet, I decided not to rehydrate him until after x-rays. I suspected some sort of bowel obstruction, either from a tumor or something he ate, but the xrays showed the intestines to be free and clear and no masses anywhere. Instead, the chest was full of fluid; so much that the chest organs were displaced enough to block off the esophagus. The heart is very large, and is the obvious source of the trouble. Simon immediately went into the ferret equivent of an ICU, and was given meds to help him get rid of the fluids in his chest. Since then, he has perked up a bit, but requires force feedings. We have guestimated his chances of recovery to about 20%. I only mention this medical problem to point out that Simon required a vet for proper diagnosis and treatment. As much as I know, I am not a vet. Also, Simon's inital problems, the ones I first noticed, where not especially pronouced. In other words, I took Simon to the vet at the *FIRST* onset of symptoms, not when they became so pronouced that a problem was serious. That likely saved his life, and is the reason he has any chance of survival at all right now. I have been asked on numerous occasions to post something on emergency treatment for ferrets, and I have always declined because I felt the various vets could do a better job. Without a doubt, they can. And it is not just the recognition of symptoms, or the ability to diagnose. Its the technology that enables a vet to make a proper diagnosis; most of which is not part of the ferret owner's first aid kit. Blood work, x-ray machines, baby warmers and the like are critical in the detection and diagnosis of ailments. The only thing that has been in Simon's favor was a prompt vet visit and their x-ray machine. I have never hidden the fact that I am strongly "pro-vet." I am, in fact, their greatest fan and except for my deep love of scientific research, would be one myself. I urge you, if you suspect something nasty is going on with your ferret, go to the vet first, then post on the FML so we can all learn. Sure, maybe you risk losing a few bucks for the occasional unnecessary trip, but because of the tiny size of our beloved fuzzbutts, when something is wrong, time can be critical. If your instincts say, "Something is wrong," they are probably right. You know your ferret better than anyone. Act on those instincts and you will probably do well. Bob C and 19 MO Ferts hoping for the best (and Simon in the ferret ICU) [Posted in FML issue 2374]