Hi fuzzie lovers- Had a real scare the other night - Thor is my sweetest little DEW female (spayed)- she's got a charcoal strip from her shoulders to the tip of her tail- She's deaf, too- She's been a real challenge- brought her home from a pet industry trade show where she and about 50 other 5-6 week-old kits were being sold out of a single 4ft x 4 ft wire cage- several were dehydrated- no apparent water and the food was hardened mush. She had a prolapsed rectum, severe flea infestation, coccidia and no hearing. Her cream-colored coat turned out to be white stained by urine. Since my husband had put his foot down about bringing another living thing into the house, I was stunned when he hardly put up a fight at the sight of the tiny furball- But he looked at me and said "You know- I've never gotten to name any of our furkids- I've always wanted to have a "Thor". I told him that Thor was a great name- Thor it was. He was not happy when he discovered that Thor was a tiny, sick, deaf girl. "Quit telling people I named her- it makes me look stupid." At any rate, Thor is now 5 months old, a good-sized 2 3/4 lbs - she's an expert face kisser, and of all of our 6 furkids, she's the most "human-interactive". She also has an over-abundant amount of energy- Like the Energizer Bunny on amphetamines. Two days ago my daughter came out of her bedroom with Thor - she told me that Thor smelled really bad and that she her bottom was wet- Sure enough, Thor's bottom was damp- it looked AND SMELLED like she'd released her anal glands- I've worked for small animal vets and am familiar with cats & dogs having their anal glands expressed- Thor's little rectum also looked like it had a tiny fissure in it- It was a skinned-looking pink bulge- I had several panicky thoughts- Was her rectum prolasping again BADLY, did she need a trip to the vets's at 11 pm- Had one of my other sweet ferts RAPED Thor? I watched her like a hawk- no bleeding, nothing hanging out- She pigged out on a late snack- drank water- I got up every hour to check her. She seemed fine- except for her puffy butt. The next morning she was herself- and her butt looked more normal- MY HUSBAND GETS UP AN HOUR LATER- He's had a good night's sleep- And he says "I think I know what happened to Thor's butt last night- There were 3 tiny spots of blood on the tile in the bathroom when I got up during the night- Like where their butts touch a few spots when they wipe? And in the middle of one blood spot there was a tooth." "A tooth? One of their teeth? I asked. " No- it looked like she ate one of the kids teeth-" (I have kept a few of our human children's teeth). I couldn't believe that Thor would eat a tooth? I asked my husband if he'd saved the poopie and spots- He had not. He had washed it up. Had he saved the tooth? Yes, he had saved the tooth- When I saw it my stomach came up in my throat- It was a piece of my fish tank river rock- a good-sized pebble with 1 rough side- She must have found it under the bathtub rubber mat where I dump my tank water when cleaning. (The ferts love to wrestle with "Octopus Monster" AKA bath mat with suction cups) THANK YOU GOD for letting Thor pass that rock through her system- The tank water nows gets dumped outside. And my husband and teenagers know now to SAVE ANY UNUSUAL POOPIE!!! It's also a good idea to take along a stool sample when visiting the vet- that way the vet doesn't have to upset the ferret by sticking a plastic loop up their butts for a sample- Ferret people seem to really be in tune with poopies- much moreso than any other pet owner. Poopie is very important! It's a great health indicator- Wish more pet owners would put away their silly attitude about poop- If they could just not be so disgusted or embarrassed about their pet's body function, many ailments could be caught at a much earlier stage. ANYWAY- THOR IS FINE- Everyone have a nice weekend!!! Marlene B. Bee-Bee (Got raisins?) Tilly (please let me climb back in the garbage can!) Megan (I'll grab your nose if you kiss me again!) Thor (What? I didn't hear you?) Rascal (Phew! Thor, you still stink) Wild Thing ( Why can't I climb the turtle cage?) [Posted in FML issue 2387]