Hey gang -- This is my first post so be gentle =3D) I've been a ferret owner for close to 6 years and never knew so much about ferrets until I joined this great list! I lost 2 of my babies this in October & November 1998 (both 5 1/2 years old); one to some bizarre kidney malfunction that I can't pronounce much less spell and the other to a second adrenale tumor. The reason why I am writing is because my 5 1/2 year old girl, Tawanda, has very course, dry, and brittle hair. She had her right adrenale removed, along with some tumors in her abdomen about 2 years ago. Since then she's been healthy, but the last couple months she's skinnier than she used to be (so I subsequently give her duck soup each morning) and her hair is brittle. I'm still feeding her Iams kitten formula, so there hasn't been any food change that could have caused this. I'm hoping against hope that she doesn't have a second adrenale because my poor Taz had the operation to attempt the partial removal of his second adrenale and didn't make it. If that's what the consensous thinks may be the problem, could anyone recommend any alternatives to surgery? Thanks for your time, Heather [Posted in FML issue 2560]