Trill and Rune were doing so much better I left Thursday afternoon and came back Friday to find Trill half dead. She was severely dehydrated. I took her to the vet knowing she would not make it through but had to try. She died early this morning and was buried a few hours later with a nice view of a crystal lake. Sigh. Rune was the one I was worried about leaving and here Trill who was eating and drinking again relapsed. I am keeping a VERY close eye on Rune. She is not eating but seems to be drinking. The vet gave me 8 small bits of Metronidazole which he said was an anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial. He concurs as with all of you who responded that it is viral in nature from the new ferret in the home. But it should not have been FATAL. The x-rays and stool samples have come back completely negative. Though Rune continues to display loose stools I think it is more from eating duck soup and pedialyte to try to keep her alive. But she does not seem to be improving any more, only remaining stable if not slipping back a bit. I am at my wits end. I cannot lose Rune to whatever this is as well as Trill. She will be very sorely missed. I'm feeling very very frustrated and helpless because I have never heard of anything like this before. They exhibit no signs of ECE or other nasties that I nor my vet have heard of. He is calling a colleague in NYC who works ha a great deal of experience with ferrets. He does too, but is getting a second opinion and picking brains. Please, if you have any clue what could be causing this, let me know. I'll keep hand feeding Rune every four hours for months if I have to to keep her stable until I find out what this is if that is what it takes. Dave, Rune, Ash, and Azrael. [Posted in FML issue 2872]