I noticed a couple of posts on ulcers in ferrets and what sounded like stress diarrhea (new ferret in the house). Both of these usually are the result of a flare-up of a common bacteria that often resides asymptomatically in the gut of a ferret. Under stress (new ferret, new food, moving, loss of a playmate, illness, etc.) this bacteria will start to multiply out of control leading to diarrhea, vomiting, lethargy, dehydration and ulcers. The treatment prescribed Quesenberry, Hillyer; "Ferrets, Rabbits and Rodents, clinical medicine and surgery," includes Amoxicillin (we use Amoxidrops), Flagyl, and Pepto Bismol. Our shelter vet adds Carafate/sulcrafate to this regime. It's a human ulcer medication that seems to be quite benign. It binds to the ulcerated tissue and protects it from stomach acid while the ulcer heals. What isn't used in binding, passes right on through. Generally we keep the pill form on-hand, grind them and mix the powder with water to form a suspension (shake before using). We start with the Amoxicillin (and Flagyl if you are giving that too) to kill the helicobacter; wait about 20 - 30 minutes then give the Carafate; again wait about 20 - 30 minutes and then give the Pepto. After that we do any syringe feeding or Duck Soup offering and water/pedialyte. (Note that if your ferret reacts violently to the Pepto - gagging and vomiting - Kaopectate or other symptomatic treatments of diarrhea might be used under vet advice. The bismuth in Pepto Bismol does help kill off the helicobacter, though.) All diarrheas need to be treated aggressively and the ferret should be seen by a vet. Not all diarrhea is caused by helicobacter, although it may be a complicating factor in other causes such as coccidia and other parasites. We've found that if treatment is started at once (usually after the second or third bout of diarrhea) we can clear it up in 2 - 3 days. If delayed for several days, the treatment can take weeks. Dick B. 4 Li'l Paws Ferret Shelter [Posted in FML issue 2877]