Thanks to all those who wished Pudge luck! The surgery went well...the vet said it was snap to remove that little mass of skin. Unfortunately, it was not all good news.

They tested his blood sugar, which was lower than they like to see. Now, he said this could be a one-time thing, so he wants to me to bring him back in a few days to remove the stitches and test it again. If it's still low...then its probably insulinoma, a type of cancer that's common in older ferrets. There's medication we can put him on, but there will most likely be an inevitable surgery. The fact he's loosing fur on the tip of his tail worries the vet a bit too, and I mentioned Sly has the same thing, so he asked me to bring them both in. Sly's also been acting a little funny lately...not bouncing around as much and wanting to sleep more than usual. Maybe I'm just being paranoid from the last vet visit.

I think the worst part now is not knowing for sure yet. If they do have insulinoma, I want to go ahead and start trying to treat it. If they don't, WOOT! Not this limbo of not knowing how sick they are. Pudge seemed to be acting fine after he came home...even ran around a little while. I read up on the disease in one of my ferret books...it said 10 months + with a lot of care after diagnosis...Kiro said he saw something on the internet that said 2-3 years. Which is it? I knew they were getting a little up in years for ferrets (they're about 4-5 and ferrets live 6-10), but I'm having a hard time with the fact I may need to say goodbye sooner rather than later. I know I'm probably just overacting right now...I certainly hope so.