Rather long and wordy post.  I keep doing that.
 
I, too, often tell people that ferrets don't usually survive very long
outside on their own.  No magic number, of course!  I generally add that
many pet ferrets have never had a chance to develop their hunting instincts
and literally do not know what to eat, and that they're very sensitive to
heat.  Around here, of course, winter is far deadlier than summer; you can
usually count the 80+ days on fingers and toes, and any critter that just
stayed in the shade would be all right... but winter stays consistently
below freezing most of the time.  We've had a few strays come into the
rescue; one was outdoors for an unspecified amount of time, probably only
a few days, as he hadn't lost too much weight but had had time to pick up
a zillion ticks and become quite dehydrated.  One was outside for over
three months; he had been sighted by neighborhood kids for that long.  They
thought he was a weasel and didn't attempt to catch him (even though he
reportedly approached them several times).  He smelled faintly of skunk
and had total kidney failure as well as really painfully torn up gums;
the theory is that he was living under a garage in a den that was once a
skunk's, and eating either garbage or carrion.  We did eventually run into
his old owners by chance; he was a Houdini ferret and had simply escaped.
They had put up signs for weeks.  We weren't able to give them good news,
but I think they appreciated the closure.
 
Most of the ferrets we find outdoors are fine, other than a million
parasites, minor weight loss, and some dehydration.  I have yet to
encounter one that I know has been lost for a significant amount of time
and that is healthy, but it's certainly possible, especially in an area
where people feed stray cats.  Kibble--the American pet ferret's diet of
choice. :-)
 
Flea control: Flea shampoos are both more dangerous than Frontline (compare
warning labels sometime) and less effective.  In order for most flea
shampoos to be effective, the animal needs to be bathed every two or three
days, which we all know is horrible for a ferret's skin and coat.  Powders
are REALLY dangerous and are not recommended by any vets I consider good
for ANY animal.  It's far too easy for the animal to ingest the flea
powder.  Most spot-ons can cause various reactions or are ineffective.  We
haven't tried Advantage, but we have used Frontline.  Its toxicity levels
are very, very low and it doesn't seem to cause allergic reactions often
(never encountered one).  We only used 3 drops per ferret, and we're still
flea-free several months later... although we'll have to start treating
again now that it's spring.  We were having major flea problems, because
every time we got them wiped out we'd take in a new rescue covered in them.
 
As for ants: this may be my faulty memory, but there's a member of the mint
family that repels ants, and I'm fairly certain it's peppermint.  (Many
aromatic herbs, such as lavender, are also members of the mint family,
and most are good to repel one pest or another.  I get them confused.)
An herbalist friend of mine suggests either sprinkling the essential oil
around the borders of your rooms, or strewing the fresh or dried herb.  If
you can find where the ants are coming in, concentrate on that area.  I
know people who have had great success with this method--if it really is
peppermint, that is.  I think so.  And it definitely shouldn't hurt your
ferrets, even if they decide to taste the oils a bit.  (Mine keep trying to
run off with the aromatherapy oils, especially sweet orange and lemon!)
 
Jen and the Crazy Business
http://home.maine.rr.com/tesseract
[Posted in FML issue 3043]