Could you post this anonymously? thanks!
 
Forgive me if this has been discussed recently -
As new ferret-caregivers, we've been wondering how good an idea trimming a
ferret's nails is. Holding our baby when wearing a sweater feels fine, but with
t-shirt season approaching we're in for quite a number of little red lines on
our neck and arms. I've noticed that she uses her nails when climbing quite a
bit, and I would like info about whether nailtrimming would be a serious hin-
drance to her ability to move around. If it would be a threat to her well-being
then we have no intention of doing so and will deal with the scratches, but we
would so love to be able to let her climb all over ourshoulders without getting
striped in the process. How have people on this list dealt with this? Are there
methods of training the ferret not to (inadvertently) scratch?
 
[Clip 'em.  No question.  A ferret's nails will get quite long, and they
aren't in an environment that would naturally wear them down.  Long nails
cause problems for your ferret on carpets, bedding etc.  And can even
lead to injury.  One of our ferrets broke a toe because of us being a little
behind on clipping.]
 
Thank you!
 
Wednesday's companions
 
[Posted in FML issue 0235]