JJ, I only had time to skim but from what I saw: GREAT JOB!

I have few notes, though:

People should not avoid a fish content for foods.

Yes, it creates odors, and there even is the problem that if ferrets
are fed a LOT of certain marine fish or crustaceans that they can get
the nutritional, yellow fat disease if Vitamin E isn't supplemented,
BUT the Omega 3 Fatty Acids in fish are very healthy for ferrets. Fish
oil is especially good for kidneys and for reduction of inflammation.

In a recent study fish oil also helped reduce cardiac arrhythmia.

http://ferrethealth.org/archive/SG14864

http://ferrethealth.org/archive/SG15335

http://ferrethealth.org/archive/SG17963

http://ferrethealth.org/archive/SG18280

http://ferrethealth.org/archive/SG17442

http://ferrethealth.org/archive/SG15123

We supplement fish oil. Notice that this is NOT cod liver oil. Cod
liver oil is high in certain fatty vitamins and is only from the livers
of cod. Fish oil is from entire small fish.

For those who absolutely can not stand fish oil use Flax Oil for Omega
3 but be sure to store it carefully in the right temps because it goes
bad easily.

Hey, 25 years with ferrets and I am still learning. It's part of what
having ferrets is all about!

Remember cage covers and providing ferrets with dark areas to sleep.
There are so very many careful peer-reviewed studies, not only
originally showing why too much light exposure can cause adrenal tumors
but also independently confirming that too much light results in too
little melatonin production by the ferrets' pineal gland, which is turn
results in more production of LH and FSH by the ferret's pituitary
which starts the process. Too much light exposure may also play a bad
role in some other endocrinological tumors, both malignant and benign
ones just as it does for humans. (You can find a lot in archives and in
PubMed.) The safest light coloration for least disruption of melatonin
production by the body is amber. The worst is blue, followed by green.
(BTW, this is also why people with some types of blindness have lower
levels of endocrinological tumors than others.)

Many of us give hairball meds ONLY as needed. We use them only very
rarely. Despite that, we have had only two ferrets in 25 years who have
had furballs that needed removal, and in one chase when the content was
checked it wasn't even mostly fur. It was mostly the fake sheeps'
fleece found exposed in a lot of bedding. The ferret liked to eat in
bed. I since sewed sheet material over the fake fleece and it never
happened again. The other ferret was one with a Neural Crest Genetic
Disorder who had pronounced stomach problems from it -- having a large
and flaccid, thinly walled stomach that could barely move things (even
food remained in there for over 8 hours). We find that it is more
effective to use a flea comb to dislodge loose fur in Spring and Fall
and then occasionally in between.

In relation to raisins you will want to read the vet article in the
latest (Nov/Dec) Ferrets magazine, and remind people that ferrets stash
things so make sure that they don't stash any raisins.

You'll want to remind people to leave a little waste in the litter
boxes during training, and to NEVER clean their floors with ammonia
because it smells like super-urine-this-is-a-bathroom-location to
ferrets and others.

One trick for nail clipping is to put a towel on your lap, put some
treat oil on the ferret's belly and clip while the ferret is licking
up the treat.

Remember the later vaccinations or note that you are talking about the
kit ones or ones for ones previously unvaccinated.

Some other things people should learn about beforehand:
cardiomyopathy, lymphoma, ulcers.  You may want to include health
sites with vet input such as those in my sig lines.

-- Sukie (not a vet, and not speaking for any of the below in my
private posts)
Recommended health resources to help ferrets and the people who
love them:
Ferret Health List
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth
FHL Archives
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
AFIP Ferret Pathology
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
Miamiferrets
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
International Ferret Congress Critical References
http://www.ferretcongress.org

[Posted in FML 5394]