Thanks for all the great suggestions about providing water in the
ferret cage; I have lots of ideas to try now.
 
There's been a bit of discussion about fleas; I have been trying
different treatments and products for a number of years, and this
summer I tried a product that worked really well--I bought a flea
bomb and flea spray (for the house, not the critters) that contained
a chemical called Precor (or methoprene).
 
This is an insect hormone, and its presence disrupts the development of
flea larvae.  While it doesn't kill the fleas that are already there,
it interrupts the lifecycle, so that the fleas fail to reproduce.  This
has worked really well for me this year--we didn't have late summer flea
population explosion that we usually experience, and the cats & Woozle had
a much better August & September than we expected.
 
I also did a lot of the things people on the list have already suggested
to control the adult fleas that were already present (baths, flea combing,
a little pyrethrin spray here & there, etc.)
 
By the way, my ferret doesn't mind a bath if I take one too; she also will
drape blissfully over my arm as I take a shower. It's about the only time
she's calm! So far, flea shampoo has done me no harm!
 
Thanks again!
Rebecca
[Posted in FML issue 1013]