So many questions!  Let's see if I can help with any of them--
 
About the butt-dragging after using the litter box:
        I think you'll find all ferrets do this.  One of the litterboxes in
our home is in our bathroom, right off the bathmat.  We like to say that
Pixie says that a bathmat will be just fine in lieu of toilet paper.
Someone asked about the same behavior here on GEnie recently and was told it
was quite normal, and one person suggested that this was a way they mark
their territory.  If you're concerned about descenting affecting the anus,
the problem that is most commonly mentioned is prolapsed rectum, though no
concrete proof has been offered that the descenting process has caused the
problem any more than stress in general.  Then again, if YOU have the choice
as to whether or not to descent, why tempt fate and put your ferret through
unnecessary surgery?  If you have a ferret whose little butthole looks to
have turned inside out, or if you have a ferret who strains consistantly as
he poops, then you likely have a problem and should see a vet.
 
About "jill-jab":
        Well, I'm not a breeder and have never kept whole jills, but if I
had to guess, I'd say the term refers to either:
 1) HCG hormone shots to bring the jill out of heat.
 2) Vaginal manipulation to make the jill's body believe she's been bred, and
therefore bring her out of heat just as mating with a vasectomized hob.
 Of the two choices, I would think that you are more likely talking about the
latter, since the first is surely a more common practice, especially when
dealing with false heat symptoms in ferrets with adrenal tumors, etc.  I
have only heard the second choice mentioned, and the only detail further
than what I've already told you is that it was suggested that on object like
a thermometer might be used.  I would think that mating with a sterile hob
would be easier and more likely to be effective if you have access to such
 "services" ;> !
 
About the rabies shot:
        My vet says three months.
 
Now for my question:  What possible causes are there for spleen enlargement
in an otherwise apparently healthy ferret?
 
                Debra
 
 
[Posted in FML issue 0589]