Melissa and Potpie here. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions; Potpie,
of course, believes that baths are unnecessary and insists the way around
the dry skin problem is to drop the bathing altogether. :)
 
A suggestion of my own for the person who was trying to get their
ferret to stay put on their shoulder: Chuck and Fox Morton's 'Ferrets'
book suggests filling a large garbage can with crumpled newspapers and
leaning over that. When the ferret begins to slide, clap your hands loudly,
let them fall into the mass of papers, and say 'No!' This startles 'em
without hurting them, and after a few sessions of two or three repetitions
they've apparently learned their lesson. Ferrets having the status that
they do in MI, I've really no reason to teach Potpie using this method
(or any), so I can't vouch for its effectiveness. I would be careful about
how you let the ferret fall, though!
 
Another question: I'm taking Potpie to the vet for her second annual
shots, and before asking the vet for treatment I thought I'd ask here
first. Potpie has a gland by the back corner of her eye, between her
ear and eye, with a few whiskers coming from it. On the left side
it's normal, smooth, covered with fur. On the right it's a bit swollen
and red; it looks almost like the gland is stopped (pimple-ish, really).
It's still quite small, doesn't seem to bother her, but I wanted to know
if it's a sign of some other problem, or anything I can take care of
at home before paying through the nose for some veterinary ointment.
(Potpie's vet, btw, is quite an excellent ferret vet, and is one of the
vets I've met who has a genuine adoration of the species. He spent a full
10 minutes cooing at Potpie in a goofy voice the last time we were in.
I'll pass along his name and address to anyone else in the Washtenaw
Cty area :).
 
Thanks!
Potpie's Melissa
 
[Posted in FML issue 0728]