About the bathing issue: we used to bathe our ferrets at least once a month
because we were told that you had to do that or otherwise they would smell.
This may be true when they are young but as they get older we found it is not
necessary to bathe them very often at all. They pretty much hate it anyway. So,
now we just bathe them when it is warranted - for example, one time the cat
knocked a bowl of tapioca pudding off of the counter and - you guessed it -
the pudding landed right on top of the ferret. One time, one of the babies
decided it would be really fun to tunnel through a dirty litterbox - YUCK! And
whenever our albino "reads" the Sunday newspaper she usually needs a shower.
These baths add up to about 3 or 4 per year per ferret. When we do bathe them
it seems to work for us to hold them by the scruff of the neck under a running
faucet in the bathroom sink (warm water) making sure their head is above
where the water comes out. Use the other hand to squirt the shampoo on their
back and then lather & rinse - as quickly as possible. Ours just WON'T tolerate
being dried - either with a towel or a hairdryer. So, we heat up a few towels
in the dryer and throw them on the floor and let the ferrets tunnel themselves
dry. I have seen powder shampoo too for ferrets. You sprinkle it on and brush.
 
Regarding being able to sleep through the night. The only solution we have
found is to REALLY tucker them out before we go to bed. So at about 11 pm we
wake them up if they are sleeping -whether they want to get up or not - and
we play and play and play - as rough as we can get them to play. And, as soon
as they look tired - we make them play just a little bit longer. They will
usually sleep until at least 6:30 am. (This doesn't always work however). We
leave ours out at night so when they do get up at 4 in the morning they get
into the bed and proceed to feast on our toes. In this case - we've learned -
pay them no attention. Just pick them up and set them on the floor. After you
do this about 3 times they will get bored and go find something else to do.
 
About the carpet digging. We've had several ferrets and only one of them
found joy in digging at the carpet. We tried everything - bitter apple on the
floor, scolding, playing, isolating to the cage, etc etc. And nothing worked.
The only thing we could do to prevent damage to the carpet (although it was
kind of too late) was to keep her claws VERY well trimmed - we trimmed them
almost every day. Then, one day after about a year, she just stopped. She never
dug again in the carpet. Besides keeping the claws trimmed make sure there is a
lot of fun things to do on her side of the door. This will help tire her at
least. Ours seemed to dig more often and longer when she was bored. Now, since
our only digger passed away, whenever i see the worn spot on the carpet i get
very nostalgic. I don't think I will ever be able to replace the carpet because
it reminds me of her so much.
 
Good luck, Charlene
[Posted in FML issue 1082]