Jazmyn Concolor <[log in to unmask]> writes:
 
>    Remember to bath your pet a couple days before the show or the day
>before if it is a pet who is prone to oily skin or sudden needs to roll in
>mud or food. Its a good idea to keep those types housed in a clean place
>till they are shown, even if it means staying in the cage/kennel.
 
   I say: Don't bathe your ferrets at all -- unless they get dirty with
something they can't handle themselves.
   Ferrets like to keep clean, so mud and food I don't see as a problem
and oily skin is best countered by not bathing them more often than
every six months or so.
   I would not keep a ferret in a cage just because we were going to a
show; I've in fact let them go out and play in the woods just before we
leave.
 
(Last time, at our national show, one finished as "reserve best in show",
another in third place. The time before that, at a regional show, a third
of the four placed first in her class.)
 
>There are whitening shampoos for animals with white coats and they
>do make a difference.
 
Sound like it could be classified as a "cosmetic", doesn't it?
   If it is, the difference it would make here in Sweden is that it would
get the ferret disqualified.
 
> Conditioner can be used on those whos coats are on the dry side.
 
Stop bathing them, and the coats won't be dry.
 
> Nails should be trimmed at least 3-7 days before the show just in
>case you accidently hit blood..It gives it time to heal.
 
I don't think seven days is enough to make a nail grow out so it can't
be seen you cut too close.
   What I do now is: Cut three or four days before, followed by lots of
walking on rough ground the following days.  The judges used to think I
had cut the nails to unevenly, this way they get worn down just the
right amount.  (And as long it's not winter and you take them out for
walks, you may not even have to cut their nails at.)
 
>Bring q-tips to the show for cleaning out ears before they go to the
>judging table..
 
This is very good advice. Don't forget the baby oil.
 
>    Use parvosol or disinfectant spray.  Spray it on your hands between
>handling each animal and encourage judges to do the same.
>    Encourage pet shows to have health checks.
 
Here it's required.
 
>    Do not allow your pets to play or come into direct contact with strange
>animals.  I know its cute to see two ferrets meet and play, but its not cute
>to have to treat a sick ferret who happened to catch a bug one was carrying.
 
Living without taking risks is not possible.
 
  In my opinion the risk of meeting lots of ferrets at a show is not
significantly larger than regular everyday life.
   At least not if we consider a single ferret.  I can agree that if
there is contagious material at the show, more ferrets can be subjected
to it in a shorter time.
   But for what I consider the worst disease, plasmacytosis (Aleutian
disease), preventing the ferrets from playing with each others may not
make a big difference, since it's an airborne disease where the virus
can live a very long time outside the body.
--
 Urban Fredriksson  [log in to unmask]  http://www.ki.icl.se/urf/urf.htm
 Ferrets; Aircraft; Railways; Site of the week
 Recent additions: A new rune stone page; Bonsai; Eleven Saab aircraft photos;
 Designing your first or second model railway; Map of rails around Stockholm
[Posted in FML issue 1254]