Hi Anonymous!  This is Claire, and her baby ferret Peaches, both newbies to
ferretdom themselves, but with a _few_ answers anyway....
 
>  First of all he is descented, but our baby stinks. o
>yes! We did shampoo him with baby shampoo and he smelled WOMDERFUL for about
>an hour :)
 
I was told that the descenting kicks in a little later, sometimes 3 or 4
weeks after the process (is it an operation?),  and even then never so
completely that your fuzzy doesn't have that distinctive warm and musky
scent.  (I _like_ that faint smell, myself. Call me crazy. *grin*)  Wait it
out.  Peaches grew progessively less musky as the weeks went by.  Now she
hardly smells at all.
 
>We are giving him Canned chicken Iams mixed with
>a little ground up dried Iams or Max Kitten and he loves it.
 
I learned that canned anything probably isn't a good idea, and can cause
stomach problems, diarreah, and in the end even *gasp!* finickiness.
Someone correct me on that one if I'm wrong.  I was told also that various
high quality kitten chow science diets (the expensive kind only,
unfortunately) is the best deal for ferrets of any age.  If you want it
soft for the baby, add a little water.
 
>But what else can this little guy eat.
 
I hear you!  I had a honk of a time trying to find treats for Peaches.  She
wouldn't recognize anything as food except her kitten chow, and an
occasional ankle.  But recently we found that various juices drive her
wild.  We dip our fingers in our glass of Cranberry juice and hold it out
to her, and she licks and nurses until it's gone, then squeaks for more.
Now every time we get a drink she's right there with us, staring greedily
up our legs for a drop of whatever's floating in the glass up there.  As
long as you don't overdo it, I think juice (not kool-aid or artificial
drinks) is probably healthy, too!  Especially if Vida won't eat fruit.  I
know Peaches, despite her name, won't.
 
>  The minute we clean the box, which is
>a couple times a day, he HAS to play in it causing him to have a major
>sneezing attack.
 
My vet told me to use Corn Cob kitty litter, and to stay VERY far away from
the dusty kind.  It sounds like you might be using that sandy stuff.
Apparently it's bad for the eyes, the lungs, and the nose.  That might be
what the sneezing's about.  If you switch to Corn Cob, he might do what
Peaches does, and dig frantically for five minutes before finally doing her
thing.  But I think it's safer.  And it's less expensive!  Yay!
 
> Also I noticed he has hiccups quite often.
 
Whee!  I just asked the same question to the list the other day.  Maybe
it's just the babies that get hiccups so often, because Vida and Peaches
are both young.
 
> Also do they sleep sometimes with their eyes
>open sometimes? My daughter seems to think this is true.
 
Oh yes, definitely true.  Spooky too.  *grin*
 
Good luck with your slinky!  Keep us all updated!
 
 ~  Claire, on a cold morning
     Peaches, beeping frantically
 
[Posted in FML issue 0995]