I'd avoided the declawing issue until Linda asked why altering
(spay/neuter) is different than declawing.  I personally put the
descenting in the category with declawing.
 
ALTERING:
A jill that is not neutered will go into season and at least 50% of the
time die if not brought out through hormone injections or copulation with a
whole or vazectomized hob.  (Objects such as thermometers can be used
inplace of the hob but this is not recommended as a usually technique as
injury can result from penetrating too deeply.) The estrus cycle is rather
hard on a jill as a false pregnancy with drastic weight gain and loss, hair
loss and emotional upheavals occurs.  Some jills even get very irritable to
their human friends - down right vicious at times while going through the
false pregnancy and the end of it which would simulate birth of the kits.
This makes spaying a female a health issue.  A Spayed female will not have
the drastic hormonally induced problems that a whole jill will.
 
The medical disadvantages are that if done too early they wouldn't
develop fully.  This is why we advocate late spay as close to a year as
possible.
 
A hob that is not neutered will go into rut.  His hormones will play nasty
tricks on him that are designed to aid in the reproduction of kits but
aren't necessarily good for the hob.  As long as he is in rut he will
suffer severe weight loss.  He will become more aggressive to other ferrets
- he will have to be kept caged alone the whole time he isn't actually
breeding with a jill in estrus.  He will bathe himself in his own urine and
develop dark stains on his fur particulary around his groin, eyes and neck.
He will probably still be his sweet self to people.  Neutering is also
beneficial medically to hobs since it would prevent the weight loss and
psychologically as it would keep him from having to be isolated so much.
 
The medical disadvantages are about the same as for females.
 
Their might be some other medical problems associated with the spay/neuter
but I am not aware of them in any detail.
 
DESCENTING:
Descenting a ferret has no medical advantages except in the case of
infection or clogging of the gland.  Cosmetically the normally rare
expression of a scent gland couldn't occur.
 
Medical disadvantages are possibilities of damaging the muscles around the
anus which might lead to a prolapsed rectum.  Their is also the removal of
one line of defense for a ferret that might be attacked by a larger animal.
I've been led to believe that late descenting (when accompanying a late
alter) is more traumatic than an early descenting but I have no evidence.
 
We feel that the extremely minimal gain in aroma does not justify the
removal of a ferrets defenses or the possible injury through surgery.
Their are cases where a medical removal of infected or damaged glands
would be advised.
 
DECLAWING:
Advantages are a lessening of the destructiveness of digging.  No more.
 
Disadvantages are removal of a primary ferret defense.  I would suspect
but can not prove a balancing problem.  A ferret without claws is more
likely to slip and injure itself falling off of any thing it chooses to
climb.
 
We feel the proper way to deal with ferret claws is clipping with nail
clippers (we prefer human toenail clippers) and filing the sharp edges
with an emery board.  Carpet diggin is not a problem at our house but
could be eliminated with the carpet protectors in the places a ferret
would dig.  We can think of NO CASE that would justify the removal of all
of a ferrets claws.  Injuries might forace the need for some level of
amputation but that is a medical response not operation done before an
injury.
 
bill and diane killian
zen and the art of ferrets
[Posted in FML issue 1364]