I was telling a friend of mine about cedar shavings and how they cause upper
respiratory problems in ferrets and that's why I use old towels, etc in my
critters' cage, and he asked if it would cause problems for hamsters as
well.  His little fuzzy seems to be breathing funny - what would you
recommend instead for his friend.  I said maybe pine - but ultimately told
him to get rid of the cedar and I'd let him know what you all thought would
be best.
 
Also, Nik ripped about three-quarters of the way through one of his toe-
nails yesterday morning. I'm not exactly sure how it happened - all I heard
was that panicky, owowowowow chittering and by the time I got to him, he had
pulled loose from whatever he had caught himself on (I was in the next
room).  It ripped from below right near the base and bled a fair amount
until I could clean it up and put a little pressure on it to stop the
bleeding.  I managed to use a bit of hydrogen peroxide and bandage it and
the next toe together to keep the nail from getting caught on anything else
and hopefully, help it heal.  It seems better today - he's actually leaving
the bandage alone and seems to be no worse for wear.  I plan on keeping a
close eye on it and at the first sign of swelling, infection, etc - off to
the vet!
 
Any other suggestions from the vets out there??  Thanks for any help you
give.
 
Happy ferret dancing!
 
Georgette (29ish) and her tribe of four
D. Pasquino/G. Peters
Toronto, Ontario
[Posted in FML issue 1348]