Hi Ya'll,
 
Ya'll will hafta forgive my li'l ole accent, I think I must be losing some
of mine.  I cannot allow that to happen!!  I must remind these here Yankees
what genteel Southern Ladies are all about.  And for those of you who don't
know, genteel Southern ladies are some of the most independent, pig-headed,
pushy broads on the face of the planet when they need to be.  But we do try
for a modicum of civility.
 
Someone did ask about blackheads on tails.  Well, I cheated and got rid of
them on Miss Sadie's tail in a very easy fashion.  Oxypads.  Yep.  Swiped
her li'l ole tail down once a day, I did.  For about a week.  And now her
hair is growing back in.  Gettin' rid of them rat tails.
 
I am bathing mine less and less.  Especially up here, it is too dry for the
most part.  But they are still takin' showers with me, so they do get a
little shampoo on them once in awhile.  And don't worry ya'll, my personal
care products are all natural and frangrance free.  I have severe chemical
allergies.  So Body Shop is the way to go for me.  And the brazil nut
shampoo sure do make them fuzzies smell mighty good.
 
I have noticed that they get the terrible itchies up here.  Down south I
would say fleas, but I haven't found one of them varmints yet here.  So I
have decided it is due to the dryer conditions here.  It is not the constant
humidity of Houston, even when it is high here.  So they all get rubbed down
periodically with Jojoba or Sweet Almond oil.  Just a dab will do ya, and it
makes their coats just glisten in the sunlight.  And sense my Sweet Almond
Oil is for me, it has an Egyptian musk added to it.  Makes 'em smell so
good, and blends quite nicely with their natural eau de parfume.
 
Bob Church postulated some time ago about diet affecting the ferret's
ability to contract ece.  Specifically about a varied diet, with fruits
added in, might help cleanse the colon much better than kibble alone, thus
not allowing the virus time to set up house.  I do personally know of one
ferret, who to date, has been exposed multiple times to ece in the last few
months.  In fact, ece has been active in his household since the start of
the year.  And he hasn't gotten it at all.  And let me tell you, he is the
champion beggar of all time, and his favorite foods are melons, cherries,
raisins and grapes.  I mean, he recognizes Sonic cups because they contain
cherry limeades.  The going joke is if he ever got out, you would find him
in the nearest melon patch.  And like I said, he hasn't shown one symptom of
ece, not one.  And he has had surgery in this time, so technically, he
should have been more prone to it.
 
I bring this up after listening to an Anthro prof talking about how we
attribute some problems to hormones (teens, menopause) and that they are not
problems elsewhere.  He attributes this to cultural attitudes.  But I think
it may be diet, the cultures that have no problem eat a higher concentration
of foods with phyto-estrogens in them.  And with all the literature I have
read over the years, I have come to realize one thing.  Diet plays a great
part in disease.
 
So feed your ferts a varied diet.  Give them meats and bones and fruit and
such.  But do so in moderation.  I fed my dogs fresh bones with marrow in
them.  They loved them.  And they aren't as true a carnivore as ferrets,
so...
 
Ok, off my soapbox. And yes, Maggie is applying the above to herself and
her mystery gi problems.
 
Maggie Mae and the Mid Mo Mustelids
[Posted in FML issue 2053]