Lucie explained how she found that her ferret could open the sliding screen
door of her sliding glass door.  With warm weather coming, ferret owners
should also be aware that most screens are now made of a fiber glass
material.  A ferret's claws will go through that like a hot knife through
butter.  The screen might as well not be there.
 
We had to replace all of the screen on our screen porch with metal screen.
I know that they can get through that too, but it does take longer and does
make a racket.  So far <looking for wood to knock on> they haven't tried
digging through the metal screen.
 
Live Virus Distemper Vaccine - not a problem unless . . . .
 
Ferret distemper vaccinations normally use a modified live virus to create
the immunity.  I think the poster yesterday may have been confusing the use
of modified live RABIES virus which is dangerous and may cause rabies in
ferrets.  The real danger is in using a canine distemper vaccine developed
in ferret cell cultures.  THAT does constitute a very significant risk of
distemper infection in a ferret.  FERRVAC, the only USDA approved CDV for
ferrets, is a modified live virus vaccine but is not cultured in ferret
cells.
 
Dick B.
[Posted in FML issue 2214]