Hello to all!  I thought I'd respond to several concerns raised in todays
postings with my exxperience, humble though it may be.
 
1. Nail Clippers - I have found that clippers intended for human toenails
(the big ones) work well, but they tend to spinter the nail which then can
get caught on bedding.  They sell nail clippers intended for rabbits, at
least that's what I bought them for, that work really well.  They look like
two crescent shapes that when they come together look like a circle.  It
cuts the nail from all sides rather than just two so it tends to make a
cleaner cut.  I'm sure a pet store would have them, but if you live in the
country, a "feed and seed" store would probably have them much cheaper.
 
2. Carpet Shampoo - I have found that a bucket of soapy water made with
Dawn Antibacterial dish soap, a scrub brush and lots of elbow grease seem
to work pretty well.  What I do is vaccuum the area, scrub it with the
Dawn-water and then blot the carpet with a towel.  Put a fan on it until
the carpet is dry, then sprinkle with baking soda and leave for at least
1/2 hour, but more like 2 hours if you can keep various members of your
family off of it.  The baking soda absorbs excess odors and is cheap.  Then
just vaccuum everything up.  This can be labor intensive but it's cheap!  I
usually put the ferrets in another room or their cage as they tend to like
soapy things.
 
I hope this helps.  Please e-mail me if you have any questions about my
crazy methods.
 
Laura Fernando
[Posted in FML issue 2641]