Re: Got a question
>OK So I'm out of ferret shampoo and low on funds.I have some cat and dog
>flea shampoo,Tearless babypowder scented puppy shampoo, and of course my
>own shampoo.Which if any would be better to use on ferrets? ...
>What is a good flea shampoo?My son just had lice,can my ferret catch it?
 
If it were me, I'd probably use the people shampoo.  I started using baby
shampoo on the ferrets about a year ago and it seems to work fine.  It's
a WHOLE lot cheaper then the ferret shampoo too.
 
About human lice jumping ship for ferrets, I'd doubt it.  I wouldn't think
that they'd find the leather-tough hide ferrets have too appealing, but I
guess anything is possible.
 
Re: ferrets and new baby
>I was wondering if any of you have have brought a new baby in to a ferret
>home.  I am pregnant with my first and I have three ferrets whom I love
>dearly.  I was hoping you guys could help me anticipate problems before
>they arise since this is the first time I have dealt with this.
 
Been there done that.  Our son Robin is just over a year old.  The ferrets
all initially had different reactions - Squirt had mild interest, Pippi
would come up on the bed to greet him all the time until Robin got to the
failing arms age, Atlas ignored him most of the time, Jinx ignored him, and
Rosie tried to get him to play with her.  They all are ok with him now and
take varying degrees of interest in him.  And sometimes they avoid him - he
is extremely excited by the ferrets and squeels at them.  I've been working
with Robin to teach him how to be nice to animals - how to pet them and
not bop them or grab their ears.  It's a learning process that has to be
carefully supervised.
 
Although Atlas mostly ignored Robin, it isn't the entire story.  For the
first 8-9 months, Robin slept with us.  On two occasions when we were
sleeping in late, Atlas came up on the bed while we were all sleeping to
nip Robin.  I suppose he was blaming Robin for delaying us in giving him
his morning ferretone.  Anyways, we changed stuff around so this situation
couldn't occur again.  After month or two, Atlas seemed to deal with the
changes in our schedules and lives.  You could tell, he suddenly became a
much happier ferret.
 
You see, Atlas isn't a very smart ferret.  Any changes in the cosmic order
or at least his daily life is an evil thing.  So he was very upset by all
the changes.  He also had been mis-handled before living with us.  Getting
him past his fear biting was a long and difficult process.  I find he falls
back to that state occasionally when he doesn't know what to do to handle a
situation.  Robin has since petted Atlas a number of times and Atlas has
snuffled him.  All is well with the world.
 
I don't say any of this to scare you.  It shouldn't.  Other then Rosie
figuring out how to teleport into the crib[1], the two minor incidents with
Atlas have been the only problems thus far.  I relate this to point out
that your lives and schedules will be changing.  Your ferrets are all
individuals and some may handle the anxiety of those life changes better
then others.  Be sensitive to the fact that their lives are being altered
too.  They may initially have some adjustment problems, but give them lots
of cuddles and hugs and I'm sure they'll cope fine.
 
[1] Like all silver-mitts, Rosie has the teleportation ability.  While I
never saw exactly how she managed to get into the crib, I do believe she
shimmied up into the crib by using the wall that was on the back side of
the crib.  It was close enough to allow her to brace her back against the
wall while she was climbing.  I short-circuited this by moving the crib
out from the wall.  No repeat occurrences.
 
-kim, pippi, atlas, jinx, and rosie
 
Kimberly Burkard     |             _    Everything I needed to know in life,
Eastman Kodak Company|      _____C .._. I learned from my ferret:
Rochester, New York  | ____/     \___/  Frolic and dance for joy often, have
[log in to unmask]    |<____/\_---\_\    no fear or worries, and enjoy life.
[Posted in FML issue 2932]