Hello everyone.
 
I've been thinking of things that might help to get us all into a nice
round of discussion.  Things that can help us all.  Informative things.
I'll throw one out here and let's all give it a go, shall we?  This is
something that every single person on this list, aside from the few that
don't actually have a ferret yet, can comment on.
 
I've mentioned that Elvis (who is alive and well at my house!) gets to play
in the bathroom while I get ready for work in the mornings.  Well, the
other day I decided to take him into the shower with me and give him a
bath.  Apparently he's never had one before and would probably like it if
he never had one again, thank you.  As I was washing him, it occurred to
me to ask folks what shampoos they use for their ferrets.  How about
conditioners?  How about color additives?
 
I, myself, use a shampoo from a local distributor, JB Wholesale.  The
shampoo is their Golden Almond 16-1 Shampoo.  I've used this product ever
since I began showing my cat.  It's easy rinse, smells nice and leaves a
nice shiny coat.  There are also color enhancers available for black and
white coats.  There used to be a bronze enhancer too, which I have, for red
coats.  It's not in their catalog anymore tho.  I use the white enhancer
for my albinos and DEW and high-white silvers.  They also offer a
conditioning rinse, but I'm using PPP Ferret Conditioner instead.  My
roommate bought all the PPP products for her 3 ferrets before she stopped
caring for them and they became mine to care for exclusively (Long story.
I'm sure alot of you have heard similar tales.).  I should probably finish
off the PPP shampoo and spray conditioner, but the Golden Almond Shampoo
works so well, I really can't be bothered.
 
Just a quick note to make folks smile.  After Hurricane Floyd came through
and did it's number on my area, we were banned from using the water to cook
or even clean with without having boiled it first.  This lasted a week!  At
my house, we put a huge pot on the stove, boiled the water, then cleaned up
with a washcloth.  For our hair, we used a cup to pour water and the Golden
Almond shampoo.  It's made to rinse quickly.  People shampoo takes a lot to
rinse out, especially from my long hair.  Let me tell you, the cats and
ferrets gave me funny looks when I grabbed their shampoo and then didn't
grab them for a bath too.  I know they were all confused but very, very
happy too!
 
So people, tell us what shampoo and/or conditioner you use.  What
experiences have you had, good or bad?  Tell us your bathing tales of woe.
I'm sure we've all got them.
 
Be well, everyone, ferrety and hooman alike.
 
Anastasia Kidd
home email: [log in to unmask]
 
PS: I've sent off the blood samples for all 12 ferrets.  Keep your fingers
crossed for us!
[Posted in FML issue 2961]