From: cambrey willhelm 

All she talks about is "Oh they smell too much!"....

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Hello Cambrey;

I read your post about your mom and your desire for a ferret. Ferrets
just like dogs, cats, all animals including humans have their own body
odor/smell. Either you like it or you don't.. Your mother may just not
like their smell and never will. If this is the case the only thing you
can and should do is wait until you no longer live under your mother's
roof, have a home of your own, where you can make the rules.

I run a ferret rescue about 50 miles from you and I have to tell ya.
We don't adopt to minors and we will not adopt to adults who have a
problem with a ferrety smell. We did at one time when the people
visited us and saw that our ferrets did not reek; so they decided that
maybe it'd be OK. But we have found that they eventually decided that
they did not want ferrets and returned them. I will not do that to
another ferret knowingly.

Now if you do go ahead and get one in spite of your mother not liking
them understand that animals are just like people (and maybe more so
than people) in bonding to their family. I consider it irresponsible
and even cruel to get a pet and then to "get rid of it" when it becomes
an inconvenience to take PROPER care of them. The animal suffers when
"gotten rid of" more than the average person realizes.

There is good news - your mother could change her mind but that is
different than willing to chance it.

To minimize a ferret's natural odor/musk you bathe them less. When you
bathe an animal the sebeceous (oil) glands secrete fresh oil to replace
what has been washed away in the bath. Now in truth the glands, unless
clogged, always secrete some oil, but after a bath their musk odor
seems stronger than after a week or so. The oil that is secreted onto
their skin and fur gets rubbed onto their bedding as they sleep. So you
bathe the ferret less and wash his/her bedding more to minimize the
scent.

But remember - you will never make it go away completely. We all have
our own scents. Oh and you can cover it up with deodorizers but I
personally do not like that. Adding foreign substances to the coat
can attract dirt and depending on what you use it could make a ferret
sick -- even kill them.

Beyond what I have said all I can do is hope you can wait and wish you
lots of luck..

  ============================================================

Chocolate has a substance called theobromine, a naturally occurring
substance in the cocoa bean. It **IS** a poison to dogs, 

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For what it's worth - I asked a vet years ago about chocolate and dogs
and if it was true that chocolate was poisonous to dogs. He said that
the Theobromine (I usually can't remember the toxic substance's name
and have to look it up - TY MC) is poisonous to all animals if eaten
in a quantity sufficient to be toxic - even humans. He said weight and
a particular animals system determines the amt necessary to be toxic
on an individual basis.

In other words smaller dogs can tolerate less than giant dogs, unless
the small dog is resistant to the toxin and the giant dog is
particularily sensitive to the toxin.

Now if it IS toxic to all animals, if all else is equal (sensitivity)
then it follows that it takes less to be toxic to a ferret than a cow
or a horse. He did say the more refined chocolates [i.e. milk
chocolates] are less toxic than the dark and baking chocolates.

But this is my real point - Just as much as toxicity I worry about the
caffene stimulation for some ferrets - being bad for their hearts.

I also worry about the sugar being a problem contributing to
insulinoma. Sugar is cummulative.. Some in this treat, that fruit,
the kibble, and just a bit of chocolate.. it adds up.

I would think dental decay would be a problem also.. so whether you
give in and allow just a bit of sugar to enter your pet's body or throw
caution to the wind and give fruit, veggie, carbs, chocolate and corn
based kibble with no regard to the fact that ferrets are obligate
(hyper) carnivores, unless you are cleaning that plaque and bacteria
out of your ferret's mouth.. you are putting their dental hygiene and
overall health (again - insulinoma) at risk; I suppose as we all really
are, chancing tooth rot, pain.. and someday ferrety dentures.. can you
just imagine... LOL

Vicki

He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep, pain that cannot
forget falls drop by drop upon the heart. And in our own despair, and
against our will, comes Wisdom by the awful Grace of God...Aeschylus

[Posted in FML 5522]