To Marc Jurriens, who wanted to know about the relative merits of a
scented vs. a descented ferret:
 
My first ferret, Elie Wiesel, was a male Marshall farms kit purchased at
a pet store.  He was neutered and descented when I bought him.  2 years
later I bought a sterling silver jill, Pixel, who, at the age of 1, was
spayed but not descented.  My experience with these two is that Pixel is
only slightly smellier than Elie *until* they get to wrasslin' or Pixel
is startled, at which point she "sprays".  This results in two skunky
ferrets and a skunky room.  The smell, fortunately, doesn't linger very
long, and Pixel hardly ever does it anymore anyway.  My vet feels that
descenting a grown ferret is cruel and unnecessary, and I would tend to
agree.  However, Elie is now 3.5 yrs old, and I don't see any ill effects
from the descenting if it is done correctly and at a relatively young
age.  Just my two scents :) worth.
 
Gail Snyder
[Posted in FML issue 1195]