Dear Bob:
 
Thank you for answering my questions; I can only imagine how busy you
are.  Unfortunately, your answers brought up more questions.
 
***Also many thanks to the person who forwarded my questions to him.
 
Protein Level:
I think you misunderstood my first question about TF Baby.  What I meant
by "we're all concerned about protein" is we are looking for higher
protein/lower carb food.  Since TF Baby has more protein (42%) and lower
carbs (not sure about exact %--I thought I put the pamphlet in my Ferret
file, but it's not there), would it be a good food for adult ferrets
(provided they are not overweight since it has a bit more fat than most
adult food)?
 
Kibble:
Thanks for the heads up on Food Comparison Charts.  While I realize
that hard dry kibble is bad for teeth designed for tearing flesh, which
kibbles do you think are best as far as nutrition goes?  I ask for more
than one because not all kibbles are palatable to all ferrets, especially
mine.  And is mixing a few different kibbles better than just feeding
one?
 
Teeth Brushing:
The only baby toothbrushes I've seen are those finger things, which are
not only hard, if not impossible, to put on but Rocky can't stand those
things.  I don't think he likes have my finger in his mouth period!  I
have been trying to carefully scale his upper rear-most teeth, which have
the most tartar, and if I don't touch his gums he doesn't seem to mind
having his teeth scraped-- for awhile anyway.  Is this baby toothbrush
you are talking about like those tiny cat toothbrushes?
 
I have tried baby toothpaste, which I thought he'd love since it's
fruit-flavored, but he likes the CET chicken-flavored stuff much better
and my vet highly recommends it.  I mentioned flouride and the sample he
gave me does not have it, so I assume they don't use it anymore but some
vets may have old stock.  Which toothpaste is better (assuming no
flouride), and what do you think about Oxyfresh gel?  I put it on his
teeth and gums, after trying to brush/scale.  He doesn't like the stuff,
and wouldn't drink water containing the liquid Oxyfresh.
 
Professional Cleaning:
At what age is it not recommended to do professional cleaning because of
the anesthesia?
 
I had Rocky's teeth cleaned last year, but the tartar built up (on
upper-rear teeth) pretty quickly.  [My fault, I know; I haven't taken
very good care of my own teeth either during the past year, especially
flossing.]  My vet said I should try brushing aggressively for a couple
of months to see if I make any progress, but that we will likely have to
have them professionally cleaned again soon.  He is now 4 1/2 yrs. old.
 
***If anyone can answer any of my questions, I'd appreciate it since Bob
won't be able to for awhile.  Should I send him a copy of this?
 
Has anyone ever used C.E.T.  dental chews?  I've been told they look
like a piece of foam and cats end up just playing with them, which means
ferrets would probably love them!  What about the CET oral hygiene gel?
 
Dooks!
Shron & Rocky, the World's Most Picky and Spoiled Ferret
 
If you think your ferret(s) is picky, get this: Besides not drinking
water with Oxyfresh in it, Rocky will not drink mineral or any water that
has come out of a plastic bottle, has been sitting around for awhile
(even in glass), or is filtered [which my vet recommended].  He only
wants it strait out of the tap, preferable from the faucet or my washed
hands, or freshly poured from the tap into his glass bowls, which are
from my set of dishes made in France).  I had been giving him filtered
water for awhile and thought he wasn't drinking much, so I tested it out.
I put down first a bowl with filtered water, which he took one sip of,
then put down a bowl of fresh tap water and he drank and drank.  So if
your ferret doesn't drink much, try different waters.  Oh, and when he
was caged, he hated drinking out of the bottle, so I gave him a bowl
[Posted in FML issue 4977]