Hello to all you ferret lovers out there!  I've been lurking for a while but
I read the FML everyday.
 
  First off,  I would like to offer my sincere condolences to Dr. Williams
for his loss of Oscar, and to all who have recently lost a beloved pet.  My
heart goes out to all of you.
 
No. 2:  I've noticed some notes on teeth cleaning and would like to share my
teeth cleaning escapades with you all.  I too used to bring my ferrets to the
vet to have their cleanings.  I was uneasy about the anestisia but did not
feel comfortable with scaling them myself.  I see too many people at shows
that are inexperienced and hurt the animal.  So I decided that I was going to
get my guys used to getting their teeth brushed.  Now you all know that what
you want doesn't necessarily happen when the ferret doesn't want it.  But I
persisted and we've come to an agreement of sorts.  They hate it and I do it
anyway :).  At first they fought me tooth and nail (sorry for the pun) but
after a while they began to tolerate it.  I guess they feel it's more of the
torture techniques mommy does to them along with nail clipping, ear cleaning
and baths (YUK!)  Of my five, only one wiggles excessively so I feel lucky.
 I'm much more comfortable with this than bringing them to the vet (Cheaper
too!) and they don't regard this treatment as painful (like scaling) just
annoying.  My vet suggested the toothpaste I use, it's called CHX and comes
with it's own little tooth brush!
 
No. 3:  I hope this doesn't cross the lines of advertisement. (Bill?) [Nah] But
anyone interested in attending the Garden State Ferret Club's Championship
show, September 23, 1995, in Robbinsville, NJ, please E-mail me your address
and I will send you a show packet when they are printed.
 
Sorry this was so long.
 
Helen & The Ferrooties!
[Posted in FML issue 1114]