After hearing that Martha Stewart had ferrets on her show, I went to her
website to see what she said about them.  I didn't want to misquote or
anything, so I just copied the relevant section:
[Moderator's note: I deleted some of it to try to keep us out of
copyright infringement trouble.  BIG]
 
   "Just like dogs and cats, pet birds and ferrets require regular
   bathing to ensure their health and well-being.  Fortunately, ferrets
   love water and will jump into a bathor, if youre not careful, even a
   kitchen sink full of dishwaterand happily splash and play.  Birds are
   less predictable; some are thrilled by the sight of water, while
   others shy away from it.  Either way, a daily bath is a necessary
   ritual. ...
 
   Bathing your ferret
   Ferrets love the water, which is fortunate, because they are the
   dirtiest of all house pets.  They like to crawl around in tight
   spaces, under furniture and behind the refrigerator, and their
   naturally oily fur picks up dirt as they gojust like little
   self-propelled dust-mops.  So while your floors might be clean, your
   ferret is probably very dirty.
 
   Marc demonstrates how he bathes his pet ferret...
   As with cats and dogs, you need to rinse a ferret really well, then
   gently wring out excess water, and dry him in a big, fluffy towel.
   The ferret will then proceed to rub on the towel and wiggle around to
   finish drying himself.  "
 
I guess it is better than it could have been, but she says that ferrets
are the "dirtiest of all house pets" and that they should be given a bath
and shampooed every day.  I try not to bathe mine unlessthey get into
something, and then just with water.  Once every three months, I might give
them a full bath, but probably even that is unneccessary if you keep their
bedding clean.  I don't know that much about birds either, but I am sure
they don't need to have a bath every day either.
[Posted in FML issue 2568]