Hi! Dooks and hugs to all Ferrets and their humans!
 
This is my first post here after lurking for about a month, so allow me to
introduce myself and my fert-kids.  I'm in Camdenton, MO (Lake of the
Ozarks) and have 2 wonderful sable MF Ferrets purchased in Springfield.  The
oldest is Hobbes, who I got just after Christmas (at Pet Warehouse) and is
about 7 months old now.  He's quite laid back most of the time and likes
being held and gives lots of kisses (although I'm not sure his motive isn't
based more on the taste of muy mustache than it is affection!  <g>).
Calvin, however is a little terror (sometimes reminds me of a cat my sister
used to have who was named Terrazar, but who's vet had his name down as
Terror Czar, not due to misunderstanding the name but based on his
personality <g>!) He's 5 months old and I got him in Feb.  (from PetAbles).
They live in their own 12'x8' "room" that I created by building a 3ft high
partition to separate a portion of my L-shaped living room.  They are put in
their cage when I'm out of the house, otherwise they have the run of their
room.
 
Anyhow, I took them to my sister's in Springfield this last weekend and
unfortunately (due to her 2 dogs and 2 cats) the fuzzies picked up a load of
fleas.  I should have been better prepared for this occurance I know, but I
wasn't.  I've read some stuff here recently on fleas but had a few things
I'm not sure about.
 
Flea bombs or foggers- Is any brand safer for ferts than others or are they
all about the same?  Of course me, the ferts and any foodstuffs won't be
present when fogging, but after clearing the place out is there any special
precautions other than whats on the package?  I wonder about toys such as
stuffed animals.  Should they be left to be fogged or removed?  Should they
be washed afterward?  Should I vacuum after fogging and before allowing the
ferts in?  Is there such a thing as a "mini" fogger that I could use to
de-flea the car?
 
Flea shampoos- I have read that shampoos made for baby kittens are safe for
ferrets, but in looking this weekend all but one had warnings against using
them on kittens less than so many weeks old (# of weeks varied somewhat) and
those also had warnings not to swallow or get in eyes (for animal and human
both).  One brand had only a statement that it was approved (by vets) for
cats over 6 weeks old, but the main ingredient was the same as the only
active ingredient in one of the multiple warning brands (D-Limonene).  The
no warning brand also contains: Micronized oatmeal, tea tree oil, aloe vera,
lavender, citronella, bay leaf extract eucalyptus oil, cedarwood oil and
pennyroyal oil.  I'm wondering if this would be safe to eyes and whether
some of these oils would be bad for my kids.  One thing about this brand is
that it's labeled only as something to releive ictching and skin problems
associated with fleas and not as something to get rid of them, so they
seemed a bit more honest in that respect than most.
 
Flea powder- I found none that didn't have the same basic warnings as the
shampoos.
 
Diatomaceous earth- has anyone used this?  Does it work?  Where do you get
it?  (the article I saw on it warned against the type used in pool filters)
 
Garlic and yeast- how about this? Will these hurt ferrets (assuming I can
even get them to eat any <g>)? How much would you give them? What type of
yeast?
 
Herbal flea collars- will they hurt ferrets and are they any better than the
chemical type (which in my opinion do absolutely nothing)?
 
The way I understand the flea problem is:
 
1 - that any complete shampooing of the fuzzy will drown any fleas on him at
the time and possibly soothe the bites but that basically nothing will keep
them off him although some shampoos and diet additives might help discourage
them.
 
2 - due to the life cycle and various stages of the flea, it will take
several bombings or other treatment of the house to get rid of newly hatched
ones, along with simultaneously getting the live ones off the critter.
 
3 - this Program stuff will kill adult fleas that bite the animal but
doesn't discourage them from biting.
 
Thanks and I hope this isn't too long!
 
(oo)   <--- Da Wild Weasel
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(oo) (oo)  <--- Calvin & Hobbes Da Ferrets
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[Posted in FML issue 1586]