Hello You All,
Been watching the "stationary" litter box thread. Some wonderful ideas.
But have a suggestion to add. Attach a litterbox to the frame, however you
choose and then set another litter box inside of it. That way, it is always
easily removed, yet is secured.
More on nails- Nails should be trimmed around every 3-4 weeks, and I find
that I don't have to trim the hind nails but once for every couple of times
on the front. Trim slighty ahead of the blood supply, readily visible in
the nail. If the nails are very long, and you cannot trim them to the
appropiate length immediately, trim some, then go back a few days later.
This will make the blood supply draw up closer to the foot, and allow you
to trim more.
Shampoos- I have used all kinds of shampoo, with good results. I basically
stick to more natural products, because of my own allergies. They also tend
to be less drying, on average. And yes, I do use my own products some, but
as I stated yesterday, these are generally vegetable based. They also make
a wonderful all natural bar shampoo for pets that lathers very well and is
extremely long lasting.
Dry Skin- If you see an itchy ferret, and no sign of fleas, you are probably
dealing with dry skin. Especially with houses using forced air systems,
this can be a real problem, no matter the humidity outside. Get yourself a
humididty gage, and put in a cool air humdidifier is needed. I generally
keep my humidity levels around 40-50%, as suggested by my allergist in
Houston.
If the ferret is really itchy, a rub down with some cosmetic grade Sweet
Almond Oil or Jojoba oil works wonders. Just a couple of drops is all you
need. I rub around on my hands, then work into the coat. They smell good,
it won't hurt them and really helps.
Fleas- After living in Houston half my life, (I am currently in Missouri),
I learned to deal with fleas. It is tropical climate there, and you have
fleas year round.
You must remember, that when using flea products, even if safe for kittens
(which should be if used on ferrets) that you have to be careful. To really
get a head start on fleas, you must treat the animal, the bedding and the
environment. But the chemicals can overload the system very easily, and you
may inadvertantly poison the animal is not careful. If you see signs of
foaming at the mouth, stress breathing (shallow fast breathes), stumbling,
or dialated eyes, get ye to a vet pronto!
Organic flea control works very well and is less toxic than petroleum based
pesticides. BUT THEY ARE STILL TOXIC! For the house, encapsulated boric
acid products, like Flea Busters, works very well and lasts up to a year,
if you don't shampoo the rug. Steam cleaning will knock out the fleas, but
isn't residual.
Wash all bedding in HOT water. I also add Borax, available at the grocer's
in the laundry section, to my wash water. It eleiminates smells, and also
kills fleas.
Shampoo the animal. Any shampoo will kill fleas. Flea shampoos generally
have a residual effect. I simply don't use flea shampoos.
Most of the folks in Houston (I stay up with the flea problem there) have
been dissappointed with any of the flea applications, such as Frontline.
Heartworms- These are spead by misquitos. If a misquito bites an infected
animal, then bites your animal, transmission can occur. Heartworms are a
parasite native to dogs, but can infect cats and ferrets. Since they evolve
feeding on dogs, they do not infest at the same rate in other animals. But,
they are still nasty. And tests on cats and ferrets are not as accurate as
they are on dogs. A cat or ferret can test negative and still be infected.
One symptom seen in the shelters in Houston, is a ferret with heartworms has
neon green urine.
As for heartworm medicine, many vets paticularly those is warm year round
climates urge heartworm medicine to be given. According to a Heartguard
representative in Houston, you can use the small dog version, quartered, for
ferrets.
Not the Maggie and Mid Mo' Mustelid Mob (ok, so it is a hoarde at this
point)
[Posted in FML issue 2293]
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