A couple of threads I wanted to comment on that have received excellent
replies already:
 
Clumping litter: I have seen several cases in which clumping litter cau sed
problems.  This material clumps in the presence of water - so ferrets that get
it on their eyes, nose, prepuce, or anus can develop a tremendous amount of
irritation by the clumps of litter which are very tenacious.  With cats, there
generally isn't any problem, as they are much higher off of the litter.  But
with ferrets, you can run into a lot of trouble.
 
Clumping litter is like a lot of things - you will have some people whos e
ferrets will use it with no problem.  It is like cedar shavings, Christmas
tree lights, even the fellow who said he had his ferret declawed (I still am
shaking my head over that one, though.) Most ferrets will not eat a plastic
bag, but one of mine did.
 
I try to warn the FML about potentials of what may happen with various
products.  This is not to say that it will happen in every situation.
 
 
Baby's butt problem: This has been covered very thoroughly.  The 2mm
protrusion which you saw is a small rectal prolapse, which can occur whenever
a ferret is straining to defecate.  This most commonly occurs in young kits,
which have more GI problems than adults, but you can see it in older ferrets
too.  As Mary and Eric of Modern Ferret said, rectal prolapse most often
occurs with bacterial or parasitic infections, but we can see it after rapid
food changes, GI foreigh bodies, etc.
 
Sever prolapses are treated with a small suture placed around the anus in a
ring and drawn tight, so that the tissues stay in.  Small ones, such as your
ferrets, are usually treated medically, kept moist with a cream and some
topical steroid, to reduce swelling.  Whoever posted about Preparation H, I've
never thought of it, but it certainly seems like it ought to work!!!!
Preparation H, as I recall, is primarily shark liver oil and yeast derivatives
in a vaseline base.  It shouldn't be toxic, and certianly is easy to get ahold
of and very inexpensive.  I'll have to try it next time I see a rectal
prolapse.
 
Bruce Williams  [log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 1103]