Jon.....
The best way to see if you are allergic to ferrets is to actually play
with one for a while. The pet store will most likely let you do this. I am
extremely allergic to cats but don't have any problems with ferrets.....but
I have heard of other people who are allergic to cats AND ferrets. I think
it depends on the individual so your best bet is just to check it out.
Ferrets still have a musky odor after they are descented. They really don't
have much of an odor but you can smell it. I gave mine a bath about every two
weeks and by the end of that period I could definitely smell her. The odor is
stronger if they are excited a lot. I really didn't notice it but my boyfriend
could tell if I had been holding her. The bath part is really very simple....
I just put some water in the tub (mine liked to be able to touch bottom)
and used a ferret shampoo from the store. It only took about 5 minutes. The
tricky part was to get her to hold still to dry off....she always seemed to
go ballistic after a bath to get some of her scent back.
The main things that I had problems with were plants getting destroyed if
within reach (and somehow there always seemed to be a way to reach them :-) )
and foam rubber or thin plastic that punctures easily.....oh...and insoles of
shoes or leather shoes were fair game too. I have heard some of the people
on this list talk about their ferrets being around their computer and not
having a problem. I think it's one of those things that you just have to see
about and if the ferret decides to chew it then find a way to keep it out of
ferret reach(although this is difficult).
Be very careful about the size of gaps between wires in the cage you get.
I can't remember what size mine was but I had no escape attempts and
when I moved to an illegal state I gave her to a friend who bought a cage
that the gaps were only about 1/4" wider and she didn't have much of a problem
escaping. Maybe someone else could supply good wire gap measurements.
Anyway...good luck.......
Deb
[Posted in FML issue 0263]
