Sharon Burbine wrote:
 
>I have a question I'd like to ask regarding ferrets with intact anal sacs.
>... and when she bathes her ferrets which is monthly, she expresses their
>anal glands like you would a dog.  I'm courious if anyone else does this or
>if it is harmful to ferrets.
 
Okay, now I can't honestly tell you if this is *harmful* or not... but I can
tell you about my one (and only I hope!!) experience with the expression of
a ferrets' anal glands...
 
My very first ferret was Sylvester, an albino hob.  About 3 years ago,
Sylvester became ill... When this happened (quite suddenly), the vet had
never seen a ferret before.  Since this was our first experience with an
illness in a ferret, the vet took his time, checked out some books, and
used his previous experience with dogs as a guide... now, with dogs, he'd
sometimes found that expressing the anal glands could relieve some pressure.
What pressure, I don't know - I'm not the vet!! and as soon as I found out
what he was going to do, I left that tiny examination room.  I *knew* what
was going to happen!!  Needless to say, within seconds, that vet clinic was
CLEARED!  Every vet and vet assistant piled out of that little clinic as
quickly as their feet could get them out!  hehehe Sylvester didn't seem to
feel any better or worse, but the vet' definitely learned a new lesson that
day!
 
So, I'm sorry, I can't help with your question, but this is one episode
that, even after the death of my little boy a few weeks after then, still
makes me smile to this day.
 
 Sam
 ----------
 
Take a look at this Ferret Christmas Card! It's at:
http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~fanmail/cards.htm
[Posted in FML issue 2092]