Flea products
Recently people have posted about flea bombs, collars, sprays and other
toxic methods of flea control.  Besides killing fleas, some of these
over-the-counter products can be very harmful to your ferrets, your family,
and you.  In the past few years, there has been a revolution in flea
control.  If you haven't tried Advantage or Frontline, PLEASE ask your vet
about one of these products.  For the most part they are available through a
vet, though they are MUCH LESS toxic than many of the traditional
insecticides.  I do not know which is better for ferrets; all I know is that
our house (dog, cats, ferrets) used to have an unsolvable flea problem for
much of the year (and I live in New England where we have cold winters).
When I started to use Advantage on my dog, the problem disappeared--no fleas
on the dog, in the house, on the cats, or on the ferrets.  Two of the vets I
know have said that the flea population has been decimated (hopefully the
fleas aren't building up their immunity).
 
DEW Biter
To Carolyn and Wills:
You mentioned that Wills is a dark-eyed white.  He may be deaf.  This might
not be why he bites, but it may explain some of his behavior.  If you know
for sure he is deaf, you can change your behavior to accommodate him.  It
took me a long time to figure out that my DEW Merlin is deaf, but when I
read the recent article in "Modern Ferret" it made sense.
 
Here are some things to look for: does he startle easily when he sees you?
A ferret with hearing knows you're coming a mile away; unless you are
stomping through the house, your little deaf guy gets quite a surprise when
you suddenly appear out of nowhere.  Is he an incredibly heavy sleeper?
This is normal to an extent, but Merlin is often still sleeping when the
other guys are already up and playing in the house.  Ferrets will squeal if
their companions are playing too rough; deaf ferrets miss out on this signal
to "cut it out, you're hurting me!" My personal feeling is that (especially
since he's so young and seems to be having a hard time with life) a
companion for him (one who doesn't bite) would make him feel better.  There
are a number of people on the fml who know a lot about deaf ferrets; perhaps
they could comment.  Best wishes!
 
Ronnie
Ralphie, Harry, Prince Charming and Merlin's mom :-)
[Posted in FML issue 2080]