Several things to comment on...first, someone asked about getting their
ferrets to take their heartworm pills.  In the South, heartworms can be a
year-round problem, and one of the local vets recommends heart worm meds
throughout the winter.  I use the milbemycin (sp?) tabs, which are
supposedly flavored.  One of my ferrets will chew up the tablet without any
coaxing; the other hates them.  So, I crush the tablet with the back of a
spoon and mix it in applesauce and he gobbles it down.  Maybe a similar
approach would work for other recalcitrant fuzzies.
 
Flea sprays: There was a local news story about a house that burned down due
to an explosion just before Christmas.  An investigation revealed that the
household had been treated with a flea "bomb." In this case, the "bomb"
lived up to its name.  Seems some of these products contain butane as one of
the so-called "inert" ingredients/propellants.  And I had just treated my
place with six cannisters of these things in early Dec.  Boy I'm glad my
stove doesn't have a pilot light!  Be careful of these things if you need to
use them.  Read all instructions, and don't use them in rooms where a spark
or flame could ignite them.
 
Beer: A number of posts back someone asked about beer-drinking ferrets.  My
guy Stimpy likes dark beer (takes after me :) now and then.  I make my own
dark ale and porter.  It has less than 4.5% alcohol by volume, some residual
live yeast, no preservatives and very little carbonation.  He gets maybe one
milliliter and no more.  I know some folks are absolutists about alcohol and
animals, but he gets an insignificant amount and not a drop more.  He *does*
like it.  The other ferret ignores beer totally and doesn't understand
Stimpy's interest in the bitter black stuff.
 
Vinegar: I have been using vinegar as a deterrent with my ferrets with some
success.  In particular, Stimpy occasionally latches onto rubber hoses,
erasers, etc.  and WON'T LET GO.  (He'll eat any kind of rubber or soft
plastic if he can take it off to his hiding place.) I found that opening a
bottle of white vinegar and passing the underside of the bottle cap under
his nose makes him let go.  His reaction is the same as humans exposed to
smelling salts.  I also will wet a cotton swab with vinegar and smear it
around the rim of the bathroom wastebasket which both ferts love to topple.
They'll reach up, smell the vinegar, give me a nasty look if I'm standing
there, and go elsewhere to play.  BTW, I *NEVER* expose them to the liquid
vinegar since it could hurt their eyes if it spilled.  Nice thing about
vinegar is that it doesn't stain and it evaporates away after a few minutes.
 
--Jeff Johnston  ([log in to unmask])
[Posted in FML issue 1467]