Margaret asked for suggestions on giving her ferret pred.  I am assuming
this is pill form.  We have always had the best luck pilling the ferret
similar to how you pill a cat.  It is usually a 2 person job, although I
have managed to do it alone when necessary.  With 2 people, on person
scruffs the ferret, and uses the other hand to hold down the front paws if
needed.  The second person (works best if the second person has the slimmest
fingers), prys the ferret's mouth open and uses one finger of one hand to
hold it open, while using the other hand to (one finger) to push the pill to
the back of the throat.  Then remove your fingers quickly, push the ferrets
head upward, and gently stroke the throat until the ferret swallows.  We
then immediately reward the patient with their favorite treat.  The process
actually takes very little time, and we are able to get even the much hated
Pepto Bismol in them this way.  Although we have been able to get some of
our kids to take pills crushed in treat, some will always manage to find the
pill and spit it out, especially if the medicine has a bad taste.  However,
by doing it the way I described above, they don't taste anything.  We are
able to use this method on even our smallest sprites.
 
BTW, the fingers going in the ferrets mouth should have short fingernail, so
you don't accidentally scratch the inside of the mouth.
Hope this makes sense (this is not easy to explain in writing), and is some
help.
Danee DeVore
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[Posted in FML issue 1704]