Hi, Stephanie.
 
>Is there anything I can do NOW besides clean her, and Abe's, ears?
>In addition, what kind of long term affects can become of this?
>ALSO, can I get ear mites from them?
 
Your vet can check some of her ear wax under a microscope and tell you if
she has them or not.  If she has them, Abe, and any other animals you
might have will probably have them, too.  I have never heard of humans
getting ear mites, though.
 
If she has them, you will need to get some medicine from your vet for all
of your animals.  You will also neeed to wash their bedding to get rid of
any mites in that.
 
Long term, ear mites can cause secondary infections, deafness, or even
neurological damage.  It's a very serious infection.
 
>why they don't... does anyone have any clue why they wouldn't?  I
>am going to pick up this brochure shortly and fins out.
 
Maybe *that* clinic doesn't do distemper for ferret, but I can't hazard to
guess why.  Perhaps it's because so many ferrets eventually have allergic
reactions?  (Ok, I hazarded.) Anyway, I think this is highly irresponsible
on their part.  Distemper is too easy to catch and too deadly not to
vaccinate against it.
 
>3) I just bought the Drinkwell Fountain for my babies and it did just
>what I wanted... provides fresh cool water all day and nite and they are
>drinking a lot more!  It is obvious because the litter
 
I had one of these for my cats.  Be careful, though - because it holds so
much water and runs constantly, you may have a tendency not to change it
so often.  You still need to change the water every day or two.  I didn't
do this and frequently ended up with nasty, unhealthy water, so I stopped
using the fountain.
 
>4) Any ideas to keep my babies entertained when we are not home?  They
>have a ton of plush toys and balls and tubes.  But they are on free roam
>24/7.  Any ideas?  Playhouses?
 
Consider that they can get into trouble and you will not be able to help
them if you aren't at home.  It's always a good idea to cage them for
their safety if you're going to be away from home for any length of time.
 
Your suggestions are good - I don't have much to add.  What you can do is
put some of the toys away, and then rotate what they have available every
few weeks.  To them it will be like always having new toys!  A new toy of
any kind is always better than any particular type of toy.
 
Roger & the Fibonacci Ferts
[Posted in FML issue 3809]