Hey Everyone,
 
OK, OK, I take the hint.  Since I didn't have enough to do I got loads of
responses to the survey.  So this will be the last installment of tips for a
few.  But if you have any keep posting them or send them to me and I will
put together a collection.
 
Washing your Ferret--Out of my 19, all but one or two seem to prefer a
shower to a bath.  So if you have a ferret who freaks at bath time, invest
in a hand held shower for your tub.  Because of shear numbers, I will bathe
2 or 3 at a time, soaping first and then rinsing.  This helps because it
lets the shampoo stay on the ferret for a few minutes and makes sure to get
rid of the fleas.  I use the hand held shower to wet down and rinse, Georgie
even puts his face up to the stream of water.  And he hates baths.  Has a
fit if I put him into any standing water.  A rubber bath math or decals
helps to keep them from slipping.  Or if that is too much of a distraction
for your baby, put a towel in the tub first to improve traction.
 
Mine only get baths a few times a year, sometimes up to 4 months in between.
I figure I will go longer in Missouri that Houston, the flea problem just
cannot be as bad as there.
 
And I never use flea shampoo.  I buy a very mild, non scented non colored
kitten shampoo at Petsmart.  Any shampoo will kill fleas.  Flea shampoo is
just stronger and sometimes has a residual action.  I don't want either.
 
Door Guard--I have one whole bedroom for my guys, have to with 19.  They
have the run of the room.  To keep them out of the rest of the house, I put
quarter round a fraction of an inch outside the doorstop.  The doorstop is
the piece of wood that, when your door is closed, it rests up against.  This
is to the hallway on my inward opening door.  The gap is just large enough
to slide a piece of plexiglass down to "close" the door.  The plexiglass is
20" tall in my case, if your ferret jumps you can run vinyl tubing over the
top.  This is easy and doesn't look too bad.  You could also use masonite
(hardboard) instead of plexiglass.  To keep them from digging at the carpet,
I cut a piece of masonite to fit into the doorjamb, under the plexiglass.
 
Hope this has helped out.
 
Mo' Maggie and the 19 devious devils
[Posted in FML issue 1762]