E Mead ([log in to unmask]) wrote:
>I was just curious as to what is best, health reasons or whatever, for
>a hob when being neutered, is it best to leave his scent glands in or
>have them taken out and why? I plan on eventually adding another
>ferret to my business and am curious.
Watch this become a debate :p
I don't speak from a medical perspective, but I can say from experience
that descenting doesn't reduce the general odour of ferrets - it's the
desexing that makes all the difference - and the smell they make when
they use the scent glands, while it's awful, dissipates quickly. I
reckon that a brief bit of stink when they get excited is something
that humans should just have to deal with if they want to keep ferrets,
much the same way as dog owners should deal with barking (rather than
opting for debarking) and cat owners should deal with clawing (rather
than opting for declawing).
In short, I'm saying that I think (and I have not seen any evidence
otherwise) that descenting is a cosmetic process, and completely
unecessary, and I strongly recommend against it. Various countries
where ferrets are kept commonly refrain from descenting (it's almost
unheard-of here, and illegal in Britain at last check), and since
there's no observation of ferrets being less healthy overall in these
countries (not that I'm aware of, that is - I could be wrong), it seems
there's nothing to suggest that keeping the scent glands leads to any
health problems.
Im my opinion, desexing can be seen as a kindness (even for the males,
given how much the poor things stress out when they can't breed), but
not so with the descenting. And as far as I'm concerned, the fewer
healthy parts one takes out of one's pet, the better - descenting seems
like something done for the owner's comfort, which I don't believe is
necessary.
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Fox Lee: The Girl Your Mother Warned You About
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"The DM is wrong, and his view of alignment is stupid. Throw a brick
at him." - Yak of Darkness, WotC boards
[Posted in FML 5665]
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