I know my position is not the most "politically correct", but I firmly
believe that descenting ferrets is NOT a bad thing.  I've been a "ferret
vet" for ten years, and I've seen many, many non-descented older ferrets who
get serious infections or tumors of the anal sacs.  If you've ever seen a
ferret die from anal sac adenocarcinoma you would not be anti-descenting.
Once the tumor has been detected, it is too late for removal of the anal sac
to provide much benefit.  Any treatment at that point almost always involves
rectal amputation and chemotherapy.The de-scenting procedure is a simple,
quick surgery that can easily be done during a spay, dental cleaning,
lumpectomy, or whatever.  The recovery time in most cases is about 48 hours.
The critical thing, as in all surgeries, is that it be done by an
experienced, competent surgeon.
 
Sincerely,
Deborah Kemmerer DVM
[Posted in FML issue 2196]