What a humorous post...you are dubbed "Queen of Clean". >nauseating retching commences... That sounds like a good thing to take note of... do not drink ferret water...or Mexican water. >(crummiset thing was that I broke a couple of toes monday night Hope they heal quickly...I know how that feels. >I was wondering what the bathing preferences of other owners are. What >do you use and how often do you use it? Originally we washed them a day or two after they came home..just to get the pet store off of them. Of course they're more pungent after a bath... I used mild animal shampoo. Recently I've introduced my new babies to the joys of playing in water. I put some water in a clean kitty litter pan and placed it in the bath tub...then I put the fuzzies in the tub and let them explore the water for themselves. Mostly they just snorkel in it and walk around in it... when I'm done I dunk them in and lightly rub them, no soap..just water... a bit warmer than you would like it for a bath...then I dry them off and put a towel on the floor so they can do it themselves as well. After they're mostly dry, they look like little frizzy fuzzies...so I brush them all over and that's it. I've found that they do not smell as much as when we first got them...and from all the things I've read, the less you wash them..the better. I tried a clean dirt bath...but it's humid here in Florida and the dirt just gets everywhere....so again I rinsed them off afterwards..they liked playing in the dirt. I try to brush them every day, it keeps their coat shiny and there is less shedding. If your fuzzies REALLY stink or get really dirty then I suppose it's time to shampoo them.. As for ear care, the vet gave me a bottle of ear cleaner that is basically made from vinegar and a couple other things. The bottle says it's an antiseptic ear wash...it works just fine, I either put a few drops in their ear and then swab it out, or put some on the swab directly. I do this at least once a week or more...the gunk builds up fast. The vet also gave me REVOLUTION for cats, 5-15lbs.. you put 3-4 drops on each fuzzy, on the back of their neck, each month and it "prevents" fleas, ticks, heartworm, ringworm and hookworm AND ear mites...that's pretty good. You need a prescription for it and can buy it fairly cheap at one of those online pet med places. Hope this helps out your spread sheet!! Angela (minky and pandora...my first fuzzies!) [Posted in FML issue 3877]