Alexandra, whose posts I always enjoy, wrote: >Unless you are literally going to brush your ferret's teeth after each >raisin feeding (I have personally witnessed Bob Church brush a ferret's >teeth, but his Kung-Fu is very strong. It's way beyond most of us.) I once thought the same, but have since learned differently. The key is finding a toothpaste that your ferrets like the taste of--my guys are enthusiastic about Petrodex's poultry-flavored toothpaste for dogs and cats. I started them off by offering them a little taste of it before trying to brush their teeth. Now they will lick it straight from the tube if they can get to it when my back is turned. All brushing requires in my house is flipping the ferret belly-up in my lap, gently holding the ferret's head, letting them lick a little paste from the brush first and then working the toothpaste up into their molars while they happily lick their chops. No scruffing, no fighting, no toothpaste in my hair, etc. We brush teeth every day and it's a happy time for treats and cuddling :) It does help if you have a sleepy ferret to start with--I wouldn't attempt this on a wide-awake, looking for action ferret ;) The brush I use is meant for cats, so it's very compact. I wish I knew where to find a replacement one--I got it from the vet-dentist at my vet's office. I think it's not that dissimilar to the one that comes with the trial-size packet of Petrodex toothpaste that many vendors carry. So give it a try, you might be surprised! Regina and weasels with nice fresh chicken breath Regina Harrison [log in to unmask] http://users.rcn.com/badriya/ "Is that my business? Well, what is my business? Do I know? Did I ever know? Let's not go into that. You're not human tonight, Marlowe. Maybe I never was or ever will be... Maybe we all get like this in the cold half-lit world where always the wrong thing happens and never the right." --Raymond Chandler, The Little Sister [Posted in FML issue 5191]