>From: Leanne Fletcher <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Ferret Ear >Cleaning > >I have to strongly disagree with Mr. Lipinski's post regarding using >Fleet Enemas to clean ferret ears. I am a (human) audiologist/hearing >specialist. Using irrigation in humans to clean ear canals can cause >perforation of the tympanic membrane (eardrum) if done incorrectly >(angled in the wrong position), with too much pressure, and/or with >a weakened ear drum. There is also the problem of leaving an ear >canal wet - this increases the chance of developing an external canal >infection. I would never attempt to remove wax from a human ear >without being able to visualize an intact eardrum and to ensure that >the skin appears healthy. I then check the ear after cleaning to >ensure that no damage was done. If you have to irrigate ferret ears, >I would use a product designed for it, not a product designed for the >other end of the body! Guten Tag, Frettchen Volk, (German: Good Day, Ferret People) You know, the best thing about the Fleet enama is its really neat bottle and elongate, flexible and soft nozzle. It's exactly 2 and 9/16 inches long and comes with a protective cap that conveniently snap locks on the nozzle and pretty much reduces fluid leakage from the soft, plastic-like squeeze bottle, if inadvertently left on its side, rather than standing upright. Thank you Leanne for your concern. You have taught me that which I didn't know, even though most of your delightful post was about cleaning human ears. I'm so glad you didn't mention using a toothpick to stick into the ear canal, twirling it round and round, and pulling out that caramel colored gunk that plugs up my ear from time to time. Let me tell you, in no uncertain terms, if you plunge in too fast and too far, WOW! it really hurts like the devil. I'm ignorant of the canal wax composition, but it tastes bitter. Have you noticed that too? As I understand, the purpose of this complex canal secretion is purposely sticky and each person's wax smells altogether different from another persons. I've watched dogs go for another dog's ears right away, sniff and then sometimes repeatedly lick the ear. I have not noticed ferrets doing this. Maybe others have. The ferret's ear drum, or, as you call it the tympanic membrane, must be only a fraction of the size of ours and I assume it is just as sensitive to sound energy waves as ours, even though it is so small by comparison. Somewhere I learned that the tympanic membrane does not appear to move at all, to the naked eye, that is, but its vibratory oscillation has been measured in humans at a distance equal to the diameter of a hydrogen atom. That ain't very much, like measured in units called angstroms, where one angstom is 3.9370 inches times 1 times 10 to the minus 9 power Written another way it looks like this: 0.0000000039370 inches. You know, I have a hard time trying to visualize something this minute. I can't say how far the ferret tympanic membrane moves in response to sudden bursts of air pressure, both positive and negative. However, it's not responsive at all to air pressure modulations if its ear canal is plugged. Let me share this with you. We know the length of the ferret's ear canal is about one inch in length and it is not a straight shot to the ear drum. The canal is crooked, sort of. Its got a bend in it, some say the bend, or elbow, is about 90 degrees. I'm going out on a limb here, but you can quote me, to wit: not one in 10,000 people, including vets, have ever seen a tympanic membrane in a living and normal ferret. What do you think of that, Pilgrim? Getting back to that bitter stuff, ear canal wax, we all know that the lining of the ear canal has a multitude of tiny secretory pores that secrete wax for the purpose of catching French dirt (debris) particles that somehow infiltrate the canals. In effect the wax protects the ear drum from having to carry a load of detritus, a load which would dampen the oscillatory movements of the tympanum. Such a load will give the ferret, I would surmise, the sensation of a hard of hearing person. He would be partially or even totally deaf. But wait. As Algore says, "You ain't seen nothing yet!" because there's another culprit to be aware of. Perhaps even more disruptive than just the concretions of built-up wax deposits. This culprit's name is Otodectes cyanotis, the common ear mite. These mites are spider or scorpion like and are in the Arachnida class under the order of Acarina. Under the microscope the genus Otodectes female mite is characterized by having suckers on legs 1 and 2 and a non-lobed abdomen. The species cyanotis mite are not easily seen, even under the brightest of lights and congregate deep in the ear canal in close association with the tempanum. More often than not, their presence is noted from ear wax removed from the ferret and examined under magnification and bright light. The very tiny eggs are seen in profusion and are evidence that ear mites are present. Cyanotis mites, as is the case with most other mites, are highly resistant to organic pesticides. Pesticide effectivity is unfortunately detrimental to the health of the ferret in most cases and more safely treated by a veterinarian. The one chink in their armor however is their spiracles or breathing holes located on the sides of the abdomen. When these spiracles or breathing holes are blocked for a time, the mites will die of asphyxiation. There is a simple way of blocking their air supply without risking the health of the ferret from the application of an arachnicide. This is the method employed by yours truly, Edward Lipinski. It must be noted here that the defecation products of a large infestation of cyanotis mites in combination with the normal ear wax secretions forms a chemical compound that tends to solidify this compound and makes its removal very difficult and certainly not welcomed by the ferret under going treatment with the Fleet enema fluid. The exact process used here at Ferrets North West Foundation wherein Fleet enema fluid* is used is a proprietary secret and cannot be revealed to anybody. The only persons who will receive this information must adhere to the following procedure: Precisely at 9 PM on April 21** and every April 21 thereafter, the anointed shall solemnly bow in a westerly direction towards Mercer Island, Washington, and with hands folded in a supplicant posture, utter the following epithet: Para todo hay remedio sino para la muerte. (Spanish: There is a remedy for all things except death.) Thereafter consider yourself anointed . . . No cheating now; be nice. Edward Lipinski *CAUTION ! ! Do not undertake use of the Fleet enema in any manner whatsoever; at least not until you have been solemnly anointed and provided with the detailed instructions necessary to success. **April 21, a very significant birthday anniversary. [Posted in FML 6236]