I have been catching up on some back issues of ferret news and came across some items I wanted to comment on. Pet store ferrets: My husband and I have been led to believe that United Ferret Organization ferrets (UFO ferrets) are very well monitored for such things as humane methods of neutering and descenting at a young age. The pet stores in our area sell only UFO ferrets, they arrive already neutered and descented, with their initial shots, an ear tattoo, and a one-year health guarantee. They are usually around 6 weeks of age. We had wondered how such surgeries can be done at such a young age, but of our four ferrets, two are UFO ferrets and have never had any health problems. Another of our ferrets we obtained as a neutered and descented adult and has had to have surgery performed on him twice to remove the remains of his scent-glands. This particular ferret (Stanley) does not have the ear tattoo and so we assume is not a UFO ferret. Our vet seems to think that the descenting was performed by injecting a caustic substance into the glands, causing them to seal up without removing them. Has anyone heard of this method before? Are UFO ferrets descented this way? Another subject, non-descented ferrets. Our first ferret we acquired from a private owner at 6 months of age. He was neither neutered nor descented. We had him neutered right away because we'd read that hobs don't make the best pets, but put off descenting him. Talk about smell! Regular baths (every two weeks) kept his regular body odor in check, but when he got excited or startled he'd let loose with quite a stench! And since we lived in a non-pet apartment we decided that our otherwise quiet and trouble-free pet might give himself away! And finally, about cages. If you are at all handy with tools, and you certainly don't need to be a carpenter, it is easy to build a good one. We built our four ferrets a four-story ferret house. Wood, chicken-wire (hail screening works best for the floor surfaces), and staples are all that is needed. We found that overlapping shelves is a good way to create a tall cage that allows access to the top floors without any danger of the ferrets falling. Ours sure enjoy theirs! -Diane Kenyon (and Paul, Gooser, Stanley, Patty, and Ollie ) ([log in to unmask]) [Posted in FML 0150]