Jessica, It's not normal for a ferret to scratch herself to the point of having sores. I would seriously consider getting another opinion... Here's a few things you could try, though: Add some oil to her diet. Linatone is great, but you can only give a small amount. For my dog, who has serious dry skin problems, I put some olive oil on her food. (Fara also mentioned Mira Coat as a Linatone alternative. I've never been able to find it, though.) Start sprinkling a little brewer's yeast on her food. This should help keep the fleas under control (it's possible she's having a problem with them, even if you can't see them). And, there's also some evidence that it helps avoid insulinomas. Use a ferret cream rinse when you bath her. I assume you are already feeding her a good diet... A great trick for clipping nails is to put a drop or two of linatone on her belly. She'll be so busy licking it off, she'll barely notice what you're doing to her paws. And don't squeeze the paws, they *HATE* that! Cut her nails to just short of the quick (the pink part). If you accidentally cut into the quick it will bleed and really hurt her. I wouldn't use any ointment on her cuts. She'll just lick it right off. You could probably dab them with hydrogen peroxide to avoid infection. PSYHANK, Make a ferret "stop quickly when he's doing something wrong"... Ha, ha, ha, snicker, chuckle.... ;-) Sorry, but as you've found, ferrets aren't much for obedience. I guess my only advice is that whatever you do, be consistent. My method is to say their name in my "you had *better* do what I say" voice. But there was still a considerable amount of training involved to get them to associate that with the realization that they had better do it, or they'll get in trouble. Start out by saying their name in *THE* voice, if they don't stop say it again, sterner, then if they still don't stop go discipline them. Eventually they will learn what it means when you use that tone when saying their name. Mine are pretty good about listening to me now. Although it does depend on the amount of fun they are having at the time. If it is a low to moderate amount of fun, they are very good at obeying. If it's a moderate to high amount, I usually say their names a few times, then have to get up and run towards them before they stop. If it's a very high amount of fun, they won't pay any attention at all, and I'll actually have to walk over and physically stop them. Everybody, My sister is still at the hospital, but she's supposed to be going to Magee rehab center on the 10th. (Yea!) They have pulled all her drains, so now all she has left is the feeding tube (into her intestines). She's has gotten 3 passes to leave the hospital. The first she went on a date with Mike to see Terminator 2, then the stopped by their house, and she got to read Alex his bedtime story. The second we all went to the mall to shop for some birthday presents. And the last one she went home to see Alex's dinnertime, then they went out to the movies again. She's really enjoyed the passes, although it's also depressing because she realizes how much her disability is going to affect her, and of course it's depressing to go back to the hospital after being free for a few hours. They started tube feeding her again today (she's been intraveniously fed most of the time, with a few unsuccessful tries at tube feeding). Hopefully that will go well, and she'll be able to eat real food again soon. Another problem has surfaced recently, though. Her stomach isn't draining fast enough. Hopefully this is just because she hasn't used it in almost 3 months, but it could be a result of the spinal cord injury, thus permanent. Since they had to remove 1/2 of her stomach, anyway, that will mean she'll have to eat about 6 small meals a day. That will really make life difficult, especially with a young child. Thanks again for all the support! - Nancy Nancy Hartman CIS graduate student [log in to unmask] U. of Delaware President and founder, Delaware Valley Ferret Club Owner of Percy & Bree [Posted in FML 0185]