Melissa and Potpie here. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions; Potpie, of course, believes that baths are unnecessary and insists the way around the dry skin problem is to drop the bathing altogether. :) A suggestion of my own for the person who was trying to get their ferret to stay put on their shoulder: Chuck and Fox Morton's 'Ferrets' book suggests filling a large garbage can with crumpled newspapers and leaning over that. When the ferret begins to slide, clap your hands loudly, let them fall into the mass of papers, and say 'No!' This startles 'em without hurting them, and after a few sessions of two or three repetitions they've apparently learned their lesson. Ferrets having the status that they do in MI, I've really no reason to teach Potpie using this method (or any), so I can't vouch for its effectiveness. I would be careful about how you let the ferret fall, though! Another question: I'm taking Potpie to the vet for her second annual shots, and before asking the vet for treatment I thought I'd ask here first. Potpie has a gland by the back corner of her eye, between her ear and eye, with a few whiskers coming from it. On the left side it's normal, smooth, covered with fur. On the right it's a bit swollen and red; it looks almost like the gland is stopped (pimple-ish, really). It's still quite small, doesn't seem to bother her, but I wanted to know if it's a sign of some other problem, or anything I can take care of at home before paying through the nose for some veterinary ointment. (Potpie's vet, btw, is quite an excellent ferret vet, and is one of the vets I've met who has a genuine adoration of the species. He spent a full 10 minutes cooing at Potpie in a goofy voice the last time we were in. I'll pass along his name and address to anyone else in the Washtenaw Cty area :). Thanks! Potpie's Melissa [Posted in FML issue 0728]