*wipes brow with tired hand* Another ferret bath day over in this house. It's such an ordeal, for me and the gang! Taz, Coffee, Daphne and Grendel all take the nail-clipping and tooth brushing fairly well (although Coffee and Daphne fight the brushing) because they all like Petromalt and will lick it happily off their tummies while I clip. Gretchen and Tia are both afraid of the clipping. Gretchen likes baby food and I've tried that on her tummy, to no avail, she still runs away. Tia doesn't like anything but food, not even Ferretone, so that's out with her as well. It takes me as long to clip either of them as it does to clip the other four all together. Mostly I try to be very gentle and snuggle them a lot and talk softly, letting them know that they'll be alright; but I'm also a bit stern about it, trying to let them know that it has to be done, however much they struggle. It eventually gets done. Of course, they ALL date the ear cleaning and bath. Even Grendel, who likes water. Taz always poops all over me. They also hate teh spray bottles I mix the shampoo and conditioner in (both are a 15 to 1 concentrate, one tablespoon per 8 oz spray bottle) but it's easier than pouring it and ending up with it everywhere. It's good shampoo too. Probably the most hated thing, even though it's the quickest, is their heartworm medication. I always get a whine and a vigorous headshake when they have to taste it. EAr cleaning, while hateful, sometimes is the easiest, possibly because I have a put-it-in-rub-let-them-shake-it-out kind and they like the ear rubbing. Well, after all is said and done, I'm always scratched everywhere, messy, and dripping wet, so it's my turn for a bath. From start to finish, for all six ferrets and me, it takes two hours. :) On another note, Grendel (not quite five months old and unneutered) is definately feeling his oats. He's constantly trying to mount Gretchen and Tia, the littlest two in the gang (probably because Coffee and Daphne are big enough and tough enough to still beat the crap out of him, although they are rapidly loosing that ability, Taz is still the only one who can really give Grendel a run for his money). IN fact, I found bloody teeth marks on Gretchen's neck during the bath today. A couple days ago we turned the back bathroom into a temporary ferret room. He has food, water, his favorite jingle toy, his favorite tunnel toy, a carrying case to sleep in, a terry cloth pillow, and his litter box. He's not really thrilled about the solitary confinement, but we let him play with the other five at least one hour a day. We want to breed him at least once before we get him snipped, but I'm not sure he's actually capable yet, just thinks he is. We have another five weeks or so to hold on until his six month birthday -- I don't know if we can make it. :) Michelle -- Meet my pets. The ferrets (Taz, Coffee, Daphne, Tia, Gretchen and Grendel), the gerbils (31 permanent residents and various babies), the zebra mouse (Racer), the rats (Timmy, Sue, Princess, Brownie and Perrin), the budgie (Sky), the cockatiels (Summer and Snow), and the fish (various). [Posted in FML issue 1302]