Boy, the phone lines must have been bright red from the two anonymous posts I received concerning pug faces and dental problems. The birds must have toasted their toes. I learned swear words I never knew before, and I thought I knew them all. Besides my opinion that anonymous flames are the work of cowards, there was some clear misunderstanding of my statements. First, if you read the post, I mentioned my knowledge of such occurances in ferrets is limited. Second, I have never seen or heard of a pug ferret, so if someone is developing one, I wouldn't know of it at all, nor of the breeder, so my statements couldn't have been directed at anyone. Third, my statements are true, as any brief search through the literature or discussion with dental vets will prove; pug-faced animals often have severe dental problems relating to diminished jaw length. Last, while I am clearly against the "bulldog" look in ferrets, I never said I disliked short faces nor that people shouldn't try--I said the problems effecting other pugged species should be studied before such attempts are made. The problem is not pugness as much as it is tooth size. The genes that regulate the length of the jaw are not those that regulate the size of the teeth. Only shorten the jaw, and the teeth become crowded, overlap, even stick out at strange angles. In other words, the ferret develops severe malocclusion, which can be painful, interfere with mastication, promote tartar and decay, and even lead to infections which could shorten the life of your pet. These are problems that have been well documented for several breeds of dogs and cats. However, if the breeder carefully breeds not just for short faces, but also for smaller teeth, the problems could be minimized, but it would take much longer. I also realize that different people have different tastes; some might enjoy the sight of a short-faced, crowded-mouthed animal, with fangs askew. IMHO, the benefits of breeding programs designed to change existing biological systems should be measured against the cost to the animal; its the only ethical thing to do. It's simple genetics to breed ferrets as large as otters, or as small as weasels, get different colors, create different head and body shapes, even cause different eye colors. Let the market dictate when the changes do no harm. But is it worth it when the changes harm the sweet little beasties? On another note, I was asked what kind of cage I use for my 13 fuzzies. Well, I don't use a cage as such; I use a pet porter/dogloo. I buy the largest size (about $60 at Sam's or similar), and add a middle floor (masonite with a front 1/2 by 1/2 inch rail--allows better grip to hoist themselves up). I throw away the plastic nuts, and replace them with wingnuts. I wire a porta-pot to the lower rear, wire a food tray to the front top, add a water bottle, some sleeping towels, and suspend a hammock from the top, and I'm in business with the business. I can stack three on top of each other--they are very stable. They are easy to wash, they have solid floors and very little wire to twist legs, or catch toenails or male baculum. The bulk of the porter is plastic, so teeth aren't so easily damaged. In addition, they afford some privacy to the little beasties, which I think increases their sense of security. Since my fuzzies have 12-hour-run periods, they mostly sleep when in the porter-cage. I can safely house five or six in each one in a pinch, but usually limit it to three or four per porter. If the beastie cannot take the free period, then I limit the number to two, so there is room for some limited exercise. The porters, being plastic, are simple to treat for fleas--twice I had fleas introduced to my beasties by outside ferrets. Both times I just increased the porter cleaning from twice a week to daily. Since fleas drop off to lay eggs, cleaning killed all subsequent cohorts, and since they have a limited life span, the infestations were very limited, and the fleas were eliminated without resort to chemicals or flea collars. Finally, to help in the problem of ferret barriers, I use a very close copy of the door blocker shown in ferret central. I use 1/4 masonite cut to the width of the door, two feet in hight, and inserted into guides attached to the doorway. Although several of my beasties could make it over the barrier alone, the problem was completely eliminated by the addition of a "roll-bar." Cut a piece of plastic water/sprinkler pipe 1/4 inch shorter than the width of the doorway. Insert a section of doweling, and hot glue in place (broom handle works fine). Drill a hole, 1/4 inch wide and about an inch deep in each end of the dowel. Glue a short 1/4 inch dowel peg into the hole, and equally trim each side so the entire length of peg-dowel-peg just fits inside the doorway. Add a tiny drop of liquid soap or other lubricant to the end of each peg, then slide into the slots holding the barrier. If the rollbar doesn't roll, you may have to add peg-like extensions to the barrier-board to raise the bar off the barrier. When the fuzzies jump up and catch the bar, it rolls towards them, causing them to slip off. The plastic is hard, so the claws can't grip it. Mine work perfectly and even keeps Nosette out of the kitchen. I stained/painted my barriers to match the doorway. Bob and the Wayward 13 [Posted in FML issue 1469]