After hearing that Martha Stewart had ferrets on her show, I went to her website to see what she said about them. I didn't want to misquote or anything, so I just copied the relevant section: [Moderator's note: I deleted some of it to try to keep us out of copyright infringement trouble. BIG] "Just like dogs and cats, pet birds and ferrets require regular bathing to ensure their health and well-being. Fortunately, ferrets love water and will jump into a bathor, if youre not careful, even a kitchen sink full of dishwaterand happily splash and play. Birds are less predictable; some are thrilled by the sight of water, while others shy away from it. Either way, a daily bath is a necessary ritual. ... Bathing your ferret Ferrets love the water, which is fortunate, because they are the dirtiest of all house pets. They like to crawl around in tight spaces, under furniture and behind the refrigerator, and their naturally oily fur picks up dirt as they gojust like little self-propelled dust-mops. So while your floors might be clean, your ferret is probably very dirty. Marc demonstrates how he bathes his pet ferret... As with cats and dogs, you need to rinse a ferret really well, then gently wring out excess water, and dry him in a big, fluffy towel. The ferret will then proceed to rub on the towel and wiggle around to finish drying himself. " I guess it is better than it could have been, but she says that ferrets are the "dirtiest of all house pets" and that they should be given a bath and shampooed every day. I try not to bathe mine unlessthey get into something, and then just with water. Once every three months, I might give them a full bath, but probably even that is unneccessary if you keep their bedding clean. I don't know that much about birds either, but I am sure they don't need to have a bath every day either. [Posted in FML issue 2568]