Hi There Ferret Friends, Well ... how do you like our new look? I've been working on this new layout for a while now, but I finally decided to make the change. I wanted to make our new Amazon Honor System box a bit prominent. One of our readers suggested we do a tip jar thing, and that's what we've done. We're really getting down to the last bit of energy to keep doing this newsletter going. It's costing us money that we really don't have and, while we get compliments on the information, we just don't sell enough stuff to pay for doing this. If everyone gave a couple of dollars, it would really help. Of course, you can always buy some of the great stuff that we feature here on the newsletter, but if you don't have the money for that or if you have everything you want or need, then consider throwing us a buck or two. You can give as little as $1.00. It goes through Amazon. You can read more about it by clicking on the Click to Give button up there at the top of the right column. Or you could just buy a book or a Super Monster Pack. It's all good. The books and magazines are fun to read and have a lot of great ferret information. Today we have an article on spring cleaning. I got an email the other day from someone who wanted to know what kind of cleaning product he could use on a cage, and I realized that we never covered that particular bit of info. Also, a quick reminder that the coupon code for Mother's Day stuff is still good! --Mary
In this newsletter:- Springtime Cleaning for Ferrets
- Still Time To Save on Stuff for Mom
Springtime Cleaning for FerretsBy Mary R. Shefferman I don't know why it surprises me every year. It's spring! The weather is nice. The ferrets are shedding. The thoughts of all ferret owners are turning to ... cleaning. It started for us a couple of weeks ago when we found a box of items from when we moved more than 10 years ago. We came upon a smaller box that had old ferret toys in it. Inside we found this: 
Sabrina's Crunchy Stash From 1994
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Some of you might recognize this game as Cosmic Wimpout. It's a dice game you play on a cloth board. It comes in a leather pouch. A leather pouch that Sabrina used to steal off the coffee table and hide behind the couch. We didn't know she was using it as a food stash. Now we do.
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That's right. Ten-year-old ferret food. Stashed by our original Queen of the Ferrets, Sabrina. If this is not a good reason to take apart every inch of your house that your ferrets have access to, I don't know what is. We're lucky there were no bugs involved. It could have been very scary. On a more serious note, food stashes like Sabrina's can bring ants into your home. It helps to do a "spring-type" cleaning several times a year to make sure you locate -- and empty -- all of your ferrets' food stashes. Beyond the routine vacuuming and cleaning, spring is a good time to do the real use-your-elbow-grease cleaning. It's always good to refresh your memory about what you should or shouldn't use on ferret things -- or how to use the things you do use. Check out the previous FerretNews articles we did on spring cleaning (see the yellow box). My rule is: whatever type of cleaning product you use, always rinse more than you think you need to. Water doesn't hurt, but the residue from cleaning products might. Find Previous Spring Cleaning Articles in Past Newsletters: |
If you have a lot of stuff to clean, like a cage and a bunch of litter boxes and all that, choose a sunny day and start in the morning. You'll want to leave the items out in the sun to dry. You'll want them to dry thoroughly before letting your ferrets use them again. Bleach is a great way to kill bacteria and get things really clean. But bleach can be harmful if not handled carefully. Wear gloves! I usually follow the directions on the bleach bottle for disinfecting: one-quarter (1/4) cup of bleach in a gallon of water. You can use this bleach solution on litter boxes, cages, cage pans, litter scoops -- anything with a hard surface. It's best to do this outside (that's the handiness of spring's nice weather!). Rinse. Rinse. Rinse. Rinse. Rinse. You get the idea, right? You're going to what? Rinse! Rinse your lawn, too, to make sure the bleach is completely diluted. When our little Knuks was nearing the end, she just wouldn't use a litter box. We put vinyl flooring in the cage, but some stuff still oozed down the side of the cage. As we ferret folks know, dried ferret poop has the adhesive ability of Crazy Glue. It's that much worse if it gets attached to wire cages. That's why they make wire-bristle brushes. You can get them at a dollar store or at any home supply store. They work great for removing dried-on ferret poop. For finer surfaces, try plain steel wool. Another way to remove harmful, smelly bacteria from cages and other items that come in contact with poop is steam. There are several brands of steam cleaning machines made specifically for cleaning multiple types of surfaces (such as in bathrooms and kitchens). The beauty of steam is that it uses no harsh or potentially dangerous chemicals. 
However you choose to clean your ferret stuff, remember ... they'll keep messing it up for you! They don't like to see you get bored. Happy spring cleaning! Find many more cleaning tips from fellow ferret lovers in the Super Monster Pack of Modern Ferret Magazine Back Issues or in the book The Wit and Wisdom of the Modern Ferrets: A Ferret's Perspective on Ferret Care.
Still Time To Save With Mother's Day Coupon The coupon code is good until April 26. Mother's Day is May 8th! You still have time to save $3.00 on women's T-shirts, tote bags, and barbecue aprons with the coupon code: MUM05 Choose from any of the great designs at these shops: Items from these shops all go into the same shopping cart for your convenience. Amy's Designs also has many other animal-themed designs. PowerDesigns has all kinds of different types of designs (occupations, sentiments, food). You'll be able to find exactly the thing your mom will love! This coupon code is valid until April 26, 2005.
Thanks for joining us again! We hope this was a useful newsletter for you. You can find a lot more useful (practical!) ferret information in The Super Monster Pack of Modern Ferret Magazine Back Issues. There's more to the Super Monster Pack than just how-to articles and ferret humor, there are also great human-interest stories, interviews with all kinds of ferret folks, and training tips by fellow ferret owners who know about ferrets because they live with ferrets. Besides, your purchase will go a long way to helping us continue to offer this newsletter for free to everyone. Go play! --Mary, Eric & Gabby, the lone modern ferret
Stay tuned for more. You can always get updates by reading Mary's blog (a blog is an online journal). She keeps it sporadically and it usually runs to the more personal stuff. But you might like it. It's at: http://www.modernferretblog.com/mary Ferret NewsPlease let your ferret friends know about this newsletter and encourage them to join. http://www.ferretnews.com Shopping at these web sites helps support this newsletter so we can continue to send it for free to all who want it: http://www.ferretdesigns.com http://www.ferrettradingpost.com http://www.amysdesigns.com You can provide feedback about this issue by sending email to:
mary modernferret.com
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