Note From Mary: Millionaire Minds! Here's something somewhat non-ferret-related: Last weekend Eric and I went to a three-day seminar with T. Harv Eker. Harv Eker is basically a self-improvement/motivational type of speaker. If you haven't heard of him yet, you probably will soon; Harv has a book coming out in a couple of days -- you can check it out here: T. Harv Eker Book The seminar made a very big difference in Eric's and my attitudes and outlooks. You can listen to an audio recording of the introduction to the seminar we attended by following this link: http://www.millionairemind.com/a/myob?page=/wow T. Harv Eker also does a free one-evening program in many different parts of North America (Canada, Texas, Florida, and California). You can look up the dates and specifics and register for one of these using the link above. The next one-evening seminar is in NYC on the February 17. The three-day intensive will be back here in New York in May. I encourage anyone who is unhappy with any aspect of his or her life to look into this information. It's truly transformational! That's it. Because last weekend made me feel very empowered, I wanted to share it with all of you. So take a listen. It's worth it! -- Mary
Ferret Nail ClippingBy Mary R. Shefferman Part of having ferrets is grooming ferrets. Part of grooming ferrets is clipping their nails. This isn't always easy, but it's very important -- and there are some neat tricks you can use to make nail-clipping easier. You need to clip your ferret's nails. If you leave them, they can get snagged on bedding. A ferret will pull his whole nail out if he can't get free and, in some cases, the nail will not grow back (not to mention that some ferrets need to get stitches for pulled-out nails). Untrimmed nails are more likely to scratch you -- or someone less forgiving than you are. Nails that are too long can also cause a ferret discomfort and difficulty walking. Most ferrets need their nails clipped every week or two. Individual ferrets vary. To keep things simple, you can clip all your ferrets' nails as frequently as your ferret with the quickest nail growth. It is never appropriate to de-claw a ferret. Ferret nails are like dog nails; they are an important part of your pet's balance and traction. All right. You'll clip the nails -- but how? Most of us are fully aware of how wriggly a ferret can be. One of the easiest ways to keep a ferret still while you're clipping nails is to put a few drops of Ferretone (or Linatone or Furo-Tone) on his belly. While he enjoys his "treat," you can easily clip all 10 of his nails. An alternate method is to put the Ferretone in a small dish for your ferret to lick from. I've always found it easier to put the Ferretone on the belly because the ferret is then lying on his back, which makes it easier to reach the nails. But many people have their own methods of getting the ferret to lick the Ferretone; whatever works best for you and your ferrets is the method to use. I'm lucky to have Eric here to hold the ferret while I clip the nails. But you don't need to have two people to do it. You can lie the ferret on his back on your lap, apply the Ferretone, and clip away! Some people prefer to lie the ferret on a towel on a table because they can get more light. The problem with that is the ferret usually rolls over on his side. Some people take a dish of some sort (serving dish -- whatever works), place a towel in it, and put the ferret in. The sides of the dish prevent the ferret from rolling over. You can also use towels to bolster the sides of the ferret. You can use whatever type of nail clipper you are most comfortable with. Cat or bird nail clippers are common choices. I've always found cat nail clippers to be tricky because I can't visualize the nail as easily as I can when I use human nail clippers. Whatever type of clippers you use, make sure they are sharp and clean. The actual cutting of the nail is best described in an illustration. 
It's important to cut the nail parallel with the floor. If you cut it at the "No" angle (see the illustration above), your ferret will end up with a sharp point on the floor. Using the "Yes" cutting angle will allow your ferret's feet to strike the floor properly. Ferret nails are translucent, which means that you can easily see the quick (the pinkish-red vein in the nail). Because you can see the quick, you can avoid cutting it. You also want to avoid cutting very close to the quick, because doing so might cause some sensitivity. If you do cut the quick by mistake, don't panic. You can stop the bleeding with styptic powder (available at the pet store) or plain flour. Your ferret will be sore for a day or so, but he'll forgive you. If you're unsure about how short to cut your ferret's nails, it's all right to leave the nails a little long and cut them more often. The point is that you keep them from getting so long that they catch on bedding and cause discomfort. You will get the hang of it!
Did You Know That... Not all bald tails are adrenal disease. Sometimes ferrets get what is called "rat tail." How do you tell the difference between a ferret who has adrenal disease and one who has a simple case of rat tail? It's all in where on the tail the hair loss begins and in the character of the skin. With rat tail, the hair loss will usually being on the tip of the tail or on the underside of the tail. You often (but not always) see black dots on the tail: these are clogged pores, your garden variety blackheads. In contrast, adrenal disease hair loss usually begins at the base of the tail near the rump and the skin is smooth. However, sometimes the skin is smooth with rat tail, too. If you have any doubt if your ferret's hair loss is caused by adrenal disease or if it's rat tail, have a vet take a look. Or, if you're in touch with a local ferret club or shelter, ask an experienced ferret owner for his or her opinion. 
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| Two examples of rat tail. Left tail: note the skin looks darkish because of the blackheads. Right tail: note the hair loss is not on the rump, but at the tip of the tail.
Thanks to Nancy Propper and Candy Johnson for the rat tail pictures. |
What do you do for a ferret with rat tail? Pretty much the same thing you'd do if you had blackheads on your skin. We use a two-step washing process. We first wash the ferret's tail with ferret shampoo -- these often help to break up the oils. We use a washcloth to help clean out the pores and stimulate some blood flow to the tail (this helps the skin stay healthy). The second step is to wash the tail with a mild anti-acne cleanser or astringent-type cleanser. It's best to choose a product made for sensitive skin. Make sure you rinse thoroughly. Remember, you need to wash only the tail. You'll have to wash the ferret's tail a few times (every other day is fine) for about a week. When the skin is clear (the blackheads are gone), you can change the frequency to once every week-and-a-half to two weeks. You can prevent rat tail in many ferrets by paying extra attention to washing the tail whenever you give a bath. For extra help, use a washcloth on your ferret's tail. Some ferrets will get rat tail regardless of what you do to try to prevent it. Our Cauliflower was a late-alter ferret and he was an oily boy. No matter how hard we tried to keep his tail free from blackheads, he always managed to produce more oil than we could keep up with. Of course, we loved him anyway! Rat tail isn't painful or bothersome to your ferret. But some ferrets seem to be annoyed with not having a fluffy tail (I swear this is true!). Because washing a ferret's tail isn't nearly as much of a challenge as washing the whole ferret, it's not much bother to keep your ferret's tail fluffy and black-head free, so it looks like a ferret tail, not a rat tail.
Thank you for reading the FerretNews newsletter! Keep your eyes open for our next newsletter notification in your e-mail in-box. There's still more to come in our "How To Choose A Baby Ferret" series (see FerretNews #93 and #94) -- we'll get back to that next time. Go hug some ferrets now! --Mary, Eric & Gabby (the lone Modern Ferret) | 
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