Ferrets' ears need to be cleaned regularly to get rid of the wax that naturally builds up in them.

However, ears are very delicate organs, and you should be extremely careful what you use for cleaning them. One  tried and trusted ear cleaner is olive oil. And since ferrets like the taste of olive oil, it also encourages them to clean each other's ears.

Our preferred ear cleaner is Logic, which is also used for dogs and cats. It's very gentle but contains a small amount of solvent (xylene) that dissolves earwax. It also discourages ear mites. Logic is available from your vet, from Beeston Animal Health Ltd or The Caledonian Cat Clinic.

If the wax in your ferret's ears is very dark in colour, or smelly, your ferret may have a bad ear mite infection. Although ear mites are fairly common in ferrets, infections can be  very serious. The standard treatment for ear mite infection, Ivermectin, is available only from veterinary surgeons in the UK. So if you think  that your ferret has an ear mite infection, then please take it to see a vet.

If your ferret has been treated for ear mites but the dark wax persists, then there's a chance that your ferret has canker, which is caused by a yeast infection. Again, this condition necessitates a visit to the vet because Canaural, the medication used to treat canker, has to be prescribed by a vet.

Three important things to remember when putting any cleaner or medication in your ferret's ears:

• Warm the solution in your hand first (unless you want your ferret to take off like a rocket).
• Massage around the ear after applying the cleaner, so that the solution gets well into the ear canal.
• Remove any residue from the pinna (outside of the ear canal) by placing a small ball of cotton wool inside the ear. Roll the ball of cotton wool around inside the ear, and you will be surprised at how much debris comes out on to the cotton wool. Never use cotton buds.

Ear cleaning seems to be a socialising behaviour in ferrets, and a ferret will often lie back having his/her ears cleaned by another ferret. If you get the ear massage and cotton wool cleaning just right, you never know, you may find that your ferret starts to enjoy having his ears cleaned. Additionally, ear cleaning often seems to be used as a dominance behaviour in our ferrets. So if you own a bossy ferret, a spot of ear cleaning may just make it clear who is the boss in your house.