Shawn Small asked for advice for keeping down ferret smell:
 
Personally, I think vinyl flooring would be better for a cage.  I had
carpeted the second floor, and used vinyl flooring on the first level of the
ferts=92 cage last year.  I was really happy with how it looked, and it made
me feel better knowing that life was just a bit easier on their little feets
with the carpeting/flooring.  I used indoor/outdoor carpeting instead of the
regular heavy backed stuff, since I wanted coverage of the entire floor.
The look on the carpet guy's face was precious--"And what will you be using
this for, Ms. Ellis?" "Well, my ferrets have decided that it's time to
upgrade to wall to wall." :-)
 
About three weeks later, I noticed a weird spot on the carpet.  One of the
ferrets had scratched straight through the carpet down to the backing.
Since all I had left was the flooring, I cut a piece for the top floor.  I
think it worked out better in the long run, because it's lots easier to
clean, they haven't scratched through it (as of yet, I'm keeping my fingers
crossed), and I think the flooring is nice and cool on their little ferret
feet.  Another idea that I've found that works really well for keeping odor
down is an air filter.  I have a small one for the ferret's room that cost
me about $30-40.  We also have larger ( more expensive) ones on two of the
three floors in our house.  Those are acutually the HEPA filters, the ones
that filter out dust and animal dander.  The ones we have cost about $150,
but I've seen super deluxe models on up to $400.  From what I understand,
the key part that controls the odors is the ionizer.  On our smaller filter,
there's no ionizer but it's got a charcoal part to the filter.  The smaller
one works, but you can tell the difference between the job the big ones do
versus the smaller one.  My landlord (mother) isn't crazy about the ferret
smell herself, but is quite okay with the ferrets' presence if the filters
are on.  She's a little less okay with her 21 year old daughter still living
at home, but that's another story.  ;0)
 
Hope this convoluted story helps someone,
 
Laura
Maggie
Gatsby
Marshmallow
Jasper J.
and The Saffy-meister
[Posted in FML issue 1655]