To stop worrying about carpet clawing near doors, etc.  here's what I do.
 
1. Keep your ferrets front claws trimmed down.  This is not as scary as
it sounds.  In 40 years with ferrets, I have only ONE time accidentally
nicked below the quick (of course the guilt and the painful dooking of
the victim kept me from ever doing that again).
 
To trim the front claws (I never do the back, they never need doing,
though they can be sharp at times, so that is 'personal preference')....
just sit on the toilet (lid up) with the ferret standing on your lap (okay
you can use a chair, it's just that I keep the clippers in a bathroom
cupboard)... hold the ferret around the belly with your arm and fingers
holding the paw.  Trim using a small cat clipper (not a big dog one).
 
If the ferret squirms, 'scruff it' while it is still supported on your
knees and talk soothingly to it until it remembers that you are Master
and it is, well, not 'slave', but 'subordinate' to your commandments.
You do not hurt the ferret while you are scruffing it... you are simply
waiting for the 'sign of submission to your will'... which is the ferret
will stop squirming and will open its mouth wide.  Then stop scruffing
it (look that up somewhere) and gently pet it just one or two times all
the while saying something like 'there there mummsie wuvs you [name of
ferret]".  Then resume trimming the nails... you may find that it takes
several trimmings before the ferret has 'learned' not to squirm while you
trim its nails.
 
I do not give 'treats' to distract the ferret from what is happening,
because I KNOW without a shadow of a doubt that all animals are trainable
(I still train horses and occasionally a dog).  AFTER the ferret has had
his nails trimmed then I put a small amount (just a lick or two) of
ferretone on my finger and let the ferret reward him/her self for his/her
good behavior.
 
Okay, you will need to do the ferret nail trimming about once a week with
some ferrets, two weeks with others (kinda depends on their state of
health and age).
 
2. Buy plastic carpet runner and cut a piece long enough to cover the
doorway at the base and extend out either side a couple of feet.  I
actually have a carpet layer friend put down the plastic for me (on top
of the carpet) because he can do a very professional job.  The carpet
runner is tacked into place so that the ferrets cannot 'burrow' under it.
This will stop their clawing at the carpet, which is really just an
attempt to dig their way out of a room.  I also have a barrier piece of
plexiglass cut for the doorway openings so I don't need to keep the door
shut on the ferrets' room.  If I am busy cleaning or working on a book or
whatever, that way the ferrets can see me as I move in and out of the
hallway.
 
3. For 'accidents', I also run carpet runner along the walls of the
'ferret room' (which is also my bedroom) and I keep half a dozen
high-backed ferret-type litter boxes full of litter along the walls and
in the corners.  In the living room, computer room, den and dining rooms,
I also have litter boxes on 3'x4' squares of carpet runner in each corner.
I have found if I am very obsessive about scooping poops out of the boxes,
the ferrets very graciously will always use the box.  It is only as they
get older (8-9 and above) that sometimes they miss the box (I think a
touch of arthritis keeps them, sometimes, from actually climbing into
the box)... but if they DO miss the box, they don't go on the floor but
on the carpet runner.
 
4. IF they go on the carpet runner (or floor for some reason), make SURE
you clean the spot THOROUGHLY right away to remove the urine scent... by
the way I buy a large box of baking soda from Costco and I mix a handful
in with the litter at every changing and sprinkle some on every time I
clean too.  This is a healthy way to cut down on the urine smell.
 
5. If you catch a ferret about to poop outside the litter box, IMMEDIATELY
pick 'im up and put 'im in the litter box then LOOK AWAY... ferrets do NOT
like to be watched while they are 'doing their business'.  (seriously!)
If a ferret manages to poop outside the litter box, immediately pick him
up and put him in the 'bad ferret' cage for a '10-minute' timeout.  They
'get' that they are being punished... don't be mean to them, just say 'no
no!' and put him in the cage without petting, then don't look at him the
entire time he/she is in the cage.  Make sure you punish them no more than
10 minutes at a time, no food or water in the 'punishment cage', and the
punishment cage should be out in the open where they can see the other
ferrets playing.  Usually you don't need to do this more than 2-3 times.
 
Step 5 is is ONLY for young ferrets.... if you have an older ferret and
he/she has just changed his litter box habits, before you do ANYthing,
take the ferret into your vet for an examination as there may be a problem
with their elimination system, etc.  Anyway, ferrets that are old deserve
a little extra consideration and tolerance.
 
By the way I NEVER use old newspapers for litterboxes... don't care for
the ink / paper contents.
 
/Ferret Mommy
[Posted in FML issue 3751]