Hi, Nicholas --
 
Have you read the book, Ferrets for Dummies?  It is excellent (I have a
copy myself, and refer to it often, even though I've been a ferret mom
for 5 years now).  PetCo has them in stock all the time.
 
Ferrets aren't dogs.  Rubbing their noses in feces will NOT work (I
don't think it works with dogs, either).  They should not be punished
for this behavior, because it's pointless -- ferrets don't equate being
hurt/slapped with something they did "bad." Their brains just aren't
wired that way.
 
What I've done in the past when training baby ferrets, or re-acquianting
an older ferret with the litter box, is to limit their space to one level
(the bottom) of the cage, with everything they need there.  If they keep
using the litter box properly for a few days, I will let them have one
more level, and so on.
 
You did not mention what type of litter box you are using (unless I
missed that).  The little shallow corner-style ones usually don't work.
You need the big, square-shaped ones that Marshall Farms makes, with
three high sides and a lowered entrance in the front.
 
I have four ferrets in a 4-level cage, and only one litter box (on the
bottom level) -- even when they have been sleeping in their coziest
hammock in the very top, they will go all the way downstairs to use
their box.  It just takes some patient, punishless training.
 
Good luck!
Staci
[Posted in FML issue 4001]