Hi!
 
In response to your question about bedding--an old soft t-shirt, sweater,
towel, baby blanket, etc.  is what my fuzzies adore to snuggle down in for a
long winter's nap.  (And on top of their hammock for a summery snooze.)
Simply swap the bedding out and toss it in the washer every week or so and
smell is not a problem.
 
It escapes me why anyone would want to use wood chips of any kind as bedding
for ferrets--they're messy, harder to clean up, I suspect they cause
blockages if ingested, and I suspect they aren't nearly as comfortable for
the little ones.  With gerbils and other rodents, it's clear--they poop and
pee everywhere and don't use a litter box, so their bedding *is* their
litter (and who would want to sleep in a pile of clay litter?) However,
ferrets are not rodents, and they generally won't eliminate where they
sleep--most even act litter-trained when confined to their cage.  Besides,
think about it--what would you rather snuggle up in--a pile of hard,
scratchy wood chips or a nice soft blanket?  The issue of worrying about
which resin oils cause pulmonary problems is a side issue with me--'cause I
would never even think of using wood chips of any kind for my little carpet
sharks.  I just wish I could convince my local pet shop of this.... (They
told me the same thing about cedar being the shavings-of-choice, but I've
read just the opposite, and told them so.)
 
By the way, I've never heard of the urinary tract thing--is this another
possible complication of wood-chip bedding?  Pulmonary problems are the ones
I've heard about.
 
    Eric,
    Boo-Boo and Murphy ("Ooh, a nice clean, soft blanky to snuggle in")
    Cleo and Sheba ("Hey, if those bothersome little ferrets get a fuzzy
          blanket, we cats demand one too!")
[Posted in FML issue 1587]