We've had rice bins off and on for a couple of years, and while I've had
ferrets sometimes eat small amounts of rice there's not been a problem
with it.  One of the big differences between what happened to Faith's
puppy dog, and when a ferret eats some, is the transit time.  Rice used
for play is completly unprocessed and has a very hard shell.  Since it
passes through the ferret within 3 hours, there has not been any detectible
change in the grains.  They haven't absorbed any water so are the same
size as when they went in.
 
But regardless of how safe I feel the rice is, I still like to save it
for when I'm home, partially because it's so much fun to watch the guys
play in the rice.
 
As for it lodging in their ears, etc., I don't consider that to be a likely
happening.  The ferrets always close their ears when they go through the
rice.  When they come up I see rice grains sitting on top of their heads
but not in their ears.  My feeling (not tested theory) is they probably
fling their ears open when de-submerging, causing any rice in the ear edges
to fly out.  I'm going out on a limb here and saying that I assume that
as burrowing animals they come equipped to deal with having their heads
covered with dirt and debris.
 
Faith, has the pup recovered from his mis-adventure with the rice?
 
Georgia - the left coast one...
[Posted in FML issue 3494]