In reply to Hank, who couldn't get airline tickets for his weasels, let me
share my own little trick.  Recently I also went to visit my family in New
Mexico.  The flight was on TWA, which doesn't allow ferrets either in the
passenger compartment OR as checked baggage (they do allow potbellied pigs,
interestingly enough).  But I did want to take my little sweetie home to
meet my niece and her ferret.
 
The solution was simple.  I stuck my girl's carrier (which has a wire grill
in the top) in a medium-sized duffle bag.  The combination fits under an
airline seat.  I took the ferret out of the carrier-bag combination before
sending it through the X-ray machine, and put her in a fanny-pack.  As it
turned out, the guards at the X-ray machine spotted her (she was squeezing
out of the bag, the little sneak), but the only reaction I got was
amusement.  After reinserting ferret into carrier (out of sight of any
airline personnel, of course), I left the duffle's zipper open for
ventilation, carried her on the plane, stowed her under the seat, and no
one said boo.  The same for the trip back.  The weasel took it all just
fine.
 
Nobody expected me to be carrying a small, quiet animal on board, so nobody
looked or noticed her.  Understand, I'm not recommending this ploy, just
letting you know what I did.  Heaven knows what the airline people would
have done if they found out.
 
Regarding paper pellets for litter: I tried some, and they work better for
me than anything else, including wood pellets.  They hold up better than
Pine Fresh, and odor is much diminished.
[Posted in FML issue 2504]