i'd like to thank everyone for their great suggestions, and offer some more
reasons.
 
aspen: the only aspen bedding we can get our hands on is Very fine.  when
the baby fuzzies kicked this fine, nice tasting bedding into their food they
swallowed it and well, even with subcutaneous liquids and everything that
could be done their little bodies couldn't take the 1/2 hour wait for the
vet.
 
taking laundry home: we live in apartments, work part time for minimum wage,
and do laundry at extortionate laundromat prices.  most of us also commute
an hour or so on transit to work.  we get 20 ferrets at a time quite often.
picture carrying that much in the way of blankets home on the subway...
apart from that, i know that the laundry costs would break the bank for me.
 
shredded paper: what a great idea!!!  i may be able to get some from the
offices above the mall for free!!  i'll try!  :)
 
using the hammocks etc:  we do!  our ferrets are supplied with loads of
climbing, hanging, playing, tunneling and hiding stuff.  the shavings are
just placed in the bottom of the giant hex tank.
 
ventilation:  i'm going to look at fan prices.
 
pet store action: while your intentions are excellent, i'm not sure you're
doing what is going to be a very good idea in the long term.  let's not all
go head over heels with this "make pet stores do something" attitude.  while
that is obviously the only course of action in the case of Debbies petland
or whatever it's called, please don't assume all pet stores are the same.
maybe if they don't have any laundry facilities, rather than saying "well,
take it home with you!" you could accept that the employees are usually not
very highly paid, and always have far too many pets for their budgets, and
offer to do it yourself.  i realise that people have tried this approach
with debbies and it has failed, but please don't autonatically assume that
it is always futile.  i can't take the blankets home with me and wash them
because i do my laundry in the sink most of the time.
 
anyway, thanks again for all the great ideas, your help is invaluable.
 
siani  (and the brand new fuzzy "Fizgig Jareth" :)
[Posted in FML issue 2054]