Jules,
 
I have been successful with my ferrets on the litterbox in the cage
by getting those dishpans you find at the dollar store that are about
14"x10"x5" (approximately).  I then cut a "u" shaped hole in one of the
longer sides, big enough for a ferret to get through.  I get some door
edging that you use for autos, it comes in a roll at the auto stores, cut
a strip (it's about 1/4" wide) that will fit the cut out area, and slide
it on, it protects their little bottoms from scraping when entering the
box.  Then I put small eye bolts, about 3/4" with 1/4" hole on the back
of the dishpan.  Drill two small holes in the dishpan to hold the
eyebolts about 8-10" apart that will slide through the cage bars.  Then
take a metal rod that will fit through the eyebolt, cut just about 2"
bigger than the the distance between the eyebolts and then put a 1" "L"
shaped bend in it for easy grabbing.  That way you push the litter pan
to the side of the cage, the eyebolts go through the cage bars, then you
slide the bar through the eyebolts and there is no way they are gonna
move the litter pan.  This to me may take longer to initally set up, but
I've been using them in this fashion close to ten years and it is so
quick to remove and clean and then replace, and really very inexpensive.
Some people use those big spring clips or bungee cords, but they are more
trouble than they are worth to me.
 
I do have a big midwest cage and I went to the store and bought a big
storage container that just fit one side of the cage.  It's about
15"x20"x5", and did the same thing with it.  I have five ferrets in that
cage and it's big enough for all of them, so far no mishaps (only had
this cage a little over a year and ferret population has constantly
changed in there).  But it is very easy to change this set-up, takes
all of about five seconds to remove the bar and slide the litterbox out.
Then you clean it and about five seconds to replace it and put the bar
in.  Much better than those clips, and I will say, no ferret can remove
the litterbox using this method.  They try at first, but no go!
 
Course if they go in front of the litterbox, as we always have a couple
in one group or other, I put newspaper down as it makes it much easier to
clean up.  Sometimes I've had to do that with ferrets that have been
badly trained before I got them.  Even on a shelf.  It's cheap, and you
just fold up the edge 1" to keep from going over the edge of the cage.
 
I also use wood stove pellets for litter, much cheaper, easy to clean and
it smells good.
 
I get melatonin at a health food store, and crush the 3 mg and divide it
into three parts.  It has helped with one of my ferrets, she's seven and
though it took close to a year, she's finally getting her fur back.
She's too old for surgery, so I went this route.  Don't have a bottle to
compare with your ingredients as I need to go get some more.  I crush a
lot of them and put them in little individual containers so I have one
dose set up in each one.  Guess I'm lazy, but with so many on meds of
some sort, gotta save time somewhere.
 
Good luck with all your trials.
 
mjo & the zoo:
Sassy Too, Rocky, Bear, Scooch, Freda, Gweedo, Cisco, Sadie, Angel, and
the dog Darwin.
R.I.P. Nipper, Lightning, EZ, Cleo, Phantom, Lady, Frito, Pepper,
Caesar, Bilbo, Frodo, Topanga, Ragine, Tasha, Sabrina, Sassy Britches,
Frosty Pants, Phantom II, Boo Boo, Casper, and the dogs Garth and Duke
[Posted in FML issue 4818]