Steve
 
You seem to have covered all the options: provide a water bottle and worry
that the ferrets aren't getting enough water, or provide a bowl and deal
with frequent cleaning.  I've not found any other solutions.
 
I went for the frequent cleaning.  The bowl in the cage is cleaned twice
a day when the litter box is scooped.  The bowl in the kitchen sometimes
gets dumped and refilled MANY times a day since it is right next to the
food dish.
 
Hey it's easier than some of the stuff we do for them!
 
Linda Iroff
Oberlin OH
Frolic with ferret friends at the International Ferret Symposium in Las
Vegas, Feb 1-3, 2002. http://ferretsymposium.mdex.ca/
[Posted in FML issue 3608]