Dear Anonymous, There are two things that should be taken into consideration here... 1. Location, and 2. Nature. I'm not surprised time-outs are not working because they are not directly dealing with the problem at hand. Ferrets dig... and they dig... and they dig. It is as natural to them to dig as it is for us to eat, drink and sleep. This is something that you can work with by providing your ferret with a sand or dirt box. You need not worry about any sand or dirt getting into her swollen vulva, as you have to keep in mind that this animal has relatives out in the wild who go through similar biological changes. If you are really concerned about it, you can give her a rinse off once she has her fun in the box. Remember, wet dirt or sand gives them the most fun. Children's play sand works great as does potting soil for a dirt box. The location of the digging needs to be looked at. Most severe diggings happen in front of doorways, between rooms, in front of furniture that has a space under it that seems enticing to get to, or in the corners. The reason... the door diggings are symptomatic of a ferret wanting to get into the room (or space) it can't get to (and sometimes can). There must be, in their minds, something of more interest to explore by being in that space than being on the outside of the space. Just try closing a door on a ferret when you are in the bathroom... scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch... it is never ending and persistent. Corners hold the most smells if there were pets prior to you living where you are.. If you rent, chances are there may have been previous pets where you live and they marked that corner. Also, it mimics a door opening. If there were never any pets, then it is the closest to original smells possible in your living area, as a corner is not a high traffic area. Smells attract ferrets. There could be something in a particular spot that is attractive to your ferret and needs to be dug up. What can you do? First of all, do not punish your ferret for something that is natural. Keep the nails trimmed to lesson the damage done by digging. Secondly, understand that the ferret is showing you that it is bored and that it needs to have activities that will stimulate its need for exploration and fun. A sand box will help, but keep in mind that it could become a litter box if not supervised. You can lay down clear hallway runner on the trouble areas and duct tape them into place. If you rent, you need to do this sooner than later, as your landlord will not refund your damage deposit after seeing torn carpet. Also, you need to be aware that anything negative that happens while a ferret is living in your quarters that is damaging his/her property, will hurt future ferret owners from having a chance to live there too. Deal with the problem now and save yourself the headaches in the future. If you own your place, then you may want to protect your own investment. betty and her blur o'fur for the love of ferrets [Posted in FML issue 3867]