Try a used appliance store? Sometimes they offer payment plans. As for the odor, you will have one anyway...depends on how many ferrets you have, and I don't think it is always the poopies ie; Wildthing, either. WE ALL SMELL! Remember this, it is YOUR house, and maybe those who visit are not around ferrets as much as you and will notice the (smell?) more so. What do you take more pride in, the ferrets and your care for them, or.. approval from someone else on your own housekeeping? By your post, you seem to be concientious about your housekeeping skills, so I would just take those remarks with a grain of salt, everyone these days has an opinion and they certainly like to express them. I apologize, if this seems inappropriate, I just get tired of everyone elses opinions of how I should be living my life all the time, I have one who lives with me, for instance, my daughter. I have also been slammed at work, a job that I needed to be out of, for "smelling. You will drive yourself absolutely insane if you keep on trying to please everyone else, are you satisfied with your housekeeping, is the home clean, and to your standards? Well, step back and let it roll. I personally like the smell of my ferrets, is it ferret smell or poop smell, if they say ferret, then it is the animal, not the excrement. I wouldn't recommend bathing daily either, just to please someone else, at the expense of the ferret's. There are plenty of posts I am sure in the archives regarding what can happen when you over bathe a ferret or any animal for that matter. sincerely donna [Posted in FML issue 4289]