I know that everyone has very different and strong opinions and what's constitutes proper bedding for ferrets and other animals. I have heard the opinions about wood shavings and dust being bad for the ferrets, but something that popped in my head is that ferrets in the wilds are natural diggers. They love to play and dig in the dirt..and I'm sure they breathe a lot more dust in from digging than they do from wood chips in their bedding. My ferret used to love to dig in the dirt outside. That is something very natural for ferrets. And as we all know, when they dig their little noses are the first things they start with. :) How many times have we seen ferrets with their noses covered in dirt? The point I'm making is that this is something very natural for them in their natural environments. That's also where the term "ferret out" came from, because ferrets in the wilds are known for hunting and digging deep in the ground to chase out rodents, such as rabbits or mice, etc... I'm not saying that we shouldn't consider the possible effects or of different products or weigh the good verses the bad and make an informed decision based on facts. But I also think we must be reasonable about these things..and just because some people might have strong opinions about what is proper and what is not doesn't mean that someone is wrong or irresponsible simply because they choose to go a different route based on what they know about ferrets. Some people say "No, never use wood shavings of any kind and never use any type of clumping litter, such as cat litter." Well, if dust is bad for ferrets then why would you use it for your cats? Wouldn't that mean it's also just as unhealthy for other types of animals? All animals naturally live outside, or did before domestication (many still do) and they are designed to handle a lot of things in their natural habitats. You'd be surprised about what they can handle. When it comes to litter verses shavings...I feel like the decision is up to the person caring for the ferrets, because they're the ones who have had the experience caring for those specific animals. One ferret may be sensitive to something which another ferret is not sensitive to at all. A lot of it by trial and error too. When I brought home rats I wasn't aware of them having allergies to cedar shavings, so that's what I purchased to line the cages with. After seeing the oldest rat scratching constantly I put 2 and 2 together and figured out that it might have a reaction to the shavings, so I got rid of the shavings and tried something different. In my case I found that plane old newspaper worked the best for the rats. After switching to paper the rat stopped scratching and seemed to be fine. Now when it came to Slinky, my ferret, I tried shavings but found that they didn't work very well or keep as much of the odor out. He didn't have any reaction to them, but they just didn't work well. So then I switched to cat litter which worked great. Not only was he able to bury the droppings (which you can't do very well with any type of shavings, it cut down on the smell a lot and was much easier to clean. Slinky loved to dig. He had his own tunnel built outside where he could run and dig in the dirt whenever he had his outside time. It's actually good for ferrets to be able to go outdoors occasionally to play and get fresh air. And since they are natural diggers and would therefore be surrpunded in dust, obviously they are designed to deal with that, or they wouldn't do it. Just my opinion here. I realize many see things another way, but that doesn't make my viewpoint wrong. It's just different and that comes from my own experience and what I know about ferrets in general. You have to do what you feel is right for your ferret. But going in to a pet store and demanding that they use a different type of litter or shavings is going a bit far in my opinion, because everyone has a different take on these issues. Some people can also go too far and be almost fanatical when it comes to these issues, as if THEIR OPINION is the only correct one. Well, that is wrong and no one really has the right to force their views on other people. Don't flame me or send me private emails trying to tell me off either please, because I won't read it. If you have something to say be respectful and kind about it, but also accept the fact that everyone sees things differently and sometimes there is more than one way to do something. It doesn't neccesarily mean the individual is wrong. :) [Moderator's note: While I respect your opinion, I do suggest caution. Real dirt is fine, but neither wooden shavings nor clumping litter are typically components of dirt. I'm sure others will answer but I wanted to put this note in just to be on the safe side! BIG] [Posted in FML issue 4344]