Steve did this when they were kits. It was the old cage which is gone now, and they were able to dismantle it in about 5 seconds flat. I think I provided new carpeting for that ramp about 3 times till they stopped tearing it up. Ignore the litter pot (ahem) "smudge". Sadly, Chiclet died a few months later of DIM. Her nickname was "Little" like in "Chicken Little" or "Chick Little" because she was easily spooked and quite high strung before her illness and actually we were asked to have her at a reduced price because of that tendency of hers so she came home with Hilbert to help keep her more secure. She became one of my closest darlings and I still grieve over her 2 and half years later. chicklet and hilbert http://web.mac.com/esc/iWeb/ferrets/movies.html Nell, yes, some ferrets have a hard introduction, but from our 25 years of experiences with ferrets from a range of places that has nothing to do with the origin of the ferrets. On a rare basis there is not acceptance of one with handicaps by one who seems to want to glean. At times, setting dominance hierarchy doesn't go smoothly. Most commonly, the problems seem to be caused by the people -- usually by giving tons of attention to the new ones and ignoring or punishing the existing ferrets too much. Nell wrote: >I almost never use the dishwasher these days. We don't use the dishwasher, oven, or clothes washer unless we know everyone is safely behind the barrier. Using a bell works for our crew to bring all to the barrier. For the dishwasher it is not just starting it, but also loading it since some of the detergents for those still are poisonous, I think. Not being sure if they have improved in that regard Steve and I would rather be careful. This is a Mycobacterium species which was a surprise, but one with a happy ending: <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed &dopt=Abstract&list_uids=16164141&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum> >Two ferrets were diagnosed with pneumonia due to Mycobacterium >abscessus. Both cases were treated successfully using clarithromycin >after positive cultures were obtained via unguided bronchoalveolar >lavage. This is the first time M abscessus has been isolated in our >laboratory and the first report of this organism causing disease in >companion animals in Australia. -- Sukie (not a vet) Ferret Health List co-moderator http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth FHL Archives fan http://ferrethealth.org/archive/ replacing http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org International Ferret Congress advisor http://www.ferretcongress.org [Posted in FML issue 5145]