We I've read all the news on ferrets and are satisfied with what I read. But I do still have a couple of questions that I hope someone can answer for me... First off...our ferret patty, is descented and still has a definate odor..Not over powering but an odor...Is this something that we just have to live with? or is there a solution to removing it. She stays in my sons room and as soon as turn the corner to enter the smell is very apparent. [Ferrets will always smell to a certain extent. We give ours baths with mild shampoo every week or two. That keeps it enough under control that our noses don't complain much and that visitors don't notice.] Also she is extremely playful (only about 10 weeks old) and we all love rough housing with her. She pounds over to us or chases the children and nips their feet, but of course this is only in play. My question is that we were instructed when she nips or bites to correct her, but will she learn the difference when she is allowed to do this in play and not do it when held etc.[?] [This seems to be very much dependent on the individual ferret. Toby never bit when being held or roughhoused and rarely ever licked us. Mocha attacks socks. Nothing we've done has *ever* made any difference (except possibly she bites harder next time) Nicia licks us to death. Mocha and Nicia will put their teeth on us but not bite when being rough-housed. Nicia's "Leave-me-alone-I-wanna-sleep-now" grip is unbreakable. None of them have ever broken skin. So, when visitors rough-house, we warn them - "don't pull back if she grabs you" and disentangle her manually if she does. Nobody's been mangled. Startled maybe.....] Last one which I really didn't get much response to before. TOILET TRAINING? Do babys go more and subside a bit when mature? The only thing [You're not kidding. When small Mocha and Toby went thru half a can each of Feline Growth per day. Output matched the input :-) Input (and output) did trail off a fair bit towards the 4th or 5th month. At the same time that Toby died, Nicia stopped eating altogether for more than a whole week (more details at the end of this issue) when she finally started eating again (and she always did love her food) it took 5 days for her to get thru a can - and believe me she was hungry!] I despise about her is she will poop anywhere. To the point when we play with her we are always on guard to watch her where she goes..my biggest fear is she will poop under a couch or chair and no one will notice...(Need I go on?) This is my biggest question...I hope some one can advise me PLEASE!!! [We haven't been particularly successfull in 100% house-breaking our ferrets either. However, the "output" from three adult ferrets isn't particularly high (especially if you remember to wake them up and let them do their business before letting them out of their cage), and we find that the ferrets will choose a few specific places to go. By patience, litter pans in places where they've decided to use, and some discipline, you should be able to get them, if not perfect, pretty close. The ferret books appear to have good methods for training.] Thanks for letting me spill my guts out to you all but this is a new experience for us and we do love her lots. THANKS....Laurie [log in to unmask] [Posted in FML 0020]