The very first time I took my very first ferret to my current vet I was asking him about the number of ferrets he usually sees (about one a week). He mentioned that he just saw one the previous week and the owner wanted him to declaw the ferret. He said he told the guy to get a life and refused to do it. (Knowing this guy, he probably said it just like that too!) I have a problem with all four of mine being avid scratchers. They have ripped the inside of the couch apart to get inside of it - we covered the whole thing (under and behind the cushions) with some pretty blue burlap and a roll of duct tape and they haven't made a scratch. . . not for lack of trying though. They also damaged the carpet pretty badly in a couple of spots to try to get into the closet (nothing a good pair of scissors couldn't fix though). I haven't ever considered having them declawed though. I would be willing to listen to suggestions on how to get them to stop doing it though. Right now we just block off part of the house so they cannot get to the closet and it works really well. As soon as they get to play in that part of the house though, they go right back to scratching at the floor around the closet. We also have one who has taken to biting the carpet. Now, this I could really use some help on. It doesn't matter where he is, he just plops down and proceeds to get his fangs stuck in the loops (purposefully) and then rips his teeth out. So far, he hasn't done too much damage - far less than the scratching anyway, but it's got to stop. Hints? The ferret that is doing it is an unneutered male who's about 5 1/2 months old and I think his testosterone levels are up (he's due to go under the knife soon. . .), and he's beating on the other animals pretty badly too - let's just say he spends a fair amount of time being banished from playing with everyone else, because he'd rather make the rest of the gang scream in pain (like right now for instance). Someday they'll have their own little room. . . Michelle [Posted in FML issue 0224]