I've been lurking for a couple of months now in preparation of ferret ownership. I became a proud owner last week...and what a week it has been! I had previously had no experience with ferrets, other than knowing I wanted one ever since seeing "The Beastmaster". Its been a learning experience for both me and Sam who is about a year old (he was a stray so I'm not exactly sure) The FML and FAQ has been invaluable in helping me through the "getting acquainted" period but I have a few questions: -There seems to be a lot of variation on how often people bathe their ferrets, from once a week to once a year, how much is too much? -Is their any way I can get Sam to sleep through the night, or will this come in time? I don't mind him banging around at 4 a.m. but my roommate feels otherwise. -Sam is confined to my bedroom only. My roommate was kind enough to let me have him but not willing to have him running throughout the house. Problem is that he has discovered that there is something beyond my bedroom door. He's convinced that if he keeps digging in the rug, he'll be able to tunnel through. I would like to let him keep digging until he realizes he's not getting anywhere but, again, it annoys my roommate. Any ingenious ways to prevent carpet digging? Thanks in advance for all your help! Karen and Sam [Posted in FML issue 1081]