To Paula and Matt: Yes, a couple of theories on towel eating is that ferrets are either bored or lacking something in their diet. Neither of those apply to my towel eaters: their diet consists of a mix of Totally Ferret, Marshall Farms Premium Ferret Diet, Proplan Turkey/Barley, and Proplan Kitten Formula. These guys have up time every day so that's not it either. (Although on days when I'm late getting them out - they protest by cage-door banging!) To Pat Ball: I personally have not used petromalt - but in the Omaha Catalog, it is described as an "intestinal lubricant.....that aids in the elimination of hair accumulation (hair balls). Laxatone is described as a "lubricant for hair ball removal" and additionally contains iron, linoleic acid, and linolenic acid (these are also found in Ferretone and Linatone). My own personal practice has been this: when I have the choice of purchasing a product from a vet or pet store, I most always choose that brand carried by the vet....this is particularly important when choosing such products as flea sprays, shampoos, etc. This doesn't mean you have to buy it from a vet - many of the wholesale catalogs carry the same brands as the vets do, but I try to stick with the stuff that the vets choose. I have known others that have used petromalt without any problems, but my personal choice is Laxatone. Debbie Riccio WNYFLFA [Posted in FML issue 1158]