Just a some quick comments on your questions, though the more experienced will probably comment also. When I got my Ferret they sold me the Marshall Farms food. After reading about what food to feed them, Ferret food being a popular item, I watched and noticed he was eating very little in my opinion. I shortly after tried some Friskies that my parents had for a cat they had been watching, he just loved it. That's when I changed to Iams Kitten food with the occasional science diet mini-bag mixed in. Ferratone; no comments as I had a hard time finding Ferratone and when I finally did I add a couple of pumps on his entire bowl of food and mix it in. I didn't have much of a problem with mine nipping but when it was cage time he generally got ignored until he would just settle down and stare out the cage, then he got to come back out. You might get issue 1198 and read the post by William Killian, he had some good information on litters in that issue. As for friends again more post have been done in the past that I have found useful in my consideration of getting mine a friend. Have yet to do it though. [Posted in FML issue 1240]