Thanks for the warning on carpenter ants getting stuck to ferret tongues! So far mine have ignored the ones we have outside, but can't be too careful! Lao Bear prefers crickets & spiders - YUM! (It's pretty funny to watch him chase crickets around - boing, boing boing! Snatch! Gulp! Mmmmm!) Re: Sand boxes. I don't know if there's any kind of sand that's really safe for ferrets, but they do like to dig in rabbit pellets. I put some in a box with 4-5" sides & they go nuts digging & rolling in the stuff. It's harmless, smells nice, & is pretty easy to clean up. Weird foods - Gurgey will climb the highest heights & overcome almost any obstacle for raisins & frosted flakes. They all like dry dog food, peaches & ice cubes. Funny thing about raisins is that they don't like to eat them as much as they like to hide them under the couch. I found a hoarde of about 40 raisins under there the other day, & when I tried to clean them up Gurgey hissed at me & tried to take my fingers off! Battling ferrets: Some ferrets are naturally antisocial or sociable only with certain other ferrets & introducing new ones to an established group can sometimes cause problems (I had 3 of mine gang up on a "newbie" all at once & had to save her before they pulled her apart - well, at least that's how it looked to me!). If you've only had them together for a short time just keep introducing them gradually & let them fight it out unless someone is really getting hurt. They have to establish the pecking order & even after they do, they'll occasionally have to re-establish the heirarchy (sp?), although it seems to get a lot less violent as time goes on. Hang in there! Happy ferreting! Karen & the Gang Lao Bear - Boing, boing, boing, CRUNCH! Gurgey - MY raisins! MY RAISINS, MINE! MINE! MINE! Samantha - Did somebody say raisins? Puka (Yawn) [Posted in FML issue 1272]