Ferret litters were asked about by several folks lately... Most folks do not recommend the clumping type clay litters. They dry out the fur and skin. We personally do not recommend any clay litter at all. The newspaper based litters are fine. Messy as they get spread way too easily by rambunctious ferrets. Cedar and Pine shavings are definite no-nos. Aspen however is not an evergreen and does not have the same problem with the aromatic oils. This would be something to recommend to pet stores but being more expensive might not be used. Corn cob litter is not especially absorbant but is inexpensive and tolerably absorbant for small ferret households - those still under ten ferrets or so. (joke folks...) You might recommend this to pet stores as well as they might already be using it for their birds. The best pet litter in our opinion is Pine Fresh brand. It is made of compressed sawdust (not shavings) and does not have the added aromatic oils. IT is by far the best for odor control. A list member from Lynchburg Virginia if I remember orders it directly from the manufacturer. What we use (and is popular among the other breeders in our area) is wood stove fuel pellets. These are compressed hardwood dust pellets very similar to the Pine Fresh. Not as absorbant but very inexpensive. When you have the few dozen litter pans we have you unfortunately have to let price figure in. It is some 3 to 4 dollars for a 40 pound bag around here. Midwest cages: Roberto asked about these cages. We have a few and are relatively pleased. They were really designed for cats however. To avoid the gap where the ferrets get stuck try moving the shelf one more 'wire notch' against the end. The directions do seem to imply having that gap there but we didn't like it either. We hang several large hammocks across the top giving a moving second story to the cages. Our English ferrets (two from Essex and one from James McKay) spend almost all of their time at the very top of these cages. My only real complaint about them is the plastic rivet things that 'almost' hold the wheels and the clips for the top to the plastic base. I've contemplated finding nylon bolts and nuts to replace these if they continue to not hold very well. bill and diane killian zen and the art of ferrets [Posted in FML issue 1447]