I hope this will become more of a thread than a single post. I am certainly not the expert in this area, nor do I have an endless supply of good ideas. So I will offer mine, and hopefully others will add their stress-reducing ideas as well. As in humans and ALL other mammals, ferrets are prone to stress. There is really no such thing as "good" or "bad" stress; it is simply a continuum with good effects on one side and bad effects on the other. There is some controversial evidence that small amounts of stress can be good for your long term health, but there is no controversy at all about how long-term stress can shorten life. Stressors are normally those things that strike at the "security core" of the ferret, such as personal safety, lack of food, feelings of being watched, etc., and it is easy to figure out many of them by our furry friend's normal behavior. One of the things I kept harping about in adrenal disease is the differences between the Americas and everywhere else. One of the most obvious differences is in housing; specifically, in providing separate sleeping quarters for ferrets. A typical hutch is composed of two areas; a play/feeding/toilet area, and a sleeping chamber. The open area is often open on two or three sides, but usually the nest box is completely closed, with just a single opening for ferret access. The ferret knows exactly what this is for, and invariably retreats to the nestbox for sleeping or when afraid. American ferrets do this as well, as evidenced by their desire to crawl into couches, drawers, under sofas and generally dark and enclosed spaces to sleeps. This makes perfect behavioral sense if you consider their polecat ancestors normally den in burrows. I have built a series of small wooden nesting boxes, about 1 foot square by 8 inches tall. I cut a 4 inch circular hole in one side (using a circle cutter on a power drill) and hinge the roof. The other side of the roof is held down with a magnetic lock. A towel is added as a blanket. These are painted to match my home decor, which means they are painted the wall and baseboard color. I put these boxes in the corners I don't want the ferrets to use as latrines. Also, I pull them away from the wall and turn the access hole to the back. They are VERY popular, and once I built enough of them, the furniture was NEVER bothered again. Ferrets will favor certain boxes, and sometimes will pull favorite toys into them. I have noticed scared ferrets dash off to the boxes, and ill ferrets don't seem to want to leave them. I only wish those manufacturers who make ferret cages would include a nest box with every purchase, and I recommend shelters to have one inside EVERY cage. One of my nest boxes is really a terra cotta vase, standing about 3 feet tall. I simply used a ceramic bit to drill a series of holes, then, using a very sharp chisel, wacked out the center plug by chiseling out the portions between the holes. I then used a circular bastard file to smooth the hole. I cut three 1 inch wood dowels to fit across the inside of the vase and hot glued them in place. I added a towel, placed the vase in a corner with the hole turned away from the room, then placed a potted plant into the vase, supported by the hot-glued dowels. Looks nice, and the ferrets pile inside. A second good way to reduce stress is physical exercise. I glue felt faces to old oven mitts, put them on over my delicate-to-fert-teeth hands, and rassel the carpet sharks. They rarely hurt even when greatly annoyed and seriously thrashing the mitt. I sometimes add little jingle bells, and one mitt has a squeaker in the thumb. The mitts are their favorite toys, and the physical stimulation is a fantastic stress reliever. A third stress reliever is to minimize cage time. Cages are a great source of stress to an animal that is inherently curious and active. I know, I know, you can't leave them out all the time, etc. Sure, I understand. But maximize the outside time as much as possible. Fourth, reduce distractions. If you leave your cage in an area frequented by people, cover the front with a blanket, or turn the cage so outside activities are not so distracting. Also, if you cage your ferrets like shelters do, alternate males with females. Ferrets are sexual territorialists; that is, males exclude other males but overlap with females. Even neutered animals will respond more vigorously to other members of their own sex than to the opposite sex. Both sexual and visual distractions can be quite stressful to many ferrets, especially those who are already ill, timid or abused. A fifth idea is called touch therapy. Some behaviorists call it grooming, animal lovers call it petting, but whatever you call it, do it as often as possible, especially with sick or injured animals. Light, gentle touching has been shown to stimulate the inner defenses and increase resistance to disease. Works will all mammals. It is also soothing and reduces stress the human might feel. Like humans, ferrets without physical contact can fail to thrive. Last, have a cool down period. Don't expect to let the ferrets out for an hour, then toss them back in a cage while they are still war dancing. Let them play until they start to wander off to find a place to sleep. Then pet and stroke them until they a) start running around again, b) go to sleep, c) get down to find a better bed. Only after you know they have slowed down should you put them away. That reduces cage stress, and also helps them to understand they will not be put away early, reducing bad behavior in that regard. I have lots more than I will toss in from time to time, but others should contribute their ideas as well. Bob C and 19 MO Mitt Shreaders (Missing Jet) [Posted in FML issue 2244]