I have a near tragic story to tell regarding toilet paper rolls. Two years ago, on Christmas Day, I let Lucy & Greta play in a cardboard tube from wrapping paper I used up earlier. They barely fit in it but thought it was fun when I rolled the tube across the floor with them in it. Later that night, I let them out to play again, and went in to watch T.V. A little while later, I got a sudden urge to check up on them. I found Greta but not Lucy. Finally, knowing how much she loved to climb into garbage cans, I checked those. I found her in the one in the bathroom. She was just laying still with her head down in the trash. I grabbed her out and saw she had her head stuck in a toilet paper roll. (Apparently, she thought she could fit thru that one since she fit in the other one earlier). She obviously was weak from struggling to get it off. I tried to get it off but couldn't. I looked into the other end of the tube and saw she was bleeding from the nose and frothing at the mouth. Her eyes were glazed over. I quickly found a scissors and cut the tube off of her. She coughed a few times but then stopped breathing! I yelled her name and shook her a little She started to cough again. I ran to the phone to call my vet. I called two I knew of but couldn't reach them. For a little while, I just sat on the floor, rocking her in my arms and crying! I was so sure she was going to die! Once I pulled myself together, I called an emergency clinic in Minneapolis and they said they don't treat ferrets! I called the St Paul emergency clinic and they said they would see her, but since my car had no heat and it was 30 degrees below zero that night, and the clinic was an hour or more away, I decided it was too risky to bring her there.. The lady I spoke with, was very nice and talked to me for quite a long time. Finally, when I noticed that Lucy had gotten off my lap and was rummaging thru my purse, I figured she was going to pull thru! Long story, but just want to say to be very careful! I now cut up ALL cardboard tubes before I throw them away. I also have phone numbers of closer emergency vets that love ferrrets, in case of another close call. Lucy did recover, and she thnks of me as her guardian angel and follows me everywhere I go! It did bring us a lot closer. Barb and the ever-lovin fuzzies, Lucy ( you saved my life, Mommy, I love you!) & Greta (Can we roll in the big tube again?) [Posted in FML issue 2487]