Ferret behavior: Chewing bedding and toys

Question
Hello Ailigh!

We purchased a 5-mo female ferret from PetCo two weeks ago.  This is the first ferret I have owned, although my boyfriend has had ferrets throughout his childhood. We have named her Kiwi :)   We are currently in the process of potty-training and nip-training. Kiwi is adjusting fine to her new home, but I have two concerns about her chewing behavior.

When she was at PetCo, Kiwi lived in an aquarium, with about five other ferrets, which contained paper litter as bedding. From what I've read, aquariums aren't the best housing for these guys due to ventilation problems. Kiwi now has a wire cage with a plastic tub as the base.  Since she has moved in with us, we've provided cloth bedding and only used paper bedding in her litter box. Every time Kiwi eats her kibble (regardless of when it was wet or since we've switched to dry kibble [Marshall's brand in both instances], she will gnaw and chew on her cloth bedding. At first she had old t-shirts as bedding, but since I noticed she was chewing holes through it, we switched to towels. Kiwi is a persistent little thing, and she continues her chewing habit with the towels. If I try to take the towel away while she is chewing, she gets extremely defensive and jumpy and will hiss at me (kind of a higher-pitched exhaling sound). I'm not noticing any missing pieces of towel and I've been keeping an eye on her stool (which seems healthy), but I doubt this is a healthy habit. From what I've researched, this chewing could be a result of a number of reasons- because she wasn't weaned properly or because she's been teething, etc....  What can I do to prevent this from happening?  I feel bad for taking her bedding away and giving her an empty box :(  What are the alternatives to cloth bedding?  And when can I start reintroducing cloth bedding (if ever)?  If it turns out that little Kiwi is just teething, is there a way to soothe her sore gums- ice-cubes or frozen meat maybe?

Kiwi's chewing habit goes beyond the cage, unfortunately. She LOVES her tennis ball toy, but after she drags it under the couch, she will proceed to chew on the green fibers and try to pull them out!  I know that she has digested these fibers because I've noticed them in her stool. So, readers beware! If your ferret is a chewer like our baby Kiwi, tennis balls should be played with under parental supervision!!!

Ailigh, if you could help me out with any suggestions based on your experiences and knowledge, I would really appreciate it!

Thank you,
-Kate

Answer
Even if she isn't ingesting fabric, chewing on metal, fabric, or tennis balls is bad news for ferret teeth (the behavior can wear down the teeth).  The behaviors is often the result of a lack of enrichment or mental stimulation.  Being alone and in a cage for long periods of time can cause the behavior.  Initially, you need to remove anything she can chew on so she can't practice this behavior.  You also need to make sure all of her toys are ferret safe and that she has lots of things to do while in her cage.  There is a ton of information on-line if you look for ferret enrichment which should lead you in the right direction.  While some of the behavior may be due to her age, it isn't teething as this usually stops earlier.  I would focus more on making her like more stimulating, ferrets are problem solvers and quite smart so will bore easily.