re-litter training a deaf ferret... who doesnt like treats

Question
Hi Cassie,

I am a relatively 'green' ferret mom of two crazy fuzzies, both of whom I got from pet stores when they were young. Phyllis, the female is not quite a year and a half old, and Felix, the male, is a little over a year old. Both have been fixed. I have a large, rectangular cage for them (with multiple climbing platforms and hammocks) where they eat and sleep, but for the most part during the day they have free riegn on the room (where there are 5 different litter bins, plus the one in their cage). My problem is with poor Felix - he's deaf, and so he and I are only able to communicate so well. The two ferrets get along with each other ridiculously well (Phyllis seems to be the more dominant one in the relationship, despite the fact that Felix is significantly larger than her) and cuddle and play all the time. Phyllis is extremely well-behaved, perfectly litter trained (even when in a new environment), and extremely affectionate. Felix is playful and silly - he's fairly active (it takes nothing more than a toy waved in his face for him to go from yawning and stretching after a nap to bouncing off the walls), and doesn't put up with much cuddling, even when he IS sleepy, but he does enjoy lying on his back and having his belly scratched sometimes. He's absolutely precious, and tons of fun, but we don't really share the same bond that Phyllis and I do - to Phyllis, I'm mom, but to Felix I'm more like caretaker and occasional playmate.
Felix was more or less fully litter trained when I got him, and for about 6 months or so had very few accidents. The past 4 or 5 months though, he's been slowly un-training himself somehow, and it's gotten to the point where 65% of the time, he's not bothering to look for a litter box at all (or, in some cases, outright ignoring it when it's right in front of him). I'm at a total loss as to how to fix this problem, and I'm getting tired of cleaning up surprises on such a regular basis (given how often ferrets poop, it equals several little piles per day that are not going in the litter).
He doesn't like treats of any kind. I feed them a mixture of two different brands of food, which he eats without question. I've tried many different brands and flavours of ferret treats, as well as offering the occasional nibble of people food (a sliver of lunch meat, or dab of peanut butter), but he doesn't like ANYTHING - it's like he doesn't even recognize it as food. When I give Phyllis treats, Felix will sometimes show an interest and I always offer some to him too, but he'll just sniff it (maybe give it a lick if I'm lucky) and lose interest. Phyllis gets Ferretone daily, which she loves. I've tried giving it to Felix, and for a while was wiping it around his mouth and putting it on my fingers to try and get it in his mouth to get him accustomed to the taste so that just MAYBE he'd learn to like it, but I eventually gave up on that too, because it just felt mean after a while! I also tried drizzling a little of it over their food, but he just digs everything out of the bowl and spills it everywhere until he finds the ferretone-free peices in the bottom.
With him not liking any kind of treats, and not being able to hear, I don't know what kind of positive reenforcement to offer him on those occasions when he DOES make it to the litter bin. I've moved boxes into corners he seems to prefer, which sometimes works, but more often than not he'll either shove the box aside, or ignore that corner and find a new one. It's hard to moniter, but when I can I try and watch him fairly closely and move him to a litter bin if he seems to be preparing to poop where he's not meant to, but usually, unless I've grabbed him just in the nick of time and he has no choice but to stay where I've put him, he'll just walk himself back to the place he'd chosen, no matter how many times I pick him up and move him, until it becomes too late, and he has to poop in the bin or risk doing it in midair while I move him. It's gotten to the point where, call me crazy, but he seems to be consciously choosing not to use the litter bins, even when they're right in front of him, even when he's already standing in it, even when it's currently occupying the space he's chosen to poop in!! I have no idea how to fix this. I've tried everything I know how to do, but nothing seems to be getting through to him. I'm going to be moving soon, and want to get him using the litter bins more dilligently before I introduce him into a new space to poop all over and make a mess of (though I recognize that even if I accomplish this, there will be a lot of necessary reinforcement for the first little while at the new place until they both learn where their new bathrooms are). Any advice you could give me?
- Mackenzie

Answer
Since he loves toys those could be his positive reinforcement. When he goes in the litter box play with him with his toy as soon as he is done.

I had a very hard time potty training my deaf boy. This is what worked for me.

First limit his living space if it means separating him for the time being it won't hurt his bond to Phyllis just let them still have playtime together. If you have one available or if the levels in their cage has removable shelves remove them making a one level cage. Put the litter box in the corner you want him to use and clamp it into place so he cannot move it. Take out all of the hammocks. Put a bed or something to sleep on in a corner. Put food in one corner and water in another. This way he has no choice but to use the litter box. When he is reliably using the litter box start giving him more space and longer playtimes until he can go back to being a free ferret like he is now.