litter training/housing

Question
amy,
i have a ferret felmale that is 39 weeks old. i let her run around free in my room with an available litter box outside her cage and i leave her cage door open.i litter trained her when i first got her and she was very good, she caught on quick and never had a problem with it until recently she has been going to the bathroom right in front of my door! i have tried everything from blocking it off (she always finds a way through or she just goes in front of that) to putting food there (she goes on top of the food)...i really do not know what to try next and was wondering if you had any ideas

Answer
Hello,
It is not unusual for a ferret to regress in litter training during the ages of 8 mos. to 13 mos. It is their "terrible twos" time, and they will sometimes become a little bratty, a little nippy and regress in litter training. Litter training is one of the most difficult things to master.Your BEST bet is to learn when your ferret goes potty, i.e., after a nap, after play, after eating. That's when you want to make sure he is near a litter pan.
They are not like cats, who will go through the house to a litter pan...I used to have to teach mine to go potty before they left the cage to play, and it takes a lot of patience, with a ferret staring at you for 15 minutes waiting for you to let him out of the cage, and me saying "GO POTTY!!" FINALLY he would go!! Then they eventually learned "If I go potty, I get out to play," ... so that's your best bet, is to make sure she goes potty before you let him out of her cage to play.
As far as in front of the door, that is a tough situation. Try buying one of those carpet runners that are made of plastic/vinyl, they are clear, and the one side of it is spiked (to hold it down to the carpet) ... put that in front  of the door, with the spiked side UP. She will resist going on the area with the runner most likely, and put a litter pan just to the side of the door. Some people have done the same thing with mild sticky back tape on a runner(on the non-spiked side), the ferrets don't like the feel of it. Hopefully she will outgrow the behavior, but this may help in the mean time.
I hope this helps!
amy