I can't believe this but last night (all day yesterday it snowed) we had the
worst storm we've had in 12 years (I live in K.C., MO).  It actually has not
snowed this early in the year since 1898!  My neighborhood was a war zone
with trees (because they still had all their leaves) broken all over the
place.  I lost a very large piece of my only large tree in my back yard and
was actually outside beating the snow off the leaves of a small tree next to
my house with a broom when I watched a HUGE branch off my neighbor's tree
break off right next to their house.
 
WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH FERRETS YOU ASK??  I had no electricity
either.  I always panic about the ferrets being cold when something like
this happens (no heat).  Everyone tells me they'll be fine but I still
worry.  I normally put them in the cage at night (when I go to bed) but last
night I left them out (even though I KNOW they'll poop wherever they please)
so they'd be able to find the warmest spot in the house to sleep (probably
in my bed) because I left and spent the night at a friend's house.  One of
them (Sweet Pea, my sickly one, of course) actually poked her head out and
wanted to check out the snow!  To start with, she's blind (from a seizure
when I wasn't home one time) and I worry about her more than Little Roo (my
rowdy one who likes to check out the snow then come inside and go on a major
dook fest)!
 
Since they are domesticated ferrets and don't spend much time outdoors (I
lost a previous ferret to a neighbor's dog-it happened so fast I couldn't do
anything about it) because I'm paranoid of losing them, I don't know what
temperature they can tolerate.  Should I put their cage up off the floor
when it gets really cold?  It was about 60 degrees in the house when I left
but felt colder.  Also, when it gets colder this winter I usually want to
turn the heat down to 55-60 during the day to save on my bills but I worry
about them getting sick.  Would they be okay if I just put more bedding in
there for them (they usually sleep in thick towels)?
 
Can someone please tell me if I should be worrying so much?  I love my
babies, and I DO consider them that.  They are both 7 years old.
 
Also, I've never brushed their teeth.  I didn't even know it was something
that needed to be done.  I wasn't sure about how to go about starting this
now.  I've never brushed my cat's teeth either but I let the vet clean her
teeth periodically because I KNOW there's no WAY she'd let me do it.
 
Sorry about such a long post!
 
Suzanne and---Sweet Pea---Little Roo
[Posted in FML issue 1731]