Hi I have three things i'd like to share / get feedback on.
 
1) I am going to take my ferrets to a friends house who agreed to ferret-sit
while I am away for the holidays.  Anyways to make a long story short I have
always taken them in their cage.  But now I got a smaller car and their cage
(quite large) won't fit.  Should I build a 'temporary' cage from a cardboard
box, put them in another container, or let them run loose while driving?  I
am not sure the later is a good idea, it could be fatal for both me and the
ferrets.  Anyone have experience with this?  Just a short trip, nothing long.
 
2) I remember someone saying they were cleaning the carpet.  I have some
ideas about this.  First I use Nature's Miracle which is some sort of
cleaner ('enzyme activated', i am not sure if this is true or not) which
works great for pet stains.  Second, I went out to Home Depot and got the
carpet protector plastic material.  There is an appropriate name for this,
but my mind is mush after taking exams so i will describe it, it comes in a
roll, and one side is smooth plastic, the other has spikes in it that dig
into the carpet and give it purchase.  It is commonly used in offices for
wheeled chairs.  Anyways I put it in strips under doors and in frequently
'visited' spots, spots where they are not *supposed* to visit.  If they do
visit, it is much easier to clean up plastic than carpet.  And no carpet
problems.  Two things with this, the 'accident' might contact the wall,
leaving a stain, or it might leak down the plastic.  It isn't 100%
bulletproof but is better than nothing.  I am not sure if everyone is using
this or not but just my $.02.
 
3) Finally on hybernation.  My ferrets have been sleeping *alot* more than
normal lately.  They have been sleeping in various parts of my chest of
drawers in my bedroom, which is pretty cute really.  But the point is they
now sleep 22-24 hours a day, seemingly.  The weather has been quite nasty
recently, very cold and rainy.  I keep the room at room temperature of
course.  My question is does anyone have any experiences on ferret
hybernating?  This is a new thing for me, I don't think they have done this
before but this is a new environment for us (colder than normal).
 
Well thanks.  Enjoy the 10th birthday, everyone who is going.  FML is great!
 
-Rob
[Posted in FML issue 2130]