One of my ferrets, Pippin, is significantly medically challenged; she's
living with an internal pacemaker that was installed about 15 months
ago, has insulinoma which cannot be operated on because of the pacemaker
(she's lost about 30-40% of her hair as well), has a bit of arthritis
in her back legs, and to top it all of she's effectively blind due to
cataracts in both eyes.  She shares a two-level cage (litterbox on
towels on bottom, food and water fountain and hammocks on top, carpeted
throughout) with my other ferret (Bubo) and gets around reasonably well
in there.
 
The combination of her medical issues and the smooth wood floor of my
apartment makes her colder than she should be, I think.  Whenever I pick
her up after she's been walking around her feet and tail are freezing
cold and she often leans in against me for warmth.  There are a couple of
area rugs in the apartment and I've laid down some large towels for her
to walk around on, but there's still a lot of area left.  Carpeting the
room isn't an option.
 
To help keep her warm, my thoughts are to get a couple of ferret sweaters
(http://www.ferretstore.com/fw-016.html) or even fleece jackets
(http://www.ferretstore.com/marpetprodja.html) and have her wear one all
the time.  Do you think this would be too annoying for her, or would
hinder her at all?
 
My other thought was to get a small electric heating pad and put it under
the carpet on the upper level, under the hammocks.  I have an old doggie
bed that has a removable heating pad that I can easily cannibalize for
this function.
 
Does anyone see anything wrong with my thinking, or have any
additional/better ideas?
[Posted in FML issue 4389]