Karla asks about ferret proofing Christmas trees for the holidays. I think there may be an faq on this somewhere, but can't find it at the moment. I do however have several tips from personal experience: Do NOT leave a string wrapped tree lying on it's side. Last year Buttons crawled through the branches and came out with lots of pitch on his whiskers, which he then rubbed on the carpet, picking up lots of fluff and breaking off his long luscious whiskers. It took months for them to grow back. Do NOT use the dryer hose as a tree decoration. It makes a highly entertaining animated decoration, but the weight of the ferrets can break the branches. Well, go ahead and try it for a little while, BEFORE you put other decorations up. Do NOT get a live tree (with root ball). No matter what you do, they will get into the dirt and make a mess. A big mess. Do NOT hang candy canes, even if they are still wrapped in plastic and are high up. Sticky candy cane is hard to get out of the carpet. Do NOT put out small packages ahead of time. Large heavy ones are ok. Sometimes. DO hang ornaments with bells down low. DO have lots of fun! Linda Iroff Raisin Retreat Ferret Shelter Oberlin, OH http://www.oberlin.edu/~liroff/ncfs.html [Posted in FML issue 2491]