Greetings to all who love ferrets! We went to the Heart of Ohio Ferret Association (HOFA) ferrets Christmas party just outside of Columbus on Sunday! What a great time we had! Chumba and Dessie both do great when thrown in the play pen with all the other ferrets. Ours were easy to see, since they happen to be smaller than every other ferret there! Chumba is always glad to have Dessie follow anyone else around like a puppy dog, and he doesn't seem to mind that he's attacking ferrets twice his size! We exchanged gifts for the kids, and we got a new roly ball to put the ends of our many tunnels in. We gave some buzy balls, and a pair of reindeer antlers on a hat (Dessie was soooo glad we gave those away, he didn't wanna wear them!) Well, we got with all those ferret people, and guess what happened??? Ferret math!!!! The funny thing is, it was Chuck who succumbed this time! We got the sweetest, prettiest little old lady. Sequoia is a 6-7 year old little gal, rescued by one of the founders of HOFA about a year ago, because she was in estrus and too far along. Apparently she spent her whole life in a cage, with very little human interaction. You would never know it now! Bunny did a good job of socializing this lady, because she is the absolute sweetest girl in the world. She even sits on my lap for short periods of time! But she's very soft and beautiful, and energetic for her age. If it wasn't for this list, and the recommendation of so many folks to adopt an older ferret, I probably would never have considered it, but you were so right, she is a special joy. Although we are praying for lots of years with her, we realize she might not grace our presence for that long. Sequoia is the second intact female that we're going to have spayed in January, along with Chumba. We've been very careful to keep the light levels low during the mornings and evenings, to keep either from coming into estrus too early, although if necessary, we'd forgo some Christmas money if they needed it earlier. But this did bring a question to mind for me, not that it will keep us from having the surgery, but does a jill ever reach an age where they go through the equivalent of human menopause? Sequoia went into heat three times in the last year, and was bred to bring her out of it, but she had false pregnancies each time. Do they continue to do that throughout their lifetime, until spayed? She's a pretty old gal to be having kits, isn't she? Sorry so long, but we are just so excited about both the ferret club we've joined and about our great new addition! Thanks! Sherry and Chuck (willing slaves) Dessie, Chumba and Sequoia (willing and able masters!) -- http://www.geocities.com/southbeach/pier/8102/ Meet my fuzzy family! [Posted in FML issue 2526]