Hi all FMLers I don't know what it is like in your part of the country, but our weather channel just said that the wind chill outside here (at 3:30 in the afternoon with the sun shining) is -24 below zero. Eee-gads! that's cold. The old furnace is getting a chance to do what it is designed to do. I wear no socks or very thin ones on my feet and dress fairly lightly in the winter time for a very good reason, I think anyway. I can best judge what it is like for the ferrets who are on the "floor level" after all aren't they. If I put on shoes and socks and dress really warmly, I would not be able to detect that the little ones are really much cooler or even cold down there. They cannot wear socks and shoes, and they will have a much more difficult time keeping warm and healthy unless we are aware that the floors and especially the outside wall floors and corners are much colder when the thermometer drops like it is doing. Some ferrets will relocate to warmer places. Some ferrets will not because they may not feel at ease sleeping in different places than they usually do. Some ferrets are older and have hair loss and may not have companion ferrets to cuddle up to and help them keep warm. If ferrets sleep in cages or condos, we need to make sure they are located near enough to a heat source. Get some thermometers and find out what the actual temperature is where your ferrets are sleeping. Although your thermostat (which is at least mid way between the floor and ceiling usually) reads 72 or so degrees, it may be well below that where the little fuzzy people are living!! If their tails and feet are cold when they get up, they are not nearly warm enough. Without thermometers it is impossible to know for sure anyway. Be sure to use ferret safe thermometers or locate them out of the reach of the ferrets while still getting them close to their place of sleep or their beds, I mean. If your ferrets are sleeping all the time, they may be ill or just trying to maintain body heat and do not want to be up because the floors are too cold for them. They use a lot of energy keeping warm and may just eat and sleep. Dress lighter and kick up those thermostats if needed, unless you live in south Texas or Florida or parts of Calif where it is warm all year round in which case I am so jealous of you I can hardly stand it. I live in the land of Oz and there are no posies blooming around Dorothy and Toto right now, only icicles. I have changed the water in the birdbath 3 times so far today, trying to give the birds and neighborhood squirrels a drink they don't have to chip out to get. Oh well, starting tomorrow, the days get longer and that means we are getting closer to spring and that gets even we Kansans by for now. The high temperature here on Christmas Day is supposed to be in the teens. We are just thankful that they are in the plus and not the minus temp range. Have a merry, merry Christmas and remember all your little fuzz people with warm beds, extra ferretone and lots of love. Jan and the ll footwarmers at Gracie's Place in the Land Of Oz. [Posted in FML issue 2532]