Snow (outdoors this time!)

So, mom and dad decided that it would be "fun" to bring the brother and me outside to play in the snow since we liked the bucket of snow so much last year. Saturday it was nearly 35 degree, but that is 30 colder than our house, so I got a little chilly. I went around for about 5 minutes, tried to climb the screen door, then climbed up mom (no joke, up her pants and then her coat) and proceeded to snuggle up to her scarf and neck to keep warm.

Unlike Nutter Butter, er, Ferret, I don't have any fat to insulate me! I got chilly! Ferret had fun getting into the leaf bags and then spent the rest of the time running around then trying to get out of his harness. I guess he could smell freedom, all I could think of was how freaking COLD I was. Anyways, hope you enjoyed the pictures! I don't anticipate us making a repeat trip until the snow has cleared and it's above 65 degrees.

Who's the Laziest Weasel?!

FERRET IS!

Slinky says: He's such an attention hog! He is sooo relaxed and cuddly it makes me sick! How can mom and dad possibly have time for me if he steals it all! Honest to goodness...don't get confused by the picture. He's not fighting, he's laying there in a coma pretty much. He only gets up and gets active for treats, the gopher, and his occasional mental moments of dooking and war dancing. But trust me, he's L-A-Z-Y. But, he does like to cuddle up in our hammock together and lets me massage his neck. So I guess he isn't all bad...I'll just beg for some cuddles from mom.

My Bag!

We fight over territory, just like siblings. In this case, it was a Hallmark bag.

Bye bye Blenny...

Dad is sad, he lost one of his pretty salt water fish. He didn't have a name, but he was a Lawn-mower Blenny. He was a Lawn-Mower because he ate all the algae and green stuff in the tank. He was mom's favorite because he was unique. Shocking right? Anyways, we feel bad for dad because we know how much he loves his fishes. RIP Blenny!

Happy Halloween!

As you probably know, mom is a little crazy. She made us costumes for Halloween last year (capes) and again this year. She made a pear costume for Ferret and a ninja costume for me. Only problem, Ferret was too big for his, and I didn't let mom put that stuff on me! She did do it for long enough to get a picture, but after she got them, I ran away and squirmed out of that thing. It was a black jacket, with a white belt and a headband for my head. Apparently, that's what ninjas wear? I already have fur mom...

The Famous Blue Balls!

You may have heard about my silly brother's obsession with his Blue Balls, it is a problem, far worse than my obsessive scooting habit. He is uber-defensive of them and won't let you have them anywhere but in his hiding spots. He grabs them by the string, scurries away to stash them under a fishtank or inside (not just under!) the couch. He really does NOT like it when they get moved. He hisses and fights if you try to stop him. Mom and dad laugh at him, I'm sure they are just sick in the head...they usually are!

Bath Time!

So every few months mom and dad feel the need to give us a bath. At first we're excited to be somewhere other than the basement, but once the water starts running, so do we! Slinky sat and scratched at the door, trying to escape, and I (Ferret) pooped in the corner. I got washed first, and I was calmer than the last few times, mom tried to talk sweet to me but she was the freaking paparazzi with that camera, determined to capture the look of fear on my face. Dad washes me, and then mom plays "catch the weasel". I run around the room, rubbing myself on anything that is soft, including trying to get up Dad's pants. Mom had to tuck his pants into his socks so I wouldn't try to get it. She just laughs because a wet ferret doesn't do well on a hard floor. That's ok, I got her shirt and pants all wet too. She tries to dry me with a towel but I want to run and rub!

Slinky does much better with baths, she doesn't mind the warm water, but she does look like a rat when she's wet. When we're both "dry" they take us back downstairs and give us treats, if we don't run under the couch first. There's lots of soft stuff under there to help us dry. I curled up with dad on the couch and Slinky took her favorite spot under the quilt by mom. We just want to sleep and warm up! In the end, we are very fresh and soft now, which is only nice for the human folks. Thank goodness they don't try this more often!

We're Here to Help!

So, mom's been really busy at work since there's something going on, I think she said quarter end? And then there's that thing with the stock market...


Anyways, we would like to offer our assistance in this difficult time. As you may or may not know, we are stashers/thieves/hoarders/etc. Our collecting habits are far more accountable than the stock market. We surely exceed the FDIC coverage too. So, please give us your assets. We will stash them away and keep them safe, unless mom cleans our nest...but she's too busy and sleepy. Here is a showing of our work:

This is not a clear example of our abilities. You see, anything that we deem to be important or "nestable" we scoot under the couch, where we sleep on top of it. Some people put money under their mattresses, it's kind of the same idea. Some of our favorite things to stash are towels, tissue paper, beanie babies, squeaky toys, pop bottles, socks, receipts, mail, fleecy things, and a couple of times we've tried to pull mom and dad under by their pants, but they don't fit.

Our investment advice, "Grin and ferret!"

The Kissing Monster!

I love to give (take) kisses! I love to lick mom and dad's noses and faces, I never bite them in the face, that's what evil dogs do! That's how I show them I love them, I cuddle up in their arms, and then give them kisses on their noses. Sometimes I try to eat mom's bugers, but she doesn't let me. If I'm really sweet, they give me treats! I didn't used to cuddle with dad, but he seems to think I'm not as evil any more, so he picks me up to cuddle too.

I love my mom and dad!

Vote Slinky and Ferret!

With all the hullabaloo these last two weeks with the political conventions, we've had enough of missing out on mom's attention. She only seems to have time to cuddle when she's watching the humans speak. So, we would like to announce we will accept your votes for us this fall! You won't see our names on the ballot, but please write us in ok? We're more qualified than most people running right?

Even if we don't win, there's a chance there could be a first ferret! (Check out #18) http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/president/27882599.html?page=1&c=y

We sure are glad mom and dad aren't in office, who would take care of us and give us treats for using the litter box or just being cute!

Goober it is!

Mom has a new name for me, it's Goober!

We went to the pet store last night, got to meet some kids who thought we were cool. According to the scale, I weigh 3.5 pounds and Slinky still weighs 1.5. I'm just putting on my winter weight!

My new obsession!

Ferret:

Well, mom helped her brother move away to college and of course had to buy things while she was there. She bought us a toy, it's a Gopher on a stick that when you wiggle it around supposedly sounds like a gopher, you're supposed to use it at the football games, but I'm determined to steal and destroy that thing! It's face will get chewed off when I get the chance. I hiss and whine because I can't get it away from them.

I'm so obsessed with it, I will try to climb on top of my sister so I can reach it. I want to kill it, gophers are rodents and I eat rodents! Mom doesn't like me destroying her school mascot, so she might try to find a Wolverine or Badger instead! Don't worry about me being too obsessed, I will stop my mission to destroy it for a treat or dinner.

What we did on our vacation with Mom and Dad!

Slinky:

We are not really used to being awake during the day, so we did a lot of sleeping. But mom and dad did a lot of exciting stuff around the house. They would leave us downstairs alone while they were doing work around the house, so to encourage them to not keep doing that, we would leave "presents" in the corner by the stairs.

I helped mom organize the office, mostly by pushing things off of the desk onto the floor. Mom got a basket to keep all the magazines in, and we of course had to help!

Dad cleaned the carpet under the couch, which means he had to empty out our nest. So instead of sleeping somewhere else, Ferret slept on top of the pile.

All in all, we were glad to spend extra time with mom and dad, but we are really glad to get back to sleeping in peace all day again!

Mom's a Slacker!

So, apparently when mom takes a vacation from work and stays home with us, she's unable to update our blog. And then she wasn't home because something with Grandpa B? Whatever. We'll be posting again shortly once mom gets her act back together, but in the meantime here's some new pictures of us, including Slinky's new favorite place to sleep.

Can you see me? I'm the bump in the middle. I like to sleep right in the middle of mom's side of the couch under the quilt. Don't think that because I'm next to you, that's means you should pet me! Nope. I slide down the couch onto the floor, glare at you, then climb back under there and keep sleeping.

I love chilling on dad's lap! He's so nice. I like to lick him too because he tastes nummy!

Our tent!

Slinky:

So we went to the pet store (Chuck and Don's) on Thursday night to get our special food, and we don't always get to go with because, apparently, we're hard to handle?! Whatever. Just ignore the scratch marks on mom's arms. We don't mind having our harnesses on, but getting them on can be a challenge because I often forget that I get to go somewhere when it's on, and mom isn't trying to be mean or anything. If she'd stop putting shirts on us we might not fight it! We get to ride in our carrier in the car, which Ferret just scratches and scratches at the door, as if he's going to escape! Hasn't happened yet, but that doesn't stop him from trying! We got lots of attention from the two girls working at the store, they thought Ferret was soooo cute, but then they saw me and ooo-ed and aaa-ed over how tiny and cute I was with my pink nose. One girl even said I was the cutest ferret she'd ever seen! They had a cat there, she was in a cage, but Ferret made her start to shake! The big cat was afraid on a dumb weasel! The girls working said that she never has done that before at any other animals. I think she was threatened by the cuteness!

They had things on display, like toys, collars, kennels, beds, etc. I found a tent that I really liked, I kept crawling around in it, being all cute playing with my face (that's how I get their attention). So mom talked dad into letting us get one! We have lots of fun playing in it, trying to kick each other out, etc. We also do snuggle up in it. See our pictures:

(Wrestling)

(Slinky helping Ferret relax by chewing on his scruff. This really does help us relax, it releases chemicals that me us relax. See the "Scruffing" term in the last post.)

(Ferret napping - more like sucking up for the camera!!)

Some Lingo (and our comments!)

Alpha Ferret - The dominant ferret of the house, leader of the pack - Mommy!

Ankle/leg Biter - Wanting attention, a treat or to be picked up - We are proud to say that we don't do this, when we want attention, see Carpet Shark

Belly Button - Well not quite, let's just say you have a male ferret

Bottle Brush - Their tail puffs out from excitement, anger or fear..almost like static cling

Business - Group of multi ferrets Our parents are proud business owners! Mom's favorite saying is "I'd rather be dooking with my business!"

Butt Wipe - Ferret type of toilet paper. After going to the bathroom, they drag their rear on the floor - FYI, this is NOT because we need to wipe, this is to mark our teritory, or in Slinky's case to really convince you that she went!

Chomp - Checking out teeth strength..the acting of biting. Usual course is lick-lick-CHOMP Sometimes Slinky skips the "lick-lick"

Carpet Shark - laying very close to the floor stretched out, usually just observing. Can also crawl from this position. AKA flat ferret "Look at me! I'm so pathetic, alone, fluffed out, please pick me up!"

Dooking - Chuckling sounds made when excited, exploring, playing or war dancing. Resembles a rooster sound - Ferret is the master dooker of the house!

FFZ - Ferret Free Zone - Ferrets are illegal, Also known as NFFZ - Non-Ferret Friendly Zone - How can places not want our cuteness!

Ferret Math - The art of going from one ferret to two, to three to four to..... - We don't know if mom will do this, dad might draw the line, but if he gets more fish, we may get more fuzzies playmates!

Ferret Proofing - Keeping the house as safe as possible for ferrets. Restricting access to areas that can cause them harm - Good luck with that! Imagine the worst toddler ever, and then make them small enough to fit under a stove. Just think...See what we mean?!

Kit- Baby ferret

Nip & Run - Easier than the chomp action..Invitation to play - Usually followed by a

dook/war dance

Scruffing - Pinching by the nape of the neck, just like a mother would do, relaxing and calming the ferret. This will usually result in the ferret yawning away - Slinky gets this for biting, Ferret gets this for digging or chewing on the fish tank filter, and BTW, we yawn because we don't care!

Shiver - Seen when a ferret first wakes up. Way of regulating and increasing their body temperature which drops during sleep time - Slinky's awesome at this, mom treats her like she's dying...

Snorkeling -Immersing entire head in water, often blowing bubbles. Often they forget their scuba gear. - We like to do this in a bowl with ice cubes. We chase them around the bowl, and dive for more!

Stash - Hiding place ferrets store all their treasures usually out of human reach. Missing keys, remote controls, etc can usually be found there. Who needs kids?? - Mom just said "Amen" when she read that...

War Dance - An excited ferret bouncing and thrashing themselves around with stiff legs, arched back, open mouth, swinging head, often flinging into walls and furniture. Usually dooking and bottle brush tail go on at the same time. Ferret on speed. - Ferret rocks at this. He will do it to evade capture too, and then wiggle his way out of your grasp and hit his head on the floor...

Happy August!

We're so excited that it's August because that means it's one month closer to snow and Christmas presents! We love the wrapping paper, and grandma and the 'rents give us some fun toys to hide under the couch (along with the wrapping paper).

With the hot weather, we wanted to pass along a factoid about ferrets. We should not be in temperatures above 80 degrees because we are small and would succumb to heat stroke very quickly. We are not able to sweat like people or pant like a dog so we get hot very fast. When the air conditioning was broken two weeks ago, mom and dad kept us in the basement and gave us bowls of water with ice cubes to keep us cool. They sure were fun to chase around the dish, but they did not let us carry them away to stash them. Not sure why...

Have a great fuzzy-nap-filled weekend!

(Napping in Dad's lap)

What makes us crazy...

"Prairie Dog"

Ferret: There are a few things that just make us crazy, that we always go nutty for. I personally can't STAND it when things I want are out of reach. I hiss at it, and stand on my back legs trying to reach up as high as I can, but I think mom's just plain mean! I love rubber duckies and trolls, but she won't let me play with them because, apparently, I ruin them? Whatever. I so do not. Just because the beaks, tails, hands and ears are missing doesn't mean they're ruined! Come on...

So when she tries to take them, I hiss and whimper at her and try to hide them under the couch. If they won't let go of a toy I want to take, I hiss at them too. I also don't like it when they try to stop me from digging. Dad sprays me with the water bottle but I just look at him because I don't understand why I have to get wet! Most of the time, I'm just digging because I'm bored or want attention. Why don't they get that?

That's what I think of your discipline!

Slinky: I don't mind the water bottle. I don't get sprayed, I just ask for drinks! It's very convenient and less work than the usual water bottles. I don't hiss very often, just at Ferret if he's annoying me. I go crazy when there are loud clicking noises like the evil light timer! Dad brought it for his fish tanks, and then when he realized that it made me crazy, he tortured me for a while by spinning the dial around. I hate that noise! Grrr... Dad eventually put the timer under his big fish tank, and I pulled the pins out of the dial so if wouldn't make any more noise. It took him a month to realize that there was no time, his UV sterilizer ran all the time! Hehe. Serves him right for torturing me!

The evil light timer!

Our Story...(Told by Slinky)

(Slinky at 8 Weeks)

Well, I realize that some of you may not know the story of how we found our human counter parts. It all started when mom and dad bought the house. Dad bought a big fish tank for his pirhana, and after a while mom wanted something fuzzy to give all her attention to since dad was obsessed with his fish tank. She wanted a dog, because that's what people do when they get houses. Crazy we think; sure they're cute and protective, but come on...nothing compared to us!

They decided they both were gone too much to have a dog, and dad's mildly allergic to cats so the two "normal" pets were out of the questions. Mom wanted a chinchilla, but they run too much, so she thought maybe a Guinea Pig, dad said, "Those are lame! How about Ferrets?" Mom looked at him like he was nuts. She always loved ferrets at the pet store, but didn't think she would ever get to have one. They did lots of research about us, what we need, what we eat, and then they bought all the "supplies" - our condo, hammock, food, toys, leashes, grooming things, etc. Then they went to the store to pick out a ferret! Dad thought it would be better to get two, so they each picked one from the litter at the store. We don't know if we're actually brother and sister, but we were adopted by the same people, so we are siblings. We were only 8 weeks old! Our birthdays are in July, so we just turned 2!

Mom wanted to look at all the ferrets to check out their personalities, but I kept jumping up on her arm every time she put one back or went to take another, I kept grabbing onto it with my front paws. I chose her! I wasn't the cutest one then, but now I'm just adorable and have cashmere like fur. My coloring is very special - Champagne Mitt.

Ferret slept through all the excitement, and dad saw him curled up asleep around the pole in the middle of the cage and said, "He's good cool coloring, and seems pretty mellow." He's a black sable for his coloring. It was an easy choice for dad. Poor mom wanted to take them all home, but dad said only two! So then they brought us home, and we've taken over!

We still favor the parent that picked us, Ferret only cuddles with mom when dad's not home and waits for dad at the bottom of the stairs. I don't really like to cuddle with dad because he doesn't talk about how cute and sweet I am! Mom loves to give me kisses, it's kind of annoying sometimes...but we all make sacrifices right?

We have our own bedroom with our condo and toys, and the basement is where we're allowed to be with minimal supervision. We share that space with three fishtanks, which we don't find all that exciting, but they are fun to hide stuff underneath! From time to time we take "field trips" to the kitchen, bathroom, outside, pet store, or vet with mom and dad. Sometimes we get to run around the whole house. It's so much fun! If Ferret would stop wrecking the carpet maybe we'd get to do that more. I suppose I could stay out of the dishwasher and not go under the stove too...

Anyways, we love our house and mom and dad take great care of us! I've been up for too long, back to napping!

History of the Ferret

First and foremost, we want to let you know that we are NOT RODENTS! We eat rodents! One main difference between rodents and us is that rodents have teeth that continuosly grow and need to chew on things to keep them short. Think of hamsters or beavers. When we chew on things it's because we like to crunch stuff, like eating a live animal, it's out instinct!

We have been domesticated for over 2,000 years, and we're not sure who domesticated us first, but it was likely Europeans or Egyptians. We are hunters (and stashers!) by nature. Without our humans, we would not survive, and we would definitely not be happy! If we don't get enough stimulation through play and affection, we get angry and don't behave. I guess that means we're really smart...too smart? >=]

For more information than you probably want, check out the Wikipedia article on us:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrets

Happy Thursday!

Some of our highlights...

Yea, she puts shirts on us. Don't I look thrilled? It's like she doesn't realize we have fur?! We also got capes for Halloween and hats for St. Patrick's day.

This was the most fun we've had in a while, it was cold, but tasted pretty good and made for good digging!

Hey! This is my DVD case!