Weasels

Here is the promised post about the ferrets. A month or so after we moved to Nickerson (so after Feb. '01) we bought the two ferrets from a women in Enid, OK. She had just had a baby and having the ferrets run off with diapers(clean, I think) and other supplies was driving her crazy. She said they were two years old.

We renamed them Tika(me) for a frying pan wielding barmaid in the Dragonlance Chronicles, and Raffles(DH) for a gentleman thief. I'll have to ask him the author, I have seen the BBC series though.


Tika(female) is the first picture, Raffles(male) the second. Ferrets are a lot like kittens, they play constantly when they are awake and sleep like the dead when they aren't. And they don't grow out of it. Not until they are so old they can't move like they used to.

Sleeping like the dead.

Playing hard.
They are 8 years old now, ferrets usually live about 6 to 7 years. These guys are old. I don't have a current picture of Raffles(and I don't feel like taking one), but he looks the same as Tika.

Yeah, ewww, huh? You get used to it. But then again, we had a hairless rat too, looked just about the same. They are both hairless, losing control of their back legs, have arthritis in their jaws(they squeak) and Tika is also blind. And just in case any of you do know anything about ferrets, yes, we did have the adrenal surgery done on Tika. Her hair came back for about a year, then gone again. They have gotten even worse here lately. Raffles occasionally has trouble breathing and Tika's body temperature is low. She always has gotten cold easily, but now you pick her up and she feels cold to the touch. So, we started putting rice packs in bed with her. Never too hot, and we put a towel between it and her. She only comes out of the box to go to the bathroom anymore. I've started bringing food and water to her in bed, is she spoiled or what? I think she will be the first to go. But they have been good pets, and they have had a full life.

Here are some pictures of them in Miranda's afghan she made us for Christmas and the ferrets took over. I really don't think we could have enjoyed it any more than they have.



Yes, that is Tika's nose you see, that is her usual spot, she buries herself as much as she can.