Clyde's Big Day

Clyde had a day full of adventure and freedom yesterday.

He went on his first ever walk... outside!

Before domestication, ferrets were outdoor hunters. They would hunt rabbits and mice for their masters. By nature, they are carnivores, and Clyde's natural habitat would be the great outdoors. So, I thought to myself: I should let him experience all the wonderful things nature has to offer.

I put a collar on him, connected the leash, and we set out for an adventure. However, an adventure of this magnitude involves some extra explanation other than digital words.

Listen to the podcast and watch the videos below to learn all about Clyde's first experience outdoors.

Hide & Seek

I'm convinced Phinn is aware of the game "hide and seek."

I often find her trying to hide in small, dark places. Whenever I walk by, she tries to shrink her body down, hiding herself as well as possible in her spot. She thinks I can't see her, so I choose to play along in her little game.

I search high and low. I call out her name into my apartment. And then once some time has passed, she always cracks. She will give herself away by leaping out of her hiding spot, trot over to me and demand my love and affection.

Here are two pictures of Phinn hiding in her favorite spots: the couch cushions and the shower curtain.

Photo Credits: Madeline Hill 

Photo Credits: Madeline Hill 

Maybe she hasn't mastered the rules of the game "hide and seek" entirely.

But one thing's for sure: she's got the rules of being adorable down to a science.

Hobs & Jills

Most people do extensive research about the type of pet they want before they officially make up their mind and commit.

And then there are people like me who don't do any intense investigations on the type of pet they want: they just go for it with both feet in the water.

I always knew from a young age that I loved ferrets and really wanted to own one some day. But I never searched to find out what exactly made these creatures unique or what their history as a breed was.

So, as I was watching television earlier today, I thought to myself, "Honestly, what exactly is a ferret...?" This led me to search online for interesting facts about a ferret.

One of my favorite interesting facts: a male ferret is called a Hob and a female ferret is called a Jill. How stinking cute is that. Below I'm linking to a list of interesting facts about ferrets for any of you wanting to know the odds and ins of how these little creatures operate.

Happy exploring!

http://www.pets4homes.co.uk/pet-advice/fun-interesting-facts-about-ferrets.html

Photo Credits: Madeline Hill 

Sleepy Dayz

The leaves are beginning to change colors, and the days are becoming shorter. Fall is a time for great food, great company, and most importantly... great sleep.

I've noticed that as the season has changed from Summer to Fall, my animals have changed their sleeping patterns as well.

Both Clyde and Phinn seem to be sleeping a lot more than they did during the summer. Especially Clyde. And every pet owner knows that the best time to take a relentless amount of pictures of your animals is while they're asleep.

Below, I've created a slideshow video of adorable pictures of Phinn and Clyde sleeping. Enjoy!

The Return Of The Sweater

Life has been hectic lately, but I finally had some down time today to put on Phinn's sweater for her.

I figured she was going to resist as I put her into the cozy, pink fabric, but to my surprise she was quite cooperative. As I put her arms through the two little arm holes, I thought to myself, "she might actually enjoy this sweater I bought for her."


Boy, was I wrong.


As soon as the sweater was securely on her, Phinn tried with all her might to get it off. She did flips and twists, turns and slides, but nothing seemed to work for her. I watched in amusement for a while: her moves and agitated behavior were actually quite cute.
Finally, after I decided I'd had enough entertainment, I removed the sweater from her furry body and put it back into the closet for safe keeping.

Below is a video of Phinn "dancing" around in her pink Washburn sweater. Hopefully she's not too upset with me for making her wear it.

Definition Of Dramatic

Clyde had an extremely rough day today.

The poor guy didn't get to be out of his cage much more than a couple hours here and there. It always breaks my heart when I'm so busy with school and tennis because he doesn't get to have free reign around the house like Phinn does.

Phinn has earned her freedom and privileges. I can trust her alone when I'm not at the apartment. Clyde on the other hand is a different story.

I still remember the first day I bought Clyde and took him home. Within his first couple minutes of exploring the perimeters, he located a small hole underneath my dishwasher and literally went up inside my kitchen walls. I had a panic attack because I genuinely thought I was never going to see the little guy again.

Ever since then, my little nugget must be in his cage at all times If I'm not home or if I'm asleep.

Here's a photo of Clyde in all his dramatic despair last night laying on my dirty, smelly tennis socks.

Photo Credits: Madeline Hill

Sincerely, A Very Intrigued Pet Owner

Phinn has begun to take part in a very strange activity. I call it scaling the bed.

Late at night and early in the morning, she gets pretty squirrelly and has recently been attaching her claws to the bed and gliding across the entire bed as if she was on a hovercraft.

The movement is kind of hard to explain, so I'll let the attached video do the talking. But I am curious...

Does anyone else's animals do this or is it just mine?