I really struggle to get my head round weasels

[HoneyDragon]

I've seen them. I know what they look like, and often catch them whizzing across the road at weasel warp speed.

But their size always surprises me. Every time. I know they are small. But when you look at a picture of a weasel or think weasel, you think bigger. You don't think "oh, a weasel. That's a little bigger than a hamster that is". Or I don't. I go, ooooh a weasel. Wow, it's tiny, every time, the surprise never abates.

I struggle with weasel physics. That the actual weasel is not the size of the concept of weasel in my head.

I'm not sure how to fix it.

[DalekInAFestiveJumper]

I once attended a party where the host had pet prairie dogs. I discovered this fact when I sat down on the sofa with my glass of wine and a three pound rodent popped up from between the throw pillows and LAUNCHED itself at me.

It turns out prairie dogs are very unusually large (to my mind, at least!) and affectionate, and also I can make a variety of startlingly high pitched noises.

[Pfaffer]

Has anyone mentioned weasel milk?
Apparently it's the closest thing to human milk in the animal kingdom.

[lionheart]

That's just peculiar, Pfaffer!

[TheWombat]

I am concerned that weasels will be left with an inferiority complex / identity crisis after all this .

[Stropperella]

A tiny but very fierce weasel once bit the end of my dog's nose. The dog was so surprised, he forgot to attack the weasel. So it lived to fight another day.

[RebeccaMumsnet]

Hi all,

Thanks for the reports, we've moved this thread to classics now.

[HoneyDragon]

See, with weasels it's all about the element of surprise

I want a pet Prairie dog

[HoneyDragon]

oh dear. Does this means its never going to be deleted?

[OnTheBottomWithAWomansWeekly]

I've seen pine marten shite, on hols in France (nature walk with the owner of the gite). Full of cherry stones, apparently they like cherries. Saw the most butterflies ever on the same walk, they were fantastic.

I see a lot of badgers, but usually about half an inch thick and 4 feet across (I have a 40 mile commute every day on a road through Wicklow). Plus a lot of flat foxes and other furry squishy things.

Had baby rats in the garden two weeks (field behind me) but they haven't visited since I stopped putting bird food out. Years ago my parent's dog cornered a rat and then didn't know what to do with it. Dog barking for 10 mins, rat hissing in corner of garden. V funny. Finally called dog off (well dragged her) and rat ran off and didn't return.
(do you all think there are lots of rats in my life now? )

[OnTheBottomWithAWomansWeekly]

*two weeks ago

[OnTheBottomWithAWomansWeekly]

Oh, visited a house years ago where one of the people volunteered at the zoo, and was hand rearing a lemur (I think).

V v cute, big eyes, bottle fed, she had to bring it home at night as it needed such regular frequent feeds. It was in what looked like a mini baby's cot in her room!

[EmpressOfTheSevenOceans]

Weasels are smaller than squirrels?????



We used to have a dachshund who loved humping his toy badger. I think he'd have fled in terror if faced with a full sized one though.

[TheRealFellatio]

I have stroked a beaver. It was very soft and silky.

STOP IT. You are a disgrace.

[GoofyIsACow]

I HAVE SEEN A BADGER AND CAN CONFIRM THEY ARE REAL


And fucking massive, i nearly ran one over, it was stood in the middle of the road, bold as brass, i came round a corner a little too fast a lot of years ago and... Well fuck, it was the size of Jeanette Kranky...

[OvO]

I was sure weasels were small cat sized.

I just asked my DH and he knew they were tiny. This has really annoyed me for some reason. What a bastard, knowing that when I didn't.

[BookieMonster]

Tasmanian Devils (the real ones, not cartoon impostors) are freakishly intimidating. They square up to you and eye you off while in the enclosure right in front of the "These beasties are well fucking hard and have a bite per inch force of twenty squillion to one so don't even think about getting close or they'll fucking have you" sign. Doesn't matter how small they are. They are evil fuckers.

[BewitchedBotheredandBewildered]

Did you know that there is a government department that deals with damage to houses caused by badgers?!
Something attacked our catflap one night, huge clawmarks and big chunks of it ripped off, scared our two labs to whining, quivering heaps.
General consensus was it was a badger.

[BookieMonster]

tru dat

[BoreOfWhabylon]

Oooh! I have seen a blonde badger - it was dead though.

It looked just like this one (scroll down a bit).

[BoreOfWhabylon]

Have also seen teeny tiny weasels and bigger kick-ass stoats.

Has anyone mentioned wombats yet? Now, they are big, big bastards and solid, like tanks.

AND... they produce cubes of poo!!

[WestleyAndButtockUp]

When I was five, I pretended to my dad that I'd seen a fox.

He didn't believe me and asked me to describe it.

I said it was about as tall as a man on its hind legs, and it was wearing a red jacket.

So he said he did believe me.

[BoreOfWhabylon]

Westley

[Nagoo]

I feel I must confess to provision of misleading information.

don't ask why, but I have been dwelling on this. I was horrified to discover that my measured weasel was a stoat.

I can only apologise.

I posted in good faith and I am as betrayed by that site as you have been by my erroneous posting.

always always check the facts. don't trust what you read online.

I am so sorry if this has perpetuated anyone's weasel size delusion.