This past summer has been extremely hot for Pennsylvania.  We haven't
had this heat in a little while and the humidity is just making things
worse.  I have had more calls this past week then I can ever recall
having in reference to heat stroke.  I had several calls concerning
lethargic or unusually calm ferrets.  I had one woman tell me that she
didn't believe in air conditioning and thought since ferrets were "wild"
they could adapt to the heat.  I explained to these people that their
body temperature is higher than ours and what feels hot to us is most
definitely hot to them.
 
Our central air system has been on the fritz since May and so we have had
to deal and make things cooler with what we had available.  We purchase
a portable air conditioner for the ferrets (yes, the ferrets get the air
conditioner).  The portable air conditioner has made a great bit of
difference as it cools the whole down stairs and well, the upstairs has
several fans which make my room semi-bareable.  But the point is that
some people don't know that ferrets can get heat stroke.  I always keep a
spray bottle with plain water in it near the cages, this is just in case,
something should go wrong and it gets hot in the ferret room.  The spray
bottle works great for misting them with cool water.  You never want to
cool them down quickly.  Too many people told me that they dumped their
ferret in ice water.
 
Also you might want to make sure of your vets hours, if their is an
emergency clinic and what your emergency plan would be if this situation
arrises.  You never know what could happen.  One gal who is a wonderful
artist (does a lot of landscapes), let her magnifying glass on her work
bench which is at the window.  Well during the day she went out shopping
and came back to her house smoking.  Apparently the magnifying glass and
with it being in the light and heat, set her art paper and supplies on
fire.  Luckily she was able to grab her 8 ferrets in a hurry by putting
them in a pillow case and running down the steps.  She kept them in her
car until the fire department arrived and put out the fire.  Well she was
amazed that the magnifying glass that she had in her work office on the
second floor caused the fire.
 
You can never be too safe.  And with all this extremely hot weather, I
worry about my guys because even if it's hot outside and cool inside, the
weather can still affect them.  Some days the air quality is low and
humidity is high.  I use a dehumidifier in the living room which is the
center of the down stairs, it helps greatly to cool a little more.  I
hope this information maybe helpful to you as I have certainly used
other's suggestions and take my emergency plans to heart.
[Posted in FML issue 4953]