I had bought a plastic barrel at a fundraiser that came with cloth
covers....sometimes when getting ferrets out of it, it would feel
extremely hot inside, but I never threw it away. I would keep it in
a room with the AC.

Last night at 9:30pm, I tried to take him out of the barrel but he
wouldn't come out, to eat his meds. I put my hand in and tried to
uncurl him....he did not feel stuck or anything, and he stuck his head
out to eat the meds. The thing is I moved him during that time to
another room. When he was done eating his meds, instead of coming out,
he just curled his head back in....I looked in the barrel and he wasn't
trying to get out, and just was going back to sleep. He had been moving
prior, to get out enough to eat his meds. So I figured all was well.

I have not been sleeping well lately, and have had insomnia....he
usually gets up during the night every few hours to pee and poop all
over the bedroom floor....despite the fact he was only 5 or 6 feet
from me, I didn't even notice. I am a horrible mom....and 6 to 7 hours
later, when I went to rouse him, he was dead. I put my hand inside,
and the barrel was *so* hot....I freaked, I tried to uncurl him to get
him out, and eventually just realized he's dead....(all in less than a
minute but felt like forever).

I pulled him out and there was urine pooled at the bottom of the
barrel. I imagine that he urinated around the 3 hour mark....and then
couldn't get out. And just was so hot....but he was moving around to
try to get out of the barrel to eat when I gave him his meds at 9:30pm,
but just tucked himself back in afterward. When I put my hands in to
try to get him out for his meds, I did shift him around, he wasn't
stuck with his feet or anything.....we'd just done their nails a few
days earlier...

But it was SOOOO hot inside that barrel when I found him dead. He was
very very hot....and I checked, the temperature of the room and spot
where he died, where the barrel was, was 75.1...I'm sure him inside
the barrel, raised it quite a bit, and then maybe he just died of
heatstroke. The room I usually keep the barrel in would have been a
cooler 73...

I usually never moved the barrel in here because of that, but the
fact that he wouldn't come out of his barrel for the food, I moved it
because where he was in the other room was in the way, and he slept
with me nightly in my bedroom, so I just set the barrel on the fuzzy
robes he usually slept in....I feel so *incredibly* horrible right now.
It didn't feel hot in my room at night but of course, I can sweat and
wasn't in a plastic container with cloth lining. I don't know why I
am so stupid. I should have brought him back out to the other room
immediately after he ate his meds and refused to come out.

I know that supposedly when you die your body can absorb heat if it's
insulated, but the fact that there was urine in the barrel....I don't
think I've had many ferrets who have urinated when they passed away.
It makes me think he just got too hot and couldn't get out....and I
sat there all night. Right there.

I just want to get my story out there because if it maybe could save
someone's ferret...though I don't think people would be as stupid as me
and keep something that they felt their ferrets might overheat in....I
should have gotten rid of it months ago when I first worried about the
heat issue. I did check his temp after about 10 minutes of him being
out of the barrel, and it was 102....and that was after being washed
off and dried for a little bit because we cleaned his body....I just
feel so sick.

He *was* 9 going on 10. But he was eating and drinking and walking
around earlier in the day...well, he did fall on his side and lay there
for a few seconds but he did get up and start running around, I figured
he was just having an off day....the ferrets' dad admitted earlier
today he looked at him and thought he was not doing well, but didn't
say anything to me. I should have made him come out of the barrel.....
I don't know why i couldn't have checked on him, but with the insomnia,
I didn't even realize how much time had gone by....but I should have
set a timer then! I really don't even want to be around ferrets right
now and I have so many more to take care of. I feel that this is all
my fault....anyway...I am so sick to my stomach right now.

Please rethink your use of these large plastic barrel containers if
you have one similar to mine - mine fits one large ferret or two if
they really cram and one is very small....or maybe I am just being
completely paranoid but I don't think so....I think I was negligent...
I just lost my cat (came home to find him passed on on the floor from
heart failure) and now my little guy I've had for just the same amount
of time. And it was probably all my fault....I'm going to stop writing
and try to calm down....I'm sorry for this downer post, too, just
beside myself with grief and guilt.

[Posted in FML 7516]