I am brand new on the list, but in surveying todays FML and everything else
I can find on the Internet, it seems that our ferret-loving friends in
Australia are not a strong presence here!  Any of you out there?  I moved
to Turkey last fall and brought with me my two ferrets, RikkiTikkiTavi &
Emma, from Sydney.  We had a lively ferret club there.  Ferrets in
Australia are still raised by farmers and used for hunting rabbits, which
were why they were brought from England in the first place.  Because these
animals are sometimes ill cared for and infrequently handled, they have
given ferrets a rather bad name in Oz which the club members were actively
trying to dispel.
 
Anyway, let me share two items of interest which every dedicated ferret
owner knows in Australia:
 
1.  SOY MILK is good for ferrets, and they absolutely love it.  Some Oz
ferret club friends feed it to their ferrets daily, along with their dry
kitten food.  Since there is no lactose in it, they do not have problems
digesting it and it is a good source of protein & soluble fat.
Unfortunately, I cannot find it in Turkey...
 
2.  HEAT STROKE can be prevented in summer by an ingenious Aussie invention
called the "Kalgoorlie Meat Cooler", developed in the bush town of
Kalgoorlie (I think) back when fridges were unknown to the sheep farmers.
Constructing your own is simplicity itself:  Cover the top of your cage with
a wet towel or burlap sack.  Place a bucket of water on top of the wet
towel.  Drape a wet rag over the side of the bucket so that one end is
submerged in the bucket and the other reaches the wet towel.  The rag serves
as a "wick" to keep the top of your cage constantly wet.  The evaporation
cools the ferrets (or meat!) within.  It works like a charm.
 
I think this info could be a lifesaver, especially for ferrets caged
outdoors--I remember it gets deadly hot even in Michigan, where I grew up.
Just fill the bucket with water daily, and your ferrets will live in
air-conditioned comfort all summer.
 
P.S. Am I the only "sansar" owner in Turkey?  I suspect so...
[Posted in FML issue 1198]