TO: Meg Carpenter and Debbie Riccio
 
Thanks for your advice on travelling with ferrets.  I should clarify a
few details so you don't think I'm a total idiot.  Firstly, I would
NEVER deprive them of water when travelling.  They always have a water
bowl.  Secondly, the trips I take generally involve about 5 hours
driving.  They don't seem to mind, and sleep most of the time.  We
have pit stops for a stroll and breather.  Only once did I try fasting
them for 10 hours, and then I fed them 2 hours into the trip.  They
didn't particulary gobble down their food, either.  (No, the frantic
scratching was definitely due to being trapped in a smelly cage--when
this happens their reaction is imediate and the cause obvious to us
all.) I feed my ferrets at night, and when I leave in the morning the
bowl is generally about 3/4 empty.  This because in the ferret books I
have some advise feeding once a day while others say keep the bowl
filled.  I figured that ferrets, being originally hunting carnivores,
might feed most naturally according to the "feast and famine" mode of
most carnivores.  I thought it would not hurt them, and might be more
"natural," to go without food for 4-5 hours a day before the next
refill.  Especially for Emma, who tends to be on the soft-and-round
side.  When I feed them at night, they sometimes have a nibble,
sometimes not.  They are certainly not starving!  After a few hours'
romp out of the cage, though, they generally want to eat.
 
I will certainly keep their bowl filled if that is warranted,
though--maybe buy an exercise bike for Emma...
 
Also, Meg, regarding your summer heat worries.  Maybe you noticed
my posting a couple of weeks ago about the Kalgoorlie Meat Cooler
technique for cooling animal cages (for meat storage boxes,
originally).  For those of you who missed it, here's what you do:
 
Put a large wet towel or burlap bag, thoroughly wet, across the
top of the cage.  Place a bucket of water on top of it.  Hang a
wet cloth out of the bucket, one end in the water and the other
on the top of the cage.  The cloth "wick" will continually keep
the top of the cage wet, and the evaporation will cool your
darlings.  I cannot emphasize how much this helps, and how
crucial it is now that summer is upon us.  Of course, keeping the
cage out of direct sunlight is crucial too, but you all know
that.
 
I use the same technique, except without the bucket, in a car
without air con --I just pour on some water now and then to keep
the towel on the top of the cage wet.
 
Happy heatwaves!
[Posted in FML issue 1218]