Whenever you travel with ferrets in hot weather (air conditioning or not -
it can break down or you may have to turn it off in the mountain deserts or
overheat) take one thing: INSTANT COLD PACKS.
 
I'm referring to chemical cold packs that often come with first aid kits.
You can buy them in pharmacies or pharmacy sections of grocery stores.  You
should take them with emergencies in mind - broken down air cond., no air
cond., broken down car in the middle of the desert at noon.  The cold packs
won't get cold until you vigorously shake them - no ice or water needed.
Once the cold packs are activated they will keep your ferret cool for a
couple of hours (take several for each ferret - it will be kind of
expensive, but it's better than loosing your ferret to heat stroke).  These
cold packs are usually "use once and discard", but they may make re-usable
ones as well, you'll have to check.
 
Since they are chemical cold packs, make sure the ferrets doesn't chew on
them and make them leak all over the place.  The content is a kind of gel
and most likely dangerous to ingest for anybody, but a *very hot* ferret
isn't prone to much activity.  When a ferret gets hot, it is glad to just
curl up on or next to something cold and go to sleep.  Still, be careful
when you use then.  You can always put them in small glass containers as
well.
 
These cold packs are the only thing I could come up with when planning for a
trip we were going to take from So.Cal.  to Colorado in late August with two
ferrets.  The trip has since been cancelled, but I was going to take about a
dozen cold packs for our two ferrets - enough to ensure their survival even
in several hours of searing heat in the Utah badlands in a broken down car.
 
Also, in non-emergency situations, such as simply driving without air
conditioning in hot and/or humid - but not life-threatening - temperatures,
prepare several plastic soda bottles full of water and freeze them before
the trip.  Have several on hand, and always keep one where the ferret is
traveling.  Take a cooler for the spares and refill with ice as often as
needed.  This won't work if you're stuck anywhere without help in the heat
for more than two hours, but it's a working travel arrangement -we've done
it several times.  Depending on the length of your trip, you can also take
several glass jars and refill those with ice at motels or at rest stops as
often as needed.
 
Still, take those cold packs in case you are not near a convenient source of
ice for several hours - always plan for that emergency.  Other than that I
recommend driving at night as much as possible and to take a cell phone and
a credit card.  True, there are spots across the US where cell phones are
useless but there are also many others where a cell phone can bring help a
lot faster than having to wait for somebody to come by and rescue you or
having to face the prospect of abandoning your ferret in the car while you
go for help.
 
With those preparations in mind, you can even go ahead and enjoy the trip.
Our ferrets *love* to travel.
 
Claudia
w/ Pixel & Benito
in Los Angeles
[Posted in FML issue 2010]