With the heat of summer upon us, I'm going to post again about how to keep
you ferrets cool, even if you don't have A/C.
 
If the temperature is rising & you find yourself w/out A/C, ice is best
weapon.  Freeze litre soda bottles, milk jugs, or water fillable cooler
freezer packs & use several with a towel draped over them with their regular
bedding piled on top.  The fuzzies can lay in-between the frozen bottles &
cover themselves if they want to.  Covering themselves while laying
in-between the bottles will keep the temperature cool close to their bodies -
like a thermos.  They can also get on top of the mound of bedding if they
start to feel too cold.  Also, cover the cage w/a blanket to keep the cool
from dissipating into the rest of the room.
 
In an emergency when you don't have bottles frozen in your freezer, run
don't walk to your nearest source - convenience store, supermarket, gas
station, etc.  Bagged cubes (or broken chunks of block ice) can be used in
zip-lock bags.  I've used this method for injuries needing ice packs, the
freezer bags don't leak.
 
It's a really good idea to have frozen litre bottles in the car when you
travel w/fuzzies in the summer too.  If you lose you A/C or your car breaks
down you'll be prepared.  For those who don't have A/C a word of caution -
just having the windows open isn't enough.  If you're sweating the heat can
kill your fuzzy, they can't tollerate the heat as well as you.
 
If the humidity isn't too high, misting (closer to soaking) your fuzzy will
help cool them cosiderably, but it's only a short term fix & has to be done
constantly so they don't dry.  Ice lasts longer & you don't have a saturated
ferret.  But keeping taking a spray bottle in the car (don't leave it in the
car - the water will get hot) is also a good safety precaution.
 
Also, make sure their drinking water is cool.  Most fuzzies don't drink hot
water.
       *******************
I was just watching Pet Connection with Dr. Bernie Pukay on the Animal
Planet channel & he had a very good piece on ferrets.  With the exception of
not clarifying that descenting doesn't help body odor, it was a very good
presentation.
 
I just wish I had caught the name of the guest who had the 4 ferrets (I'll
have to write to find out, since I know Sheena & Tracy - it's a Canadian
show).  She brought a beautiful sable mitt hob (don't even bother correcting
me about the color name - I don't care & that's what he looked like), he was
a really big boy.  She also had an albino, sable, & chocolate.
 
They talked about how they can make wonderful pets for someone who wants a
*ferret* for a pet (you know what I mean).  They talked about
ferret-proofing (by name) & biting.  The biting part was good too.  Dr.
Bernie has handling the big mitt the whole time.  He said that for the most
part they don't bite (please tell my rescue Oscar Meyer), but that biting
could be attributed to bad breeding practices & how they're not the best pet
for small children.  They also talked about body odor is mainly attributed
to whole ferrets & about bathing.
 
This was a very favorable presentation - not perfect, but pretty darn good.
It was really gratifying to see a positive presentation that wasn't in
response to a negative incident for a change.
 
KODO IS DEAD - LONG LIVE KODO
 
Juliana
Frodo, Rocks, Anola Gay, SNAFU, FUBAR, Tabu,
Chaos, Tuxedo, Bijou, Fiasco, & Dazzle
[Posted in FML issue 1987]