So it's only really temperatures over 80 we need to worry about?  I guess
I'm all set... we only have a few of those a year. <bg>  Right, Renee?
 
Seriously, though--I've read about the dangers of overheating ferrets for a
while now, and we've been planning how to do trips to the beach (which the
fuzzbutts appreciate SO MUCH) safely.  I've worked out a few precautions.
We bring lots of fruit as treats--grapes and honeydew melon--so that even
when the ferrets think they're just getting a treat, they're getting water.
We freeze pedialyte (my freezer has duck soup and pediacubes all through
it--no more room for human food) and bring along a cube or two in their
water bottle.  We always bring a large carrier for them to hang out in if
they get bored or hot.  And the newest brainwave is to bring (or find) a
piece of plywood, and dig a shallow hole down near the water in the wet
sand.  Plywood goes over the top, and the fuzzies have a nice, cool, shady
fort.  They'll dig plenty of entrances and exits.  We used a chunk of old
boardwalk last time, and had a ball burying them all and making them dig
their way out (safe because the boardwalk had spaces between the slats).
For car rides, I think I'll try lots of damp towels and layers of ice to
keep the back of the car (their "travel cage" is the back of our hatchback)
cool.  I was thinking towel, ice cubes, towel, more bedding since they hate
anything wet...
 
Any other ideas about keeping fuzzies cool in summertime?
 
Jen and the Crazy Business plus one ferret showing symptoms again and one
showing up on Saturday.
[Posted in FML issue 2691]