BATH WATER: Ferret rectal temperatures average between 100 and 103 degrees Fahrenheit, and I recommended bath water to be measured at 100 degrees F. The reason I have picked the lower temperature for the bath water is purely for safety reasons. First, ferrets being housed in hospital cages are ill or injured, and many of them are stressed when exposed to water more than a few degrees (+/-) of the body core. This is especially true of temperatures ABOVE body core. Remember that ferrets are adapted to cool environments; they can easily raise their body temperature by increasing metabolism, fluffing their fur, increasing activity, or even shivering, but since they lack significant numbers of sweat glands on their body, they tend to overheat. Even mild overheating can stress an already ill ferret. Thus, it is safer to cool them down a bit rather than heat them up. Second, many kitchen thermometers are only accurate to 3 to 5 degrees of what is printed on the gauge and/or lack precision to measure the actual temperature consistently. Photographic thermometers are generally more accurate and precise, but they can still be off by 2 to 3 degrees. Even medical thermometers can be off at least 1 to 2 degrees, depending on the quality. With such a wide range or possible error, it is better to err so damage is not done. In the case of exposing a sick ferret to water, for typical bath times a slightly cooler temperature than that of the body core will not harm them, but warmer temperatures MIGHT overheat or burn them, especially ferrets recovering from surgery or those with diseases that make it hard for them to regulate body temperature. A temperature a couple of degrees cooler that of the body core will not make a big difference in comfort, but it greatly increases safety. Of course, if your thermometer has been calibrated and you know it is accurate and precise, you can increase the bath water temperature up to a few degrees warmer than that of the body core; say 105 degrees F as long as the immersion is brief. (3 emails) Bob C [Moderator's note: Nope, I don't know what the "(3 emails)" and such at the end of these posts mean, don't ask ;-) BIG] [Posted in FML issue 4416]