Hey group- I need your advice. I have had ferrets since I was a teenager and I have never seen or gone through what I have in the past couple days. I just moved into a new house were my ferrets have two adjoining rooms to play in. I had the ferrets out to play a couple days ago while I was cleaning their cage in their room like I have done a 100 times before, since I have moved in. Well, I had gone to go and wash out the water bowls downstairs and when I came back I had noticed the window above the radiator had a small rip in the bottom. I freaked out and started to count everyone. When I noticed my Ashtin was missing I had a panic attack. Their room is 3 floors up since I live in the slopes were all the houses have 3-5 floors, it took all that I had in me to look out at that window. Somehow, Ashtin had climbed the radiator, tore a little hole in the window, got out and fell three stories. I ran outside, falling down the stairs myself, to find him in the back of my house, still alive, but with a broken back and blood coming out of his nose. I rushed him to the closest Met Vet, where they said the most humane thing for me to do was to help him across the bridge. Which I did, but can not forgive myself for. He was five and a half years old and a dark eyed white. I had rescued him and his cage mate awhile back. I have NEVER, I MEAN NEVER seen any of my ferrets trying to do that. Nor, any of mine for that matter, even give a screen another look. I have never had anything near a window were they could climb and try to get out. But since this house is older, it has all those old time radiators under all the windows in every room. Since then, I have but up one of those Marshall Play Pen gates around the radiator and doubled the screens, but now I am terrified to leave them even for a second when they are out with the windows open. Has anyone gone through anything like this and if so can you offer some advice on how you get through something this tragic. Monica & The Fuzzy Bunch 10 very sad fuzzies missing Ashtin [Posted in FML issue 4561]