Erik, A good sized cage would be better than letting your ferret near the hot tub. I know a woman who had two of hers drown in her hot tub. After the first one she had drained all but about 2 inches of water from the tub, only to find her second one dead a few days later in the tub. Also a greenhouse may easily reach 90 deg plus along with high humidity. You gotta keep these guys cool and 90 is too warm for any length of time. The 7 hours in school is OK providing you give him lots of time out of the cage and lots of attention when you get home. After a while, you'll find him looking forward to your coming home to play with him. Dick B. [Posted in FML issue 1147]