When Sebastian made it over the barrier we had originally erected for him, we gave up the idea of barriers and gates altogether. This is what we did. We had an old hollow-core door in our basement that we had scrounged from the community dumpster. It turned out to be perfect for our purposes. My husband cut it down small, about the height of a half door. You can use an exacto knife to cut through the veneer, leaving relatively smooth edges, and a saw for the wood parts on the side. You can narrow it to fit the doorway you have in mine. We cut an inch off the edge that does not have the block for the handle, then took out the 1x1 wood edge and stuck it back into the new edge. We also did this with the newly opened up bottom and top edges. Then, with about $10 worth of hardware (hinges and a doorknob), we hung it at the top of our stairs. (You do need a drill for this, and we don't own our home, so my husband chiselled out a piece of wood and screwed it into the wall for the latch). Anyway, the whole thing was practically free, and it looks much better than a duct-taped baby door. The ferrets can't get over it, but you do have to master the art of closing a door quickly, but slowly, if you know what I mean. If you want more coherent instructions, contact me via email. Hot weather: What a queer time to discuss this subject. Here in Michigan, most people don't have central air. We don't even have a window air-conditioner. So, last summer, when it got up to 100 degrees (I can't believe it was ever that warm, it's been -20 lately), we had to be pretty creative to keep baby Sebastian cool and comfortable in our house. We found that he loved to lounge in front of a fan directed at his cage. When we were not home, we put him in his cage in the basement. (I'd rather restrict his freedom than come home to find him...you know) We also found that he loved to play with wet washcloths, and if you squirt water at his mouth with sufficient skill, he will drink. With plenty of water, and a fan blowing, he did just fine in the more moderate 90 degree heat. Pictures: I've been trying to photograph the fuzzies lately. I've noticed that ferrets don't seem to take very good pictures. I think it's because so much of their personalities are expressed when they are in motion, and most of us love to sneak up and take their picture when they finally settle down and stop moving. I've developed a few techniques for getting them while they are moving. I have a "fishing-pole" style toy that they love. I get my camera in focus, with plenty of daylight so I can open up the F-stop all the way, and have a fast shutter speed (400 speed or faster is good for the film). Then I focus the camera on a likely looking spot, and lure the ferret to that spot with the ferret pole. I'm still waiting on a lot of these pictures, but I think I got some pretty good action shots. This is all probably a lot easier with autofocus. :) I also found that a good deception for a cuddly picture is to have someone pose with the ferret in thier lap. Have them feed ferretvite or something while you focus and adjust lighting, etc., then on the count of three (or something) move the treat away and make a weird noise so the critter looks at the camera. I now have proof for the world that my Mortimer is a cuddle bunny (not!). Does anyone else have photography suggestions? I find ferret shooting to be quite a challenging sport. carpet digging: I recommend pepper. It comes in all colors, so you should be able to match it with your carpet. (ie white pepper for light colors, black for dark, red or cayenne for red carpets) If you're lucky, your ferret won't develop a taste for the stuff. :) -Catherine Shaffer [Posted in FML issue 1468]