After messing around with 2 liter soda bottles full of ice and placed in the cage, wet towels draped over the cage with a fan blowing across them to create a sort of swamp cooler effect and moving the cage to the basement during the hottest part of the day, I finally just caved to the use of an air conditioner. Last year when everyone could run happily all day together (we had a few less ferrets) they stayed with me in my home office and we shared the use of a AC unit. This year I bought one just for the ferret room. There is nothing that makes a miserable, hot ferret more comfy then a blast of refergerated air! Yes AC units can be expensive. You may want to move the ferrets into a smaller room, hook up a small AC unit and keep the door closed during the day. I don't think Jethro and Ellie will see any relief from the heat anytime before fall, and I've read that a panting ferret is a ferret on the verge of heat stroke. Ann [Posted in FML issue 2346]