WALKS: My ferrets much prefer to go for walks after dark, when the sky does not appear to be as full of threatening objects. In these hot days of summer (well, the last few days anyway) the blazing sun has made it impractical to take the weasels out in midday anyway. HEAT: Ed's post was a little challenging to wade through, but his point was right on. Don't expose your ferrets (or dogs or cats or anybody else furry) to 80+ degree temperatures they can't escape, as in a sealed house or car. More even than other animals, ferrets can and do die very quickly from overheating. In case you haven't been around long enough to have heard these suggestions, some things you can do to keep them cool are: -Keep the cage out of direct sun -Freeze a liter pop bottle full of water and put it in the cage -Drape a wet towel over part of the cage (don't block all the air though) -Run the ferrets under the tap occasionally :-) SCREEN WINDOWS: This goes hand in hand with the heat warning. Ferrets will immediately find and shortly penetrate any nylon window screen you let them have access to. Make your open windows inaccessible to the ferts, or get metal screens or install bars. The first few hot days are famous for ferret escapes (I speak from experience here... luckily with a happy ending). -- Kim and the Ruling Ferrets [Posted in FML issue 2691]