Hi again,from the Ma. Wrecking Crew. Well as all most Everone knows,the West is having a Very hot Summer in the Longest time. We've had weeks of high humidity,over 70 !,here in Mass. Where we live we're a little Luckier than Most cause we're in the Deep suburbs,so it's a little cooler. Now Many of you have posted about ways too help keep the Babies cooler in these hot muggies. We've tried some,most unsuccessfully because our Wrecking Crew Don't Do water,or Cold ! ! So what we've been doing is bringing them Downstairs where we have an air conditioner,and we keep them there until the sun goes down. Naturally they get theit blankees ,fav. toys,food and drinking water. But we only had 1 spare cage and it really wasn't big enough for All of them. We used it anyway cause they usually always settled right down ans curled up with each other,sleeping except when they wanted food,water,or to go do their duties. Mom and I watched them and whenever someone got restles we would take them out and put them in their litter pan. This wasn't an ideal situation and we were Uncomfortable with it. So then we blocked off our dining room and let them loose in there for the few hours they had to be out of their room. But alas,this didn't work out either as they were nervous and restless in there as well! What they seemed to Want is for us to Stay in the dining room with them! We always went in and played for a little while with them,but would leaver in a couple of hours so they would Hopefully curl up and sleep,but they would settle in,and we found that they appeared to be getting a bit run down. They were taken to the vets and we found they had developed colds,whether this was because of not getting enough rest,or because of the temp differences we don't know for certain. So we went back to the spare cage,and began looking for some else to place them in when they had to be removed from their room. We thought of building a large indoor/outdoor playpen,but neither,nor my mother is very good at this,and my father Wants Nothing to do with the Babies! It was suggesteg we could try to put to large dog carriers together,but cleaning and manueverability would be a problem ,not to mention the expense. For a Good one around here it would over 200 dollars! Then I began searching through our ferret mags and came across an advertisement for the GRRREAT Wal! The wall is a rolled piece of plastic 20 inch. high by 18 ft. in length. I t comes with a velcro strap. You simply inroll it and set up against it's Natural roll,secure ends with the strap. It's simple and only takes a few minutes. You can combine 2 for a larger penned area! I ordered one and when it came in,we put the 1st. four babies from the Wrecking Crew inside with blankees,water ,food,litter pan,and their toys. There was plenty of room for all,the problem. "How long does it take a fussy to escape from a pen? We found out it took approximately;2.5 minutes for the first,and 3.5 min. for the 2nd. The 3rd. a quarter of an hour,the 4th.almost 2hrs.! The anecdote,if you want to cinfine your fuzzies,just tell them to go aheasd and get out! Seriously we had them hopping out every few seconds,the method. Back up,run to the wall,and jump! Hook your shoulders,and pull,then drop! We're still using it,but we Have to Stay Every second in the room with them,turn your back for a minute,and you have jumping fuzzies! There is supposed to be another add on piece called the Topper,which will extend the wall's height so that Innovative ,intelligent babies ,that like to climb and jump,can't go awondering wi out mom & Da's pamisum. We laughed until there were slight accidents,and we're convinced they of course think it's all some great New Game ! Our Advice for those who have heard of the Great Wall,or the smaller pet corral,follow the labeling instructions. Both of these items were meant for Supervised Play ! ! And if your thinking about getting one for your fur bandits,They can and Will leap out of it and they think You're Absolutley Bonkers for trying to Stop them! I swear the Ma. Wrecking crew kept doing it just to watch 3 Humons scramble to catch them! For those who are wondering it was made by Innovative Technologies. If we should hear about the Topper finally being made available we'll let you all know about it. We Still think the great wall is a Terrific idea and once the topper,or someother pice is added,or the great wall's height be Increased to say 26 inch. even the most agile of fuzzies couldn't get out,and we could safely contain them almost anywhere,and still leave them with room to play in! As long as their not held in the wall 24hrs. it's terrific for short periods of safe play,and can easily be transported for short outtings out and about. Well that's our Lates Adventure. Buy for now from the Ma. Wrecking Crew. [Posted in FML issue 2763]