In this weather it is vital to help keep your ferret cool. They can really struggle in the heat.
I would say the first and most important step is to avoid their housing getting warm in the first place. Ideally you should move them out of the sun, which also helps prevent sunburn (see another blog) but be aware that putting them into a shed or garage can make things worse rather than better as you can be blocking off any breeze and stopping cool air from passing over them.
If you do not have a suitable spot out of the sun putting a gazebo over, silver insulating material on (shiny side out) or even painting the roof white can help prevent the heat from sinking into the housing. Other ways to do this are to wet the roof, or better yet cover the roof and front with wet towels or blankets. This can help stop the suns heat from going in the front of the enclosure too.
The next step is to cool the air inside the housing. This can be by using an air conditioning unit, in a pinch a block of ice with a fan can help inside an enclosed area, providing cold blocks inside the enclosure that the ferret can choose to sit beside or move away from, damp towels or blankets to play in, or water fun. Make sure your ferrets all have room to spread out too so that they are not always sitting next to a heater. Even a thin hammock can help since that allows air to circulate both above and below them. Today all our ferrets are currently enjoying some frozen (or partially frozen) whole prey. The beauty of this is it is too hard to eat frozen, the flies are not interested in it, and it acts as a cool block until it’s ready for eating.
Water fun is a great way to keep them cool. You can use shallow pools, sprinklers, or misters to make up games. They are like kids at a waterpark, use your imagination. A tube down into a pool is a favourite here as a water slide. You may need to keep an eye on them during water play, in particular if you have kits, elderly or disabled ferrets, as like with a child they can get hurt or panic and inhale water. Ferrets do tend to be water sensible but there is always one. This is a fantastic way to keep run time cool if you cannot do it in the morning or late evening.
Although ice blocks can be great please do not give frozen water bottles. This limits the amount of water they can get which can leave them open to heat stroke. Cool mats available for pets can also help a lot but please make sure you only make use of them when supervised just in case they do manage to rip them open. I have not heard of it yet but with so many brands on the market and the possibility of corners being cut I do not want to hear of accidents happening either.
You should also make a point of checking the temperature and how they are handling it regularly. An outside thermometer can help you give a quick check but that does not tell you how well the ferrets are doing and if you need to take more steps to cool them down. At the height of summer last year I was re-soaking the towels every 10 minutes and coming out to dry towels. You really need to be aware.
If you suspect heat exhaustion or heat stroke, please do not try and take their temperature if you are not trained. It would be very remiss to suggest so. For a start vets know how far to stick it and use a lubricant, doing it untrained is something a kin to sticking a knitting needle up your back side.
You should also avoid cold water if you suspect they are too hot. Keep water and misters to lukewarm if you suspect a ferret may have already started to overheat and take steps to cool them and the area around them immediately.
If your ferret is already lethargic or unresponsive, please do not fath around trying to cool the area. Instead your first step should be to soak some towels in tepid water and wrap your pet in them, followed up by a call to the vet so they can assess whether they need to see you or whether you can continue to cool their temperature at home. I would also suggest offering small amounts of water to prevent dehydration on top of heat stroke. Try and keep their head below their heart in case they start to go into shock at any time in such an emergency. Believe it or not keeping the head down and blood in the brain can give you crucial extra minutes that might just save their life.
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