Hello, i have been on vacation for 11 days and my son took care of my ferrets for the entire time.  Three days ago my A/C unit went kaput and when his girlfriend came by at 1pm found that the house was at 86 degrees.  She quickly took the ferrets out of thier cage and let the dogs outside.  The ferrets she let play in the shower and bathroom where it was 6 degrees cooler but it took 6 hours for the A/C repairman to show up.  The concern i have is of my male Raven, today he is acting weak, wouldn't even eat his Nbone that he normally gobbles up like no tomorrow and when he goes to scratch himself he falls over.  He is not interacting like normal and even though he is alert there's something off.  They have a open dish for water they are unable to tip over so my son's girlfriend said that it was not empty but close though.  She filled it up even though they were outside the cage till the repairman made his repairs.  Is it possible for the ferrets to get heat exhaustion and if so would Raven have the symptoms of something really wrong?  Please advise i'm very concerned and the exotic vet they see is out today.  

Kathy W

Ferrets can be greatly affected by the heat. They can take the cold but not heat. Some say nothing over 80. I prefer nothing above 75. I keep my house at 72. Make sure he isnt dehydrated and is eating, drinking, peeing and pooping. My best advice is get him to the vet ASAP. They can go downhill very quickly. Please keep us updated. 

 
Fuzzbutts Rule!

Like bandit said get to a vet immediately. Dehydration and heat exhaustion can be very easily fatal for ferrets. They are cold weather creatures and can not regulate heat or pant like dogs to keep cool. The vet will most likely put him on an IV to get his fluid levels up. And just a side note throw out the N-bones. They aren't healthy for them and raw meaty bones do a better job cleaning teeth anyways. 

Ok fuzzbutt is doing well. My sons friend had his mom who is an exotic vet come over and check Raven out. He is fine she checked his poop and it was normal and hydration is fine.  Poor little guy did NOT like his blood taken for blood glucose test he was rather upset about it but she soothed him with ferret tone his blood sugar was fine.  (I did not know my sons friends mom was a vet, good to keep her number for emergencies) He is back to his normal self she said the best she could tell was the heat took his energy and since we had water in the cage and his output is fine so just keep him in a cool area.  Which they are in already great spot for them.  We bought a room a/c from brocade just in case this happens again, they will be cooled while we sweat it out which I prefer to having them suffer in heat.  So we are happy and so is raven and I just bought a few more toys to make him feel better but mostly spoiled.

I have a AC unit in my ferret room.  Ferret do much better in colder air.  If you think your furkid is suffering from dehydration, you can alway do the pinch test.


Lightly pull/pinch the skin on the ferret's neck and then let go, if the skin stays in place for a few seconds before returning to normal then it means your ferret is dehydrated.  Normally the skin should snap back into place fairly quickly.  The longer the skin takes to snap back into place the more dehydrated your ferret is.

Other signs to look for when your little one is overheated

*lethargic
*nose/gums turning a darker shade of pink
*footpads turning darker shade of pink or red
*panting/heavy breathing
*feels hot

just few signs....keep close eye on your little one.  Glad to hear little one is feeling better.