From:
Sukie Crandall
Date: 2011-07-12 18:59:20 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] power outages and keeping ferrets cool enough
To: fhl <ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com>, FML List <ferret-l@LISTSERV.FERRETMAILINGLIST.ORG>
About an hour ago we got our power back on after 10 hours without it, getting it back at about 2 p.m. EST. Luckily, we were able to prevent the temperature inside from increasing more than 6'F to just hitting 80 shortly before power returned, so the ferrets are fine despite it being in the mid-90s outside. They never got beyond just beginning to be a bit uncomfy outside their wet-tent.
Here are the things that helped us:
1. We got new windows and a new sliding glass door by Anderson Renewal put in in December, and I can't praise them highly enough. They are not vulnerable to ozone and UV like vinyl windows are, insulate wonderfully, and do not leak. So, those helped a lot, in fact, they were probably the biggest factor. We kept them closed.
2. We kept curtains drawn as much as possible to reduce solar gain. That also greatly helped.
3. We wet towels with cold water and hung them around our little condo on pants hangers from very handy shaker pegs with have in a number of places over door frames. Evaporation uses a lot of heat so that helped slow the heat gain. After we put those up the gain slowed enough that only 1'F was gained in the final 3 hours despite the heat outside rising a lot in those hours.
In the ferret room a rack and a wet towel made a cool little tent the ferrets could enter or rub with their hands for a local cooler spot -- and they did do that. So, that was a huge help, too.
4. We put water bottles with ice in them in a large bowl of water for the ferrets. They appreciated that.
If it had gone on longer we would have moved the ferrets to the basement.
We are in a large condo community and whatever caused the outage percolated down the line so by mid-morning about a thousand people were in the heat. Originally, it was two buildings without, including ours. Locally we have underground lines but the crews (There were at least 3 working here by noon.) even were outside the complex working on the overhead lines leading to the ground lines so that may have been where it all began and then it tripped off the sections' boxes. They did have to bring in tree crew on the road leading to our complex. We are in one of the final buildings with power delivered from that direction, (and a few buildings built the first year have it feed in from the opposite side of the complex, but ours was built in the second year of construction).
Sukie (not a vet)
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/
http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
all ferret topics:
http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html
"All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow."
(2010, Steve Crandall)
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