From:
Sukie Crandall
Date: 2003-10-13 22:36:24 UTC
Subject: wondering about ferret sleep (lots of questions, no answers)
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-id: <a06002000bbb0cec62a0d@[10.0.1.49]>
It's known that not providing enough darkness can disrupt the
melatonin production of ferrets (and us as well) and that might have
negative health results.
Might sleep disturbances also negatively impact on their health, and
if so to what degree?
Apparently in rats it is known that sleep deprivation can kill more
rapidly than food deprivation, and that it results in weight loss and
possible internal heat loss.
Studies indicate: Amount of sleep needed increases with metabolic
rate. Amount of REM sleep correlates with the level of development
at birth -- those animals who are less developed at birth have more
REM sleep -- and early on it appears to help in organization and
development of effective neurological systems.
There is a marvelous article on sleep in the November Sci Am which
raises a number of intriguing questions. Remember that many of the
concepts below are still hypothetical, though there is strong support
for some of those.
REM sleep may serve multiple functions (i.e. a lot of what my notes
are on is still hypothetical). The brain is more active so the
animal can respond more rapidly if suddenly awakened (There is a
difference in response time between those awakened in REM sleep and
non-REM sleep.), it apparently helps with neurological development,
heart rate and breathing become more irregular than during non-REM
sleep (and if I recall right there was a recent report on heart
behavior which indicated that the more predictable hearts are
actually the more diseased ones though I don't know if it is known
whether being more chaotic is in itself good for the heart or if it
is only that the diseased hearts have less ability to cope with
variations in their own behavior), body temperature fluctuates more,
corpus cavernosum engorges (making me wonder about blood nitrogen
levels in REM sleep and possible beneficial results if memory serves
of another study), and it causes production in the brain to cease of
some neurotransmitters (which may allow the brain to not set down
dream recollections as real memories -- a question I've had for ages
-- and which looks like it might allow the neurons to have a rest --
allowing them to remain properly sensitive to the neurotransmitters
on waking and avoiding the hazards and risks which having moods
thrown out of whack might cause (Ever wonder why lack of sleep might
cause weird moods and responses and what effects these could have in
a worst case scenario?).
Non-REM sleep raises most of my questions if we might negative impact
on ferret health if we don't adjust their living environments so that
they are less disturbed by our activities and schedules. Non-REM
sleep appears to be the time when the body engages in much of its
self-repair which apparently is why animals with high metabolic rates
need longer sleep since animals with high metabolic rates wind up
with more free radicals to remove, more compromised enzymes to
replace, and other repair work.
So, I really am wondering if it is even more important than for just
melatonin production that we do what we can to provide our ferrets
with places where they can snooze in darkness undisturbed (no loud
music, no shoveling them out every couple of hours, etc.) for a large
portion of every day (14+ hours) and if we don't provide that if we
are undermining their health.
I also have no idea if in asking them to alter from their crepuscular
(dawn and dusk) activity ancestral background if we might be making
any impact that way. Like I said, I have a pile of questions but no
answers.
Anyway, I think the article will interest many here, and perhaps some
people will find the questions intriguing. We'll all know more
eventually.