From:
"Chris Lloyd"
Date: 2004-01-30 14:04:49 UTC
Subject: RE: [ferrethealth] 14 hours of darkness? (Adrenal)
To: <ferrethealth@smartgroups.com>
Message-ID: <001801c3e73a$0614c610$0a00000a@ramond>
> I realize it must be dark for some period of time for the melatnonin
to
kick in, but how long? Any suggestions? <
I believe its 8 hours and the dark time should be consecutive hours.
> They do need some sunlight right? <
Not really, like cats they do not need sunlight to aid vitamin
production. In the wild polecats/feral ferrets are active dawn and dusk.
The Natural light cycle is more than 12 hours a day in the summer and
less than 12 hours a day in the winter, that's 16 hours summer and 8
hours winter in my latitude (London)
I think the main thing is to give the ferrets a completely dark sleeping
box in a quiet place, as long as no light enters the sleeping area it's
like their natural underground burrows. Little beds and hammocks look
nice but do the ferrets no end of harm. Chris.
Wessex Ferret Club (www.wessexferretclub.co.uk).