From:
Caitlyn Martin
Date: 2006-04-24 17:36:21 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] practical aspects of complete darkness
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Hi, everyone,
I rent. In my home complete darkness is pretty much impossible. My
ferrets may get close to it if they choose to go into a sleep sack or
nesting box or if they bury themselves in their bedding, but more often
than not they choose to sleep out in the open in a hammock.
The best I can do is to provide a near natural daylight/darkness cycle, and
even then in the evening they do get some artificial light. I think this
is going to be true in most homes.
If that is the case the question we have to ask is if ferrets can and
should be companion animals. Since they are domesticated I think the
answer is "yes". We may be able to reduce some risks of adrenal disease or
compensate for them but we cannot eliminate them entirely and still keep
ferrets as pets.
One other thought: one scientific study, however thorough, is not
considered "proof" in the scientific world. Yes, best evidence, based on
some good scientific research now shows that this is a significant (but by
no means the only) cause of adrenal disease. Spaying and neutering is also
mentioned as significant. How many of you want to keep whole ferrets as
pets?
What is the alternative? Domestic ferrets can't survive in the wild.
Their wild cousins live an average of just over one year. Our domestic
ferrets typically live six to nine years. We could stop breeding ferrets
and stop keeping them as pets. They'd still be used as lab animals. Is
that better?
The environment we keep ferrets (or dogs or cats or goldfish) in is not a
natural one. We can do reasonable things to reduce the risk of disease and
we can treat the disease as it occurs and show lots of love to our pets. I
think that is all we reasonably can be expected to do.
Knowledge is a powerful thing and what Dr. Murray has shared with us is
important. The open question is what is the best way to use that
knowledge.
All the best,
Caity and the fantastic four
Nyssa, Chin Soon, Ella, and Zephyr
http://ferretsofdisorder.blogspot.com
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