From:
sukiec@optonline.net
Date: 2006-05-06 17:12:47 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] RE: Light and Dark issue
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
For ferrets the number appears to be about 14 hours of darkness or more -- winter darkness amounts.
If at all possible complete darkness should be aimed for.
When humans are studies it is important for the darkness to be contiguous; we are kind of slow as a species in building up to our peak melatonin production in our bodies. Whether that is also true for ferrets has not been studied yet to my knowledge. We have diurnal ancestors; while their ancestors were crepuscular (low light peak activity but not the same as nocturnal). Their ancestors tended to live in extremely dark, purloined burrows when possible and to most active during the twilight hours of dawn and dusk.
So, for some parts of your question the data doesn't seem to exist yet.
We personally simply do not live in an area where optimal conditions are affordable but we can create dark areas with furniture covers, dark bedding, cage cover, etc., and our own rate of adrenal growths here and the ages at which they begin tend to be better than many other attain (about 1/3 in 25 years with ferrets and almost all over the age of 5 years). Of course, that is anecdotal. Still, there are tricks which can be used by pretty much anyone. When they get the full back of our condo to play in instead of their own room we also keep the far end of our bedroom closet with the door closed and have dark bedding in that corner, and our platform bed also is shaded (in that case by a long wood overlap and our bedding so that the ferrets have to make a sharp C to enter it and it has dark bedding under it in the center.
Some people make dark boxes with bedding and either flaps over the opening, or a black drainage tube leading to the opening, or both flaps and tubes. I think there were plans for such a box in a recent issue of "Ferrets" magazine (current issue?, recent past issue?). Steve and I personally do not have what we'd need to create such things from scratch and most such setups for play areas are too broad for the space we have, especially given the larger recreation things we've put together for the ferrets, but it sure would be cool if someone sold a narrow, multi-story box with attachments for hanging staggered beds the ferrets could climb among, along with well fitting entrance tubing and ways to attach cloth flaps. Ah, pipe dreams... Maybe in the future...
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