From:
lisaatty@aol.com
Date: 2010-02-20 14:43:29 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Lighting in the ferret room
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Does anyone know if covering up the lights themselves works? Example - in
both our ferret room and our master bedroom, we have to use window unit
A/C's to supplement our central A/C because it doesn't cool well upstairs. I
cover the green equipment lights on it with duct tape in order to keep
complete darkness and can still press on buttons to make the unit work. In my
bedroom, the alarm clock is necessary and ours has a light, so I use it but
cover it with a towel. Maybe that is silly? In terms of ferrets, in my
own limited sample, some will get adrenal anyway - even if all reasonable
measures regarding light are taken. My two girls have always lived in total
darkness at night. For their room (it is a bedroom), I paid a lot extra
to have very thick long curtains on the three windows with an extra "black
out" layer. I cover up the minor equipment light on the A/C unit when it is
in use, and when it is not, it is behind the curtain. Bridget became
adrenal at age 4 and Clemy, recently, at age 5. Both have had surgery and are
doing great. Maybe the darkness delayed their onset, or didn't affect it
at all. Regardless, I will still always do darkness for ferrets with the
hopes that it may help.
Lisa and Bridget and Clementine (and in loving memory of Katie and Lily)
[We use the same approach on anything that won't overheat
because it should help. I stick opaque containers between
those things which will overheat if covered and the cage where they
spend their nights. In not quite to thirty years (I guess 29 this year?)
to my recollection we have only once had a ferret get adrenal
disease before the next youngest at age either very late 4
years or early 5 years (I forget which) and more often older.
Most (two thirds) of our ferrets never get adrenal disease in
their lives. We have had two patches when health prevented
me getting to them in darkened places and we had spates of ferrets
with adrenal disease onset about 2 to 3 years after those protracted
times without having very dark places always accessible. Maybe
if we had not had years like that our total fraction with adrenal
disease might be smaller? That's just dealing from memory, though,
so I may be a bit off but mostly on track.
-- Moderator (SDC) ]
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