When most people think of what light does, they will think of how it lets them see what is around them, signal information to others, or, if concentrated, it can burn things in the form of a laser. One thing that people rarely think of is how it causes hormonal shifts in animals, including you and your ferrets. Such a small thing can cause a large difference to your ferret and it's health. Let's explore the changes that take place in their bodies, and how we can keep these changes from becoming problems. One of the most influential changes that take place is the amount of melatonin, also known as “The Vampire Hormone”, increases as the amount of light decreases. This natural steroid is produced in the adrenal glands, and regulates many of the natural changes that take place during the year. It acts as an indication for when they should shed their fur, and also when they should begin to grow their new coat. It will also cause them to go into heat, and prepare to raise their young. Also it governs the seasonal rise and fall in their weight. Finally, on the short term, it helps control their sleep cycle. Problems that can be caused by an imbalance in this hormone are numerous, and range from subtle to severe. Shedding seasons may be erratic, or nearly absent. I have been told by vets that they often see very little change in a lot of ferret's weights and coats between winter and summer. If your ferret is intact they may go into heat unexpectedly, and that can make a structured breeding program difficult to develop. It is even theorized that frequent or long term disturbances to the melatonin levels in ferrets can help cause, or aggravate, adrenal disease. The best way to control problems that the light can cause is to first look at the way pre-domestic ferret relatives live, and use this information to approximate the best situation for the ferrets in our homes. For example, Polecats are so genetically similar to ferrets that they can interbreed with each other. These weasels of Europe and Asia are as close to wild ferrets as you can get. They live in underground dens far from the light of day. Being awake around dawn and dusk they are exposed to natural light, but dimly and rarely. At night they are in complete darkness down in their burrow. To simulate this situation for our domestic ferret friends, we will need to take control of their environment. This is most easily done when the ferrets live and play in a room that is separate from your living area, or if your are willing to spend full time in their lighting. The first thing you will need to do is get a little natural light. This is easy, since the sun provides plenty of it, you only need to open a blind and let the sun shine in. The next item you need is a “Den”. This is a place of complete darkness that is good for sleeping and gives them a feeling of safety. Some of your ferrets may not share a den with one another, and this means you may need multiple dens for your ferrets. The last thing you need is a dark night. This presents a problem, because since man first harnessed fire we have had less reason to go to bed when the sun goes down. That means, with all of this artificial light, your ferret's photocycle continues in it's daylight phase even after the sun sets. To overcome this situation you can remove all artificial light from their environment, which can be difficult especially if they are in the same room as you spend your time. Another option is to replace artificial lights with red colored lighting. This is the same method used by zoos to cause nocturnal animals to be active in the day time, when visitors can see them. This works because the red light has a minimum amount of ultraviolet light, and this is the portion of the spectrum that affects melatonin production. Artificial white lighting is still used in cases where owners need to see clearly in their room, or when they visit the rest of the house. Though no formal experimentation has been done, there have been cases of ferrets with adrenal disease spontaneously regrowing hair after being placed in natural light environments, or receiving melatonin supplements. Now we have dark dens they can retreat to, a naturally lit environment during the day, and at night it is dark or lit with red light, and our ferrets are living in a situation much more like their wild counterparts. Though this will not guarantee that you will never have any problems, at least you know that you took the effort, and possibly even reaped some of the rewards that come with this practice. You now know that even something as simple as light can make such a big difference in the lives of your ferrets. When most people think of what light does, they will think of how it lets them see what is around them, signal information to others, or, if concentrated, it can burn things in the form of a laser. One thing that people rarely think of is how it causes hormonal shifts in animals, including you and your ferrets. Such a small thing can cause a large difference to your ferret and it's health. Let's explore the changes that take place in their bodies, and how we can keep these changes from becoming problems. One of the most influential changes that take place is the amount of melatonin, also known as “The Vampire Hormone”, increases as the amount of light decreases. This natural steroid is produced in the adrenal glands, and regulates many of the natural changes that take place during the year. It acts as an indication for when they should shed their fur, and also when they should begin to grow their new coat. It will also cause them to go into heat, and prepare to raise their young. Also it governs the seasonal rise and fall in their weight. Finally, on the short term, it helps control their sleep cycle. Problems that can be caused by an imbalance in this hormone are numerous, and range from subtle to severe. Shedding seasons may be erratic, or nearly absent. I have been told by vets that they often see very little change in a lot of ferret's weights and coats between winter and summer. If your ferret is intact they may go into heat unexpectedly, and that can make a structured breeding program difficult to develop. It is even theorized that frequent or long term disturbances to the melatonin levels in ferrets can help cause, or aggravate, adrenal disease. The best way to control problems that the light can cause is to first look at the way pre-domestic ferret relatives live, and use this information to approximate the best situation for the ferrets in our homes. For example, Polecats are so genetically similar to ferrets that they can interbreed with each other. These weasels of Europe and Asia are as close to wild ferrets as you can get. They live in underground dens far from the light of day. Being awake around dawn and dusk they are exposed to natural light, but dimly and rarely. At night they are in complete darkness down in their burrow. To simulate this situation for our domestic ferret friends, we will need to take control of their environment. This is most easily done when the ferrets live and play in a room that is separate from your living area, or if your are willing to spend full time in their lighting. The first thing you will need to do is get a little natural light. This is easy, since the sun provides plenty of it, you only need to open a blind and let the sun shine in. The next item you need is a “Den”. This is a place of complete darkness that is good for sleeping and gives them a feeling of safety. Some of your ferrets may not share a den with one another, and this means you may need multiple dens for your ferrets. The last thing you need is a dark night. This presents a problem, because since man first harnessed fire we have had less reason to go to bed when the sun goes down. That means, with all of this artificial light, your ferret's photocycle continues in it's daylight phase even after the sun sets. To overcome this situation you can remove all artificial light from their environment, which can be difficult especially if they are in the same room as you spend your time. Another option is to replace artificial lights with red colored lighting. This is the same method used by zoos to cause nocturnal animals to be active in the day time, when visitors can see them. This works because the red light has a minimum amount of ultraviolet light, and this is the portion of the spectrum that affects melatonin production. Artificial white lighting is still used in cases where owners need to see clearly in their room, or when they visit the rest of the house. Though no formal experimentation has been done, there have been cases of ferrets with adrenal disease spontaneously regrowing hair after being placed in natural light environments, or receiving melatonin supplements. Now we have dark dens they can retreat to, a naturally lit environment during the day, and at night it is dark or lit with red light, and our ferrets are living in a situation much more like their wild counterparts. Though this will not guarantee that you will never have any problems, at least you know that you took the effort, and possibly even reaped some of the rewards that come with this practice. You now know that even something as simple as light can make such a big difference in the lives of your ferrets.

A red ligh in your ferret's room will help create a natural light cycle. This is the upside-down base to a ferret cage and it acts as Duke's Den. He is willing to share, but not all ferrets will.

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