It's my understanding that the reason for blackout or dark times is
to simulate the seasonal difference in the length of day/night hours.
Since the ferret breeding cycle is triggered by seasonal changes, their
hormonal system is attuned to it.  It's theorized that the human 'night
owl' lifestyle with lights on long after sunset disrupts this hormonal
cycle and contributes to hormonal gland related illnesses.  My best
guess would be lights on at dawn and off at sunset.
 
A low wattage lamp on a timer works great for those who have work/school
hours that make this difficult to do.  If ferrets are in a room with
lots of windows, additional electrical lighting during midday should be
sufficient, allowing mornings and evenings to be naturally dimmer.  Since
morning & evenings are a ferret's natural 'active' time, I suspect the
'dim' lighting of early morning and late evening might be significant.
 
With the 'forced' breeding the commercial breeders do in order to have
kits available for sale year round, we have ferrets with winter coats
of fur in July and vice versa.  So, for them, the first couple of years
are going to 'lighting challenged'.  The best we can hope for is to
keep 'our' lighting cycle consistent so that they can adapt.
 
Debi Christy
Ferrets First Foster Home
www.ferrets1st.com
[Posted in FML issue 5165]