Steve: Regarding photoperiods: I cannot honestly say what the exact effects
of interferring with the photoperiodism of a ferret are, because no one
really knows.  Photoperiods are intimately associated with breeding and
hormonal cycles, fat deposition, fur moulting, sleep cycles, metabolic
rates, and the immune system.  The evidence in these areas is overwhelming,
but the real question is, "What are the long-term effects?" I'm not sure
anyone can answer that question at the present time, although some parts may
be addressed.  First let me say (very simply) that photoperiodism is the
relationship of dark cycles to light cycles and the effect those cycles have
upon natural biorythyms.  For example, once it was discovered that poultry
develop faster in the light, everyone started boarding up the windows and
giving the birds 24 hr light to make them grow faster.  However, since
poultry have litte long term problems, except the fryer, those questions
have never really been addressed.  The exception is in humans, because of
night shifts, etc., and in the animals that have been used as models to
study such stuff.  So I will relate the best stuff.
 
Photoperiodism seems to be more important to animals that evolved in the
higher latitudes (like European polecats) than to those that evolved near
the equator or inside deep rain forests.  Photoperiod responses are
generally those which prepare the animal for cold/lack of food (shorter
light periods), heat or breeding (longer light periods), or migration (both
shorter and longer light periods).  Photoperiodism is not limited to
mammals, nor to the northern hemisphere; just ask the birds that fly from
pole-to-pole each year.  Or the animals in Patagona that hibernate.
 
The most disturbing news about disrupted photoperiodic cycles comes from two
areas.  The first is the effects it has on the immune system, which is not
good to say the least.  The second is in how it effects the biochemistry of
the body.  If the cycle is really goofed up, one day the body may think
spring is in the air, the next week, it may thing fall is coming.  I know of
no published paper addressing this problem in ferrets, but several people
have started looking at the problem in people.  Dammit Jim, I'm an
osteologist not a biochemist, but there seems to be a *pattern* of disease
in our fuzzies that should be looking into.  While ferrets die from all
sorts of things, it does seem more than coincidental that pancreatic and
adrenal tumors are so prevalent.  I would bet my favorite book that the
incidence of such diseases is less in areas where ferrets are kept
out-of-doors.  (No, no statistics are available--besides, the USA statistics
would be horribly biased compared to some other places, because (and if you
have ever lived on a farm, you'll understand this) animals we take to the
vet for another few months of life are distroyed and never make it into the
stats.
 
The above is not to imply that the diseases that affect USA ferrets are not
found anywhere else; they are.  What I am saying is that if the disease
rates are higher in the USA, then the reason has to be something in what we
are doing (the genetics of USA ferrets and European ferrets are essentially
the same).  Differences would be in the areas of housing, food, and
excerise, to name a few of the most obvious.  I feel all three areas are
important, and address all three areas with my ferts.
 
Obviously, it is not important _when_ the ferrets get their dark time; what
is important is the _length_ of that time.  I have figured out the averaged
length of day in two-week increments, all all ferrets are exposed to that
amount of light for the period.  Right now, its 12 hours, but in two weeks,
it will be 11.75 hours.  Two weeks later, it will be 11.5 hours.  (No, this
is not a formula, nor will I give one because people live at all sorts of
latitudes, and any formula would have to be specific to the area.  They are
just examples.) The rest of the time, they are in a dark room illuminated
with a red darkroom bulb.  I work in the room myself--I am now--but you
don't have to have much light to see a computer screen.  I turn on a desk
lamp that is shielded from the cages if I need to read or write something
down.  I use a flashlight to find books off the shelves, or papers in the
files.  A day or two deviation should not be important; nature does the same
thing with heavy clouds, storms, etc.  The overall pattern is what is
important.  Many of you may think this is a bunch of dejecta, and you may be
right.  But in the absence of evidence in either direction, I would rather
make the error on the conservative side (as opposed to being on the side of
conservatives that err...).  Finally, does it work?
 
Last fall I adopted Foster, Buddy and Razz.  Both males are old (Foster is
almost 10 now, and Buddy is coming up on 7) and looked horrible.  Razz, the
declawed female, looked somewhat better, but still looked nasty.  All three
had rather low energy, and all lacked hair to some degree; Razz had a nude
butt and tail, and Buddy's tail was very thin.  I was told at the time that
both Buddy and Razz were concidered 'pre-adrenal.' The last vet inspection
proved otherwise.  Razz is now completely clothed in the thickest tail fur
you could ever scruff, and Buddy is a completely new ferret.  He now has
soft hair everwhere.  His other health problems have evaporated as well.
All three are in perect health, and apart from arthritis in Foster and
Buddy, are as heathly as any of the other 11.  Now maybe it was stress, poor
food, some minor infection; who knows?  All I know is I have very healthy,
energetic, non-fat (well, Apollo and Stella are slightly plump) animals in
excellent health.  They don't get colds, they don't chew rubber, they don't
get the squishies, even if they steal extra raisins.  I think good food,
adequate exercise, and proper photoperiods are the key.  And will continue
to do so until *PROVED* otherwise.  IMHO, that is.
 
Barbara: Pet rats (Rattus rattus) are the historical and evolutionary prey
of the European polecat.  Ferrets seem to understand this, to some degree or
another, as do the rats.  Rats are fearfull opponents, and could hurt one of
your beasties, but I think at least one of your little darlings would work
to prove Darwin right.  It's no coincidence that cat and ferret toys tend to
be the size of rats, and less coincidence that both predators love to chase
prey.  Raising them from pups is one thing, but I once saw my sweet little
Stella kill three feeder rats (for a snake) in less than 20 seconds.  I'd
never seen her move so fast before, nor since.  I'd be quite careful of any
introduction.  (Oh, she didn't eat them, but loved to smell and roll on top
of them.)
 
Bob and the 14 Tubes of Love.
[Posted in FML issue 1607]