>So my question for you is....... Do ferrets have bad dreams?  That is the
>only thing I can think of.  I sure hope it is nothing more serous than that.
 
Jeremy:
Most researchers believe that all mammals dream, and after observing my own
ferrets twitching and squeaking in their sleep sometimes I have to agree.
Apparently all mammals *do* engage in REM (or rapid- eye-movement) sleep,
which is the phase of sleep in humans in which *we* dream, so it makes sense
that other mammals dream in REM sleep too.  Also, I seem to recall reading
that researchers had disabled the portion of the brain in lab animals which
'turns off' the body during dreams, and the animals then acted out their
dreams.  I don't recall whether they did this with surgery or with
medication which only temporarily affected the animals; I'd rather assume
the second and more humane alternative.
 
Having said that, I can't say for sure that this is what is happening with
Bell.  I'd have a vet check her over just to be safe.
 
--
John Rosloot, Caregiver to Cassidy and Sammy
With loving memories of my dear departed Buddy
Technical analyst, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
http://www.cs.uregina.ca/~john/ferrets
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[Posted in FML issue 2116]