Getting a Ferret Hammock
Ferrets like to sleep. The average sleeping hour of adult ferrets in a day is 19 hours. Moreover, they like secluding their selves in soft dark corners. As mentioned, a ferret needs a comfortable area to hide in and to sleep in. For example, you are sleeping in a room with low temperature, what you will do is use a heavier blanket, – and use a lighter blanket if you are sleeping in a room with warm temperature – this helps you to regulate your body temperature so as to provide you comfortable sleep. This can also be applied to ferrets. Thus, a ferret must be provided with two types of beds available for them in their cage. In this way, they can pick the comfortable spot for them to sleep in. One of the essentials for ferrets’ healthy sleeping pattern is their beds. An uncomfortable set up for your ferret can disturb its sleep and may lead it to an unhealthy life.
The first bed you can choose is a sleep sack or also called nap sack; it provides extra warmth when needed. A sleep sack is placed on the ground of the cage. Sleep sacks can either have a hole at one end that let your ferret crawl into or have holes at both ends. Once the ferret crawls inside the nap sack, it is surrounded by warmth. One of the sleep sacks that is suitable for play is the one with crinkling effect.
The next bed option is a hammock. A hammock usually hangs in the mid air and provides pocketed space that allows walled security with partly open space. A ferret is sensitive to heat; the hammock provides an open space that can be used for cooling comfort. Fleece hammocks come in several shapes and sizes; some are lined, others are not. Ferrets love snuggling together while sleeping; hammocks that are larger are ideal for them to sleep together at the same time. Some hammocks have a zip front to provide adjustability of the size of the opening and others are boot shaped; some hammocks are flat looking. Hammocks offer more area for a ferret to use. These are preferred to use as safety features; ferrets can step on the hammock if they want to climb to a higher level of the cage without the worries of long falls.
Check and secure that any purchased hammock or sleep sack is machine washable; to avoid the spread of disease. Use a tightly woven fabric since it is more resilient and secure. Remove a hammock or sleep sack that begins to fray or have seams that are about to split. Damaged sleep sack or hammock becomes a hazard to the ferret. In purchasing a hammock, you must make sure that the hardware provided is safe for your ferrets. You can also purchase any kind of hardware as long as it will not harm your ferret that is, if the hammock has no hardware included.
It is best to purchase a hammock for your ferrets; aside from providing safer environment, hammock also places them in their natural sleeping positions, puts less pressure on their body and it allows them to have a separate area for play.