Mike Janke, ferret owner and secretary of the South Florida Ferret Club and Rescue, has been gathering information on the topic for more than a year. If the gland is over-stimulated and begins to function abnormally, then the ferret develops adrenal gland disease, common in ferrets four years old or older. Symptoms are grossly exaggerated seasonal changes, such as extreme hair loss. The possible root of this problem is simple, Wood says. The biological clock of Earth is the sun, but people don't live by the sun anymore.
Ferrets live by whatever schedule their owners adopt.
This can include many consecutive hours of exposure to light that would not normally occur. I do this myself when I work at the computer in the evenings and light a room that would otherwise be dark. If such unnatural cycles of light contribute to the prevalence of adrenal gland disease, some say, then a natural pattern of lighting may prevent the disease and help to relieve its symptoms. Still, these assertions remain speculation. Veterinary researchers have studied the question, but many maintain that investigators have not uncovered a conclusive answer.