Your ferret is unlike most other mammals, including yourself, because he sleeps a lot. That's not abnormal; it's just what ferrets do. They normally sleep prodigious amounts every day, and even more when they are either sick or older.

The typical ferret sleep pattern is total sleeping time of about 18 out of every 24 hours.

The best things you can do for your ferret's sleep needs is to make it possible for him to sleep easily, deeply, and whenever he wants. Here's what to do:

• Keep your ferret's cage in the quietest part of the house.
• Make a separate enclosure in your ferret's cage for sleeping - make it dark, as noise-free as possible, and truly comfortable (with hammocks or sleep sacks).
• If you have more than one ferret, make sure their sleeping area is big enough for all of them because ferrets like to sleep together.