This may be the first enrichment that will cause problems in application;
for some strange reason, ferrets will put ANYTHING into their mouths
EXCEPT new foods.  Electric wire--ok, nasty garbage--fine, bacteria-laden
socks--great, bitter apple--sure sure, new food--WHOA, get that crap out
of here!  It constantly amazes me that ferrets will sample poisonous
fluids from under the sink, eat rat and cockroach poisons, swallow bits
of rubber and dine on sponge, but swivel their heads when offered fresh
chicken like a child trying to avoid a double dose of castor oil mixed
with bile.
 
The problem is olfactory (scent) imprinting, a natural phenomenon that
"locks" polecats into hunting specific animals found in their local
environment (well, for new foods anyway; I have NO idea what goes through
their minds regarding the bad stuff).  As polecat kits are fed in their
nest, the scents of the animals brought in to them by their mother
stimulate those olfactory cells and associated structures.  Olfactory
stimulation actually keeps these cells and nerves alive; those that are
not stimulated deteriorate and die.  Why waste energy keeping alive
connections that are not needed?  The declines of these olfactory
connections are severe enough by the third month of the polecat's life
that 70-80% of their olfactory preferences are "locked in." By the time a
polecat is 6 months old, 90% of olfactory preferences are set, and by the
time a polecat is a year old, the brain is wire to only recognize
specific odors as food.  That is olfactory imprinting, and ferrets have
inherited the trait from their wild polecat progenitors (ancestors).
 
Ferrets older than a year of age are EXTREMELY reluctant to try new
foods; some, having dined on a single kibble for years, will starve
rather than try a new diet formulation.  The ONLY real solution is to
give young ferrets (6 weeks to 1 year--the younger the better) as wide
a diet as possible, introducing an extensive diet of kibbles, raw and
cooked foods, and various nutritious treats.  Ferrets have SOME ability
to learn new food scents, although it seems more of a learning process
than a rewiring one, and the solution is time consuming and frustrating
to both the ferret and the owner.  The only real solution is prevention,
not cure.
 
So, why is this discussion of SMELL taking place in a discussion of TASTE
enrichment?  Because the two are so intimately connected; much of the
sense of taste is actually smell.  Ever have a cold and notice foods
taste bland?  Ever eat the overly spiced food cooked by a heavy smoker?
Both colds and smoking reduce the sense of smell, greatly impacting the
sense of taste.  This means ANY taste enrichment is ALSO an olfactory
enrichment as well.  It also means we can intensify taste enrichments by
enhancing odors.
 
Some hints to make the experience more satisfying to both the ferret
owner and ferret include:
 
1. WARM the food to enhance the smell,
2. Add a familiar scent to a new one to make it more acceptable,
3. Liquefy a new food to make introduction easier (ferrets will lick a
new food off a finger BEFORE they will try sampling it from a dish), and
4. Remember the idea is to ENRICH through taste, NOT teach to eat new
food; sampling is the goal, not consumption (although if done young, it
accomplishes both).
 
Taste enrichments can be anything, although I don't recommend nasty
flavors.  The occasional piece of dog chow, a Cheerio, a TINY bit of
fruit or vegetable (no more than a couple of 1/4 inch cubes), teaspoon of
milk, chunk of cheese, TINY chunk of red licorice, a malt ball; you get
the picture.  Remember, it is ok to give junk food such as sugar treats
AS LONG AS it is done infrequently and mixed with more nutritious foods,
and as long as it doesn't injure an ailing ferret.  Just giving treats
are enrichment, but you can combine the taste delicacy with other types
of enrichments to enhance the effect.
 
1. Gimme Dat Ting, Gimme, Gimme Dat Ting: Chop favored treats into small
fragments not exceeding 1/4 inch along their longest length.  I hide
these fragments around the room, hidden in bedding, in clumps of hay,
inside toys, etc.
 
2. Forgotten Love: Once a week, the regular diet is replaced with one of
the foods learned during the olfactory imprinting period.  I randomly
feed various ferret kibbles (frozen until use to keep fresh), duck,
turkey, deer, elk, dried beef, cat foods (dry and wet), and various soups
and gravies.
 
3. "Ferretasbord": Take 5 or 6 new foods, blend them to a paste with a
bit of water, and warm them to about 100F or 40C degrees.  Pour the warm
liquid into shallow dishes, then dip your fingers in the fluid, and touch
it to the ferret's nose.  They will naturally lick it off, getting the
taste enrichment.
 
4. Spray 'N' Wash It Down: Select 3 or 4 foods, and then blend them to
liquids.  Water the food liquids down so they can spray through an
inexpensive aerosol bottle.  While playing with the ferret, occasionally
spray the face and paws.  This should excite the ferret by stimulating
the senses of smell and taste (besides getting squirted).  Some ferrets
go wild and others stop dead in their tracts and lick off the spray.
 
5. Stinky Eggs: Obtain a half dozen wooden eggs (available at craft
stores), and drill a 1/2 inch hole in the wide end, about 1/2 inch deep.
Fill the hole with various treats, and toss them out for the ferrets.
This is one of MY favorite enrichments, and one my ferrets adore.
Sometimes I will soak the wooden eggs overnight in something smelly.  The
eggs tend to stain from the food, so I replace them on occasion if I
think they are unsanitary.  Some of the eggs have been dyed bright red
with food coloring, others have been stained white and marked with black
magic markers.
 
Bob C
[Posted in FML issue 4209]