Edward Lipinski writes
>Let us ask the wizards of ferretology to tighten up the implied
>negativity of ferret kibble chow as it now appears rather loosely tied
>to adrenal gland health.
>
>And secondlly, how does USA adrenal gland health compare in
>English/European ferret communities where ferret kibble chow is
>assumedly less used?
 
There are 3 main differences between how ferrets are kept in the USA vs
Europe, UK, Australia, NZ and other countries.  In the USA, ferrets are
generally altered early, kept indoors under extended lighting, and fed
kibble.  In other countries, they are more likely to be kept whole
longer, live outside under natural lighting and fed a more natural diet.
 
Most ferret experts think adrenal disease is related to the first two
conditions, and insulinoma to the third.
 
The incidence of adrenal glad disease and insulinoma are considered to
be much higher in the USA than other places, but Dr. Hanneke Moorman of
the Netherlands debunked this myth at her presentation at the 2003
International Ferret Congress in Atlanta.*  She believes some of this
misconception is simply lack of recognition on the part of vets there.
Now that she knows what to look for, for example, she sees a great deal
of insulinoma in her patients.  Part of it may also be that Europeans and
others are starting to keep their ferrets more like we do in the USA now.
 
I know of no controlled studies that actually prove or disprove the
relationship between husbandry and these diseases, but there are fairly
cogent scientific arguments for why this would be so.
 
* Transcript available from http://www.ferretcongress.org
 
Linda Iroff
[Posted in FML issue 4713]