Sukie wrote:
>Most digestion happens in the small intestine. Crediting the cecum
>with that is incorrect. The break down happens mostly in the first two
>portions of the small intestine and the nutrient absorption happens
>mostly in the final segment of the small intestine. The Cecum comes
>later.

If people are thinking that the cecum is the small intestine, then they
aren't paying attention. The cecum is responsible for harboring the
necessary bacteria needed to breakdown plant fiber. The ferret lacks
this digestive portion. Hence its inability to properly break down
plant matter.

Herbivores that have evolved eating vegetation have further evolved
into those with simple stomachs and those with multiple or chambered
stomachs (ruminants) . The horse has a very large cecum and this
digestive system is very well explained here:

http://www.seminolefeed.com/HorseDigestion.htm

The link Sukie provided references digestion as it applies to humans,
which does NOT apply to ferrets.

http://www.mamashealth.com/organs/intestine.asp

Ferret's digestion, being specialized like it is to extract nutrients
quickly from whole prey items, and fatty meaty sources, works a lot
differently; especially since it works so quickly (3 to 4 hours,
compared to the humans 24-48 hours). Breaking down plant matter takes
much longer and since the ferret lacks the apparatus to do so means
that more volume of plant sourced food is required more often to
glean a similar nutrient base than the would be needed to for it's
evolutionary diet.

The simple fact that meat is high moisture also aids in the quick
breakdown and absorption of nutrients as compared to a dry plant
food source.

http://www.aemv.org/Documents/2006_AEMV_proceedings_4.pdf

This study notes that about 80% of the ferret's meal is stored in its
simple stomach and has considerable storage capacity ("100 ml of milk
in1 0 minutes in an adult") - which is typical of a carnivore that
would need to eat large meals quickly, as well as the fact that ferrets
don't masticate (chew and grind) their food, they shred and gulp it.

There is considerable vasculature (veining) as well as a prominent
lymph node tucked into the stomachs smaller curve. The stomach produces
acids and enzymes to begin breaking down proteins, but the activity of
protein breakdown (proteolytic) takes place distally (further down) in
the jejunum - not the duodenum. The ferret stomach also secretes acid
in response to histamine, pentagastrin and calcium. Gastrin (a hormone
that regulates gastric acid) is secreted in the Gastric Antrum (a
specialized portion) and the Duodenum.

The ferret's intestine is made of three sections with villi and goblet
cells in all sections. Villi are finger like projections that sweep
through the contents and extract nutrients. Goblet cells secrete
mucous to keep things moving along. With villi present in all sections
nutrient absorption happens in ALL areas of the ferret digestive tract.

The first section is the duodenum, the next two areas (jejunal and
ileal) are practically indistinguishable and are usually referred to
as the jejunoileum, this ends at the ascending colon.

This site here has images of actual ferret digestive tracts from
dissection:

<http://www.baa.duke.edu/companat/Digestive%20system/ferret/ferret%20digestive system.htm>

I suggest it be bookmarked for reference by every ferret owner!

The small and large intestine of the ferret are of the same diameter!
Proportionately the ferret has a longer intestinal tract than the cat
or a fox! The entire tract is about four times as long as the body
length! With the small intestine making up about 75% of that length!
The large intestine walls are covered with longitudinal ridges without
villi and leads directly to the rectum.

The ferret's teeth, alimentary canal, and digestive tract are highly
specialized through evolution to devour whole prey and to glean
nutrients quickly from raw fatty meaty sources which is why feeding
pounds and pounds of dry plant based foods causes so many issues for
the ferret.

You can't present information based on human digestion and extrapolate
that the same holds true for ferrets. Ferrets are used as models for
some digestive issues in humans - like ulcers and vomiting, because
these issues have been studied and the triggering factors are known.
But even the scientists doing the studies continue to note that the
ferret's digestive system is highly specialized and designed to digest
animals, not plants.

If you put plants into your ferret, you get plants out! They simply
cannot digest the plant fibers! It matters not whether the plant
fiber is ground, crushed, cooked or liquefied. Final absorption of the
digested products take place at the cellular level and the ferret's
digestive tract has NO place for bacteria to ferment and break down
plant's cellular walls. THAT would take place in a cecum!

Cheers,
Kim

[Posted in FML 6248]