We know about a ferret who nearly made it to 10, although this seems
to be highly unusual.  Our local ferret expert (the mustelid expert
at the Animal Medical Center in NYC -- the Sloan Kettering of animal
hospitals -- she has worked with the WY blackfooted ferrets and
does lots of zoo work) maintains that the digestive system of a
ferret is too short for proper nutrition.  She supplements her
ferrets food with some puppy milk substitute every other day or so.
We tried this on ours and noticed an enormous improvement in look
and "bounce" of our guys. Fritter (almost 7) and Hjalmar (5.5)
have been on the stuff for about a year and act like 3 - 4 year
old animals. Fritter in particular was showing signs of aging that
seem to have been reversed (loosing muscle mass, cloudy eyes, and
inactivity).
 
What we give them is the puppy milk substitute.  Its expensive
($20 for 12 oz of powder I believe), but goes a long way.  Every
other day I cut a heaping tablespoon about 5:1 to 10:1 with water
and run it in a blender.  This is then split among our 4 guys.
They *love* this better than almost anything they eat.  Fritter
and Hjalmar get excited every time the blender goes on.
 
Giving it to them too often is counterproductive as they get the
runs with a lot of it.  You may want to give it a try.
 
Steve Crandall
and the Crandall ferrets: Meltdown, Ruffle, Hjalmar, and Fritter
 
ps
Does anyone know if the ferret mailing list is still active?
[I hope so!]
                                                                          
[Posted in FML 0125]