There was a suggestion on the list recently to supplement the diet of the
ferret with the apparent vitamin overdose using Nutrical.  I don't know that
that is really a good idea for a ferret with that condition.  Nutrical is,
after all, not just a caloric supplement, but a vitamin and mineral supplement.
 It contains 1045 IU of vitamin A per teaspoon.  When there was a discussion
about safe doses of vitamin A a few months back, including info from
Dr.Williams animal nutritionist friend, I thought the recommended maximum dose
of Ferretone was 1/3 of a teaspoon.  Ferretone contains 1812 IU per teaspoon,
so maximum daily vitamin A dose would be 604 IU (because this was the limiting
factor in the Ferretone dosage).  Therefore, the most Nutrical you would want
to offer in a day would be a little over 1/2 a teaspoon.  Nutrical contains 30
calories per teaspoon, so I would think that 15 calories might not be worth
boosting the vitamin A in this ferret.  Remember that many foods contain
vitamin A supplement too.  Just something to think about...
 
              Debra in Ft.Worth
 
[Posted in FML issue 0934]