To Thomas Nester:
 
I agree with you on this one.  When I first got into ferrets, I gave them
fruit every day - peeled grapes, mellon, watermellon, peaches, PLUS,
Linatone, raisins.  Within an hour, they'd have watery diarrhea that
looked like whatever I just gave them.  And I was feeding them Meow Mix
which I (personally please!) consider to be a junk food for ferrets.
 
Ferrets NEED a *good quality* food - whether it's Totally Ferret, Marshall's
Iam's, Science, 8 in 1, - whatever, it needs to be good quality.
 
A couple of yrs ago my ferrets picked up the greenies at a show - and
that's about when I stopped the routine fruit.  I have 4 ferrets now that
have suffered permanent intestinal damage due to the greenies - it's hard
to keep them from having diarrhea now - their tummies are sensitive to
EVERYTHING.  The *only* food that keeps them from having diarrhea is Totally
Ferret.  And they eat that straight - I can't mix other foods in with it
for them because then they diarrhea again.
 
After the greenies, I never went back to the routine fruit for the other
guys either.  ONCE in while, 3/4x a year, I give them fruit (or that
lick of chocolate!) - but only a taste - not even 1/4 tsp/ferret like I
used to do.  The ferrets with the tender tummies can't even take Ferretone
or Linatone - when I clip their nails I use Nutrical now, because Ferretone
and Linatone give them diarrhea.  And w/ TF, they don't need the 'tones
anyway, because the TF gives them gorgeous looking coats.
 
Fruits contain a lot of surgar (sucrose) and sugar is *no good* for ferrets.
(TO THE POSTER ASKING ABOUT FAT FREE NEWTONS - I"D BE CONCERNED ABOUT SUGAR
CONTENT IF YOU'RE FEEDING THAT ON A SOMEWHAT REGULAR BASIS).  So, that's
another reason why I stopped the routine fruit.
 
I use raisins on occasion for training, or after adminstering ear medication
(it's kind of like giving your kid a lollypop after they've been to the
pediatrician) or something like that.
 
What I use for a treat now is crushed up TF (crushed to crumbs) mixed in a
jar of Chicken/Turkey Baby Food mixed with Deliver 2 (Isocal) and water -
actually DUCK SOUP - I make up a batch, freeze it into cubes, and use the
cubes as needed.  *Everybody* loves DUCK SOUP! (Nuked up warm, please!)
 
Using a better quality food gives them better stools - the cheaper stuff
has lots of "fillers" and dyes - when I first got ferrets and fed them
Meow Mix, I couldn't believe how bad their litter pans smelled - since
I've changed to better quality foods, their pans don't smell at all any
more.  Ferrets don't have firm, hard stools like dogs and cats anyway,
and lots of the stuff we give them certainly doesn't help!
 
Debbie Riccio
WNYFLFA
[Posted in FML issue 1159]