Bonnie and Jim wrote:
>Some friends of ours said chocolate is poison for some animals, so we
>immediately stopped letting them have chocolate "kiss" licks as treats.
 
Yes, there is a "caffeine like" compound in chocolate that can cause
problems if too much is ingested.  Also chocolate tends to be high in
sugar and can cause upset stomachs so I can't recommend it as a safe
treat.  Now, if I could only follow my own advise...
--
Bruce S. Levine, DVM
 
"Lost in Cyberspace"
 
[Moderator's note: Ah, my favorite topic.  If you've been on the FML for any
length of time, you know I always defend chocolate :-)
 
My usual responses to the chocolate debate is that there is plenty of
anecdotal evidence of ferrets eating very large amounts of chocolate with no
apparent ill effects.  I'm not trying to imply people should feed their
ferrets large amounts of chocolate and I can't find any research specific to
ferrets which implicates nor clears chocolate/theobromine, so SOME caution
might well be in order.
 
But, as a treat, I think chocolate chips aren't too bad.  Chocolate doesn't
have fiber like raisins, doesn't promote tooth decay to the same degree,
won't cause a blockage, and most ferrets love it.  I do agree though - there
are better treats.  I doubt I can convince my guys of that though!  BIG]
[Posted in FML issue 1688]