Andrea writes that she seems to notice lack of energy in Oliver after giving
him supplements.  Remember that the Ferretone and Nutrical (and probably
others) have vitamins A&E, not water soluable vitamins.  If the body takes
in more than it can use, it will be stored in the liver and cause toxicity,
with problems including hair loss.  We have two ferrets, Huggy and Pansy,
who were each being given about an inch of Nutrical twice daily and were
getting some Ferretone besides.  Both ferrets had dull, sparse hair and were
lethargic.  Huggy also had brown urine, at which time urinalysis showed high
bilirubin, indicating liver problem.  Two weeks after taking them off all
supplements, hair was growing back and energy level was normal.  Vitamin A
overdose symptoms are reversible.  Both have beautiful coats now.  I think
that Oliver may very well be getting too much Ferretone - the dose suggested
on the bottle seems way too high.
 
Of my 33 ferrets, I have several who sometimes play too rough, once in a
while inflicting a pretty hard bite when they get too excited.  They are
easily disuaded by a sharply spoken "NO!", at which time they seem to try to
control themselves better.  I also have one large female named Romey, who is
a complete sweetheart otherwise but still loves to gnaw into my arm if I let
her.  She will lie there and wrestle with my arm for a while, then gently
plant her teeth, biting down harder and harder as I allow it, until I tell
her "That's enough Romey", and she knows to let up.  For her this is fun,
but I suppose that as long as they are allowed to sink their teeth in at
all, there will always be the possibility they will want to try it on a
stranger.  In fact, for those who still use their teeth in play, it seems an
irristable temptation for them whenever there is a guest in the house with
exposed ankles!  With my ferrets who never even open their mouths in play
(at least with people), I never have a problem with them "tasting" our
houseguests!  If you want to be sure they will never surprise a guest again
or go for that vulnerable spot that they love, you have to really get busy
and scold him whenever he tries it.  Sometimes it's hard to break them of
that when they have grown up doing it.
[Posted in FML issue 1701]