mark prince wrote:
>They are as smart as an 8-12 year old child
 
Ferrets are smart, but they're not that smart.
 
>If you don't believe in herbs then stop taking 33% of your western
>medicines (especially digoxin for heart problems.)
 
See my comments in my post "Herbal stuff" regarding potency issues for
herbs.
 
>and for the record, 8-12 Tylenol per day over an extended period of time
>is a toxic dose.
 
Right.  My point was (and still is) that there is a dosage at which a
person can safely take Tylenol, but this is not so for ferrets.  Thus,
an herb may be safe for humans at a particular dosage, but that doesn't
mean there is a safe dosage for ferrets.  Humans and ferrets are
different, and something that is safe for one is not automatically
safe for the other.  My concern is that many people think that because
something is "natural" that it is automatically safe or that because it
is safe for humans it is automatically safe for ferrets.  It is dangerous
to believe that what is safe for one species is safe for another.
 
>Don't throw the babies out with the bath water, and find a knowledgeable
>herbalist and cross check their recommendations with your favorite
>Veterinarian,
 
Unfortunately, I think you'll find that many (if not most) veterinarians
are like most MDs -- they are as suspicious of herbal remedies as many
herbalists are of traditional medications.  Or they simply don't have the
knowledge of herbs to be able to give an educated opinion -- so they just
say, "No." I know that there are some vets out there who have studied
herbal remedies as well traditional veterinary medicine, but these are
few and far between.
 
>and in my slightly educated opinion, by all means consider short term
>herbal remedies for your fuzzies.
 
My main concern about giving *any* remedy for grief (which is where this
thread started) is that grief is a natural process and needs to run its
course -- it's not an illness to be medicated.  In fact, I believe that
medicating for grief can be more harmful than helpful because it does
not allow the animal (or human) to learn to live with the loss.  Grief
is not depression and should not be treated as such.  (Depression is a
completely different issue.) I did get an e-mail from Mary Conley about
flower essences and how they are not a medication but that they confer a
coping mechanism.  I'm not sure I understand how that works -- to me, it
still seems that if you're putting some sort of substance into the body
that affects the mood, you're medicating.  Though I suppose I wouldn't
consider aromatherapy to be medication, so I think there may be some
nuances here that I'm not yet picking up (though it could just as easily
be semantics).
 
--Mary & the Fuzzies
 
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Mary R. Shefferman, Editor, Modern Ferret Magazine
Trixie, Koosh, & Gabby, The Modern Ferrets
Read my blog! http://www.modernferretblog.com/mary
See my cool stuff! http://www.topicaltees.com
[Posted in FML issue 4163]