Dear Holly-
 
It has been my sad duty to post on the evils of fruit chips on more than
one occasion.  No, they are NOT good.  Here is the deal.:
 
Ferrets are obligate carnivores.  They are designed to digest meat, not
carbohydrates.  In fact, they *cannot* digest fruit.  Fresh fruit goes
right through them like a rocket, probably doing you no more harm than a
messy poop if it is cut into easily chewable little slivers.  I give Ping
is He little slivers of fresh mango and he absolutely loves it, no harm
done.  Others find that bananna is a hit.
 
Dried fruit is sold dessicated to about 19% water (so that it doesn't
rot on the shelf.)  You wind up with a little piece of very dense,
concentrated carbohydrate (think "hi fiber" in marketing terms.)  Ferrets
have a hell of a time chewing it.  It often enters their stomach and
digestive system as little sharp edged bits, almost like shrapnel that
can do mechanical cutting damage on its own, just by being sharp edged.
 
It takes a long time for that super dry material to absorb water and
soften in the stomach.  Unfortunately, ferrets have very fast digestive
systems geared toward soft meat that is already very moist.  Nothing
stays in a ferret stomach for very long.  Still very dry fruit chips
can be kicked right into the gut with the sharp edges intact., and it
can do damage along the whole digestive tract.
 
Even "soft" dried fruit with no hard edges can be a problem.  Because
a ferret is so bad at trying to digest carbohydrate (fiber), a ferret
stomach just can't break the stuff down.  It can form blockages like
dams inside the stomach or gut.  The colon can actually become blocked.
Some blockages will pass on their own, but others require surgery to
remove.  If you notice that your ferret is straining hard to poop after
eating dried fruit, you may have a blockage.  Another telltale sign is a
really thin line of poop like a pencil lead being squeezed out under high
pressure.  That means the system is blocked somewhere, and the regular
poop volume can't exit the body., it's squeezing past a mechanical
obstacle.
 
If you see these signs, feed laxative and get your little guy to the vet!
 
The IFC (International Ferret Congress) has been waging a quiet war to
get fruit chips removed from ferret chows by the manufacturers.  They
have had some success, but manufacturers don't want to change a formula
that sells.  People see formulas with fruit chips and bits and they think
of them as "treats" that the ferret will enjoy.  Not knowing any better,
they buy the stuff.  A lot more is known about ferret digestion now than
it was just a few years ago, and the manufacturers are being educated,
slowly.
 
Right now I'd advise you to be cautious and read the label of "Eight in
One" products, especially those marketed specifically as treats.  They
often contain dried fruit.  Also, read the label of products from
"Kaytee." Please avoid "Kaytee Ferret Fiesta" chow, it still has a high
volume of fruit, even though the percentage has gone down.
 
I have never heard of a blockage caused by feeding raisins (which are
still dried to 19% water by volume like the other dried fruit according
to the California Raisin Board) but I suppose it is possible, even though
they are very soft.  I'm not a big raisin feeder, but on the odd occasion
when I do give them I try only to feed the soft, really moist ones.  I
throw old , hardening raisins away and do not feed them.  I also only
feed one or two at a time, not a handfull, just in case!  (The sugar in
raisins, and other dried fruit is also something to keep in mind for your
ferret's health, and that keeps me from feeding very many raisins.)
 
I have no idea what is in the Mazuri chow you described, so I can't help
you there.
 
Alexandra in MA
[Posted in FML issue 5226]