>First, Thank you for your postings on the FML.  I read today, in your
>post, that you recommend Gerber's for sick ferrets, but my two males,
>split a jar every night.  I started using it when my youngest was a kit,
>and for the longest time, he was the only one that looked at the stuff.
>Now my oldest male likes it too.  Do you see anything wrong with feeding
>it to them daily?  Your advise would be greatly appreciated.
>John
 
Dear John -
 
Baby food makes for an excellent treat, as long as it does not replace
traditional ferret diets.  While it can be given for months as a sole
source of nutrition in very ill animals, I would be very hesitant to try
to make it a staple.
 
Many of my ferrets never really weaned totally from the stuff after
recovering from illnesses, and if one was sick, they all felt a need to
partake in the baby food as a sign of solidarity for the sick ferret (I
suppose!) One side benefit is that as all of my ferrets had this secret
longing for baby food, I never had a problem getting any type of medication
into them.  Crush the pill or dilute the solution with just enough baby
food to mask the taste!
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, dVM
[Posted in FML issue 3195]