To Gail Sampson:
 
>I am concerned about the amount of Vitamin A as well as how much and how
>often I should be giving them to my babies.  I have Linatone and give 4 - 5
>drops per day to each of my three babies (I am reasonably sure this is ok).
>However, I am rather concerned about using the other two products (which
>also contain vitamin A) in conjunction with it.  I have Nutravit...
 
    Okay - we haven't touched on this in a while.  Vitamin A toxicity has
never been reported in the ferret.  I have heard of some doctors that have
diagnosed it, but really the diagnoses did not stand up under close
scrutiny.  Vitamin A toxicity in other species results in bony proliferation
especially of the head and neck, and we have never seen this.  Also, cases
of hypervitaminosis A are caused either by addition of way too much Vitamin
A in a formulated ration (usually the case in cattle) or ingestion of large
amounts of animal liver (where Vitamin A is stored.) I would submit that
your ferrets would develop diarrhea from too much Linatone and Nutravit well
before they would develop Vitamin A toxicosis.
 
    At any rate, is there a reason that your ferrets need not one, but two
vitamin supplements.  Linatone is good as an incentive or treat, but most
ferrets receive all of the vitamins and minerals that they need on a daily
basis if they are on high quality ferret or even cat diets.  For sick
ferrets, vitamin supplements may help and certainly won't hurt, but if
you've been told that they are a requirement for normal healthy ferrets, you
may have been ill-informed.
 
>Today I bought something called Tonic-lax which is a laxative.  How often
>should I give this?  And how much?  In the FAQ it says to give a laxative
>every other day.
 
    Depends on the ferret.  The dosage for most laxatives is about an inch.
For nromal healthy ferrets with no GI problems, they are probably not
required.  For an animal with history of hairballs, I would go about once
every three days.  And for an animal I suspect as eating something that it
shouldn't, twice a day for a week.
 
>Won't I be overdoing the Vitamin A with all these products?
 
    I wouldn't think that a laxative needs vitamins in it.  You may want to
try Petromalt or Laxatone, but as I said, the amount of Vitamin A is not
enough to cause toxicosis.
 
>I have a 12 week old, a 2 1/2 year old, and a 5 year old.  Should I give
>the older ferret more of the laxative to prevent hair balls or just as much?
 
    All the same.  But once again - is there a history of hair balls in any
of these ferrets?  If not, once a week for good measure is probably the best
approach.
 
Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP
Dept. of Vet Path, AFIP
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Chief Pathologist, AccuPath
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[Posted in FML issue 1277]