>From:    "Lange, Sandra SJ" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Advice on free roam vs cage  for body tone
>
>I would like some opinions on something a vet said to me.
>
>I went along as a visitor to a session a vet was running for students of
>animal technology.  I had my ferrets with me, and the vet said that they
>don't have as much tone as they should have, and it is because they have
>free roam of the house.
 
The vet's reasoning left me saying "Huh?"  Granted I'm biased because my
ferret(s) have always been free roam, but the four different vets I've used
have always been very complimentary about my ferrets' overall tone and
musculature.  I have always thought that a free roam ferret is in charge
of its own schedule for the most part, as opposed to a caged ferret who
is more dependent on its owner for free time and thus more likely to have
disrupted sleep cycles (though I'm sure most caged ferrets adjust their
schedules to fit their caretaker's).  I'm not entirely sure what disrupted
sleep cycles would have to do with muscle tone anyway...
 
Being free roam I think generally means getting more exercise anyway; for
example, Amelia never sits at her food dish and eats, she grabs a mouthful
and then runs under the bed with it, repeat until full.  Dinner and a
workout, all at the same time :)
 
Regina
 
 
Regina Harrison  [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/1083
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           the tears are welling in my eyes again
         I need twenty big buckets to catch them in
          and twenty pretty girls to carry them down
            and twenty deep holes to bury them in
[Posted in FML issue 3456]