Recently I worked with ferret kits being exported. All were desexed
early in life. It seems that kits desexed a few years prior to 2003
seemed to live longer and had less incidence of diseases.

Same desexing, different diets, caging, lighting and more recently
desexed ferrets seem to be more prone to Adrenal, Juvenile Adrenal,
Heart issues etc.

Is it that diet, lighting/photoperiods etc are perhaps more the issue
than when the ferret/s are desexed/descented is the issue

I have had ferrets up to 10 years of age, but it seems they are getting
serious illnesses earlier now and dying younger.

Many of the older ferrets were fed a greater variety of foods including
the dont feed your ferret this food, and did better than now, perhaps
with so many "no dont feed that", they are now missing out on something
in the diets they got before.

Crusty is a 6 year old Chocolate Point desexed male who was diagnosed
with Adrenal 6 months ago and received a Suprelorin implant, and has
done really well on it, recently he has been slowly losing weight and
energy. So each day I give him some little cooking marshmellows and he
can have a 1 hour run instead of 20 minutes. Is happy and playful, if
he doesnt get them he is more lethargic and goes 15 - 20 mins then
finds a nice place to snuggle down and sleeps. His life may be short
from now, and this might not be the best treatment but it gives him
joy and energy and he has fun playing and running. Then he will take
a nice cuddle with you before going to sleep.

Crusty got bread, Banana, Donut, Cheese and all sorts of thnigs as we
sat around the work lunch table (he was the farm pet), and tho he got
these he also got a daily intake of 60% beef trim and 40% fish frames
finely minced as part of the daily feed process for the export ferrets.
Some additives were added depending on what quality food was available
and regular measured doses of meds were also added when needed

If Crusty on perhaps the most spoilt diet including raisins etc,
desexed at approx 5 weeks old, housed like many others in individual
cages in a variety of temperature variations, has easily reached this
age, why is it that """Better fed""" ferrets are dying earlier.

I am interested in the diets of entire and desexed ferrets and the
observations people have seen or felt re their ferrets

**Beef trim is the off cuts often quite fatty when beef is Processed.
**Fish frames are the reamins including heads when fish are filleted

This diet is high in fats, nutrients, and proteins and calcium etc

Hugs to all your furries
Michelle

[Posted in FML 6168]