Donna sent:
>>3. fancy ferrets (These were very rare back then; now they are the
>>norm. Ironically, one of the only fancies around then is not seen
>>now. Those were true red and auburn and did not have the coloration
>>from food.)
>so are you saying that ferret coloration can come from the food that
>they eat? or at least it used to?? enquiring minds need to know!!
>please explain this further..
Yes, some cheap cat foods have done this to ferrets, and taking it a
step further, a long while ago there was now defunct breeder who sold
ferrets that had a solid apricot coat. She called them either apricot
or tangerines and sold them as fancies, but people found that after
the next coat change or often earlier they were white. I forget if
the situation happened just from the breeder not knowing better or on
purpose, and forget what they were being fed, whether it was a cheap
food or one of the food additives like marigold petals given to make
skin oils orange (and coat staining) and which are also used to make
poultry meat look more "buttery" by having them in a chicken's diet.
Sukie (not a vet)
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/http://ferrethealth.org/archive/http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.htmlhttp://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/http://www.ferretcongress.org/http://www.trifl.org/index.shtmlhttp://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
[Posted in FML 5705]
