One who one of our local vets treated had a bone piece from raw chicken
puncture the esophagus (Never even reached the stomach.) and the ferret
bled out before they could save the individual.
Every choice has its downsides; bone accidents like the one your
ferret just survived, and increased risk of a range of infections
and parasites are the ones for raw food. (Luckily, ferrets are very
resistant to most of those infections though certainly not all.)
For kibble (which is what we use mostly) the increased risks are
unusual dental wear and possibly an increase in rate of insulinoma --
BUT for the second it is still a hypothesis because research that has
been done well enough, carefully enough, and thoroughly enough to be
published in a journal is still lacking though that could change in
the future (for all that I know -- LOL -- since much is going on all
the time).
Just know that nothing is perfect, and that I am very glad that your
ferret survived. There are many good feeding options of many kinds
for ferrets so guilt for ones choices should not be on the menu but
knowledge of risks so that a person can jump fast and in the right
direction should be, as should always letting your treating vet know
your food choices.
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/http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/http://www.ferretcongress.org/http://www.trifl.org/index.shtmlhttp://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
all ferret topics:
http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html
[Posted in FML 6559]
