Ran into something which might be useful.  The current Tufts Health and
Nutrition Letter has a piece on probiotics.  Did you know that many (MOST)
of the things out there sold as probiotics, including some L. acidophilus
strains, don't survive the trip to the intestines or have too little to
do anything at all?  Interesting.  Apparently, Culturelle's Lactobacillus
casei GG survives, as do the bacteria in Dannon Actimel and Nestle LC.
Lactobaccilus bulgaricus, Streptococcus theramophilus, and some strains of
L. acidophilus apparently don't survive the stomach's acid.  The bacterial
count has to be high enough, too: 1 to 10 billion per dose.  Now, those are
human size doses, so for ferrets lower amounts should work but it's pretty
hard to know which ones have strains of L. acidophilis that actually
survive the trip in humans.  Complicated.  (With faster tracts that may not
be as much of a problem with ferrets as with humans; don't know.)  Turns
out the ONLY thing I've seen mentioned in FML recommendations for this
use in ferrets is also the ONLY thing that probiotics are KNOWN (through
rigorous testing) to actually be good for: to help resolve diarrhea caused
by tainted food or water, by infection, or by taking antibiotics.  I hadn't
realized some of the other claims some places make for these products, and
I have to praise the FML members for not pushing those (which include but
are not limited to anti-cancer claims, immune system claims, and blood
pressure claims -- none of which have panned out in rigorous studies so
far).  A few possible uses are under study and may pan out (or may not).
They sure can help with resolving runs, as many of us know from use, and
perhaps the info here can help that use be pursued more effectively.  Hope
so.  It's really a shame that Congress removed control over such items;
standards could give more credibility and also help patients and
purchasers.
[Posted in FML issue 3158]