The death of your birds due to hypervitaminosis D is not an uncommon
problem.  Oversupplimentation of certain vitamins, especially the fat
soluble vitamins such as A, D, and E can result in potentially toxic
levels of these vitamins in animals bodies.  This is a problem that we
see more commonly in birds than other species.  Commonly the cause is
just as you described, adding vitamin suppliments to a pelleted or
formulated diet that has already been made to be nutritionally complete.
(ie.  adding the Zupreem supliment to the Kaytee food.) The same results
could have happened if you had put Prime vitamin suppliment over his food.
 
We don't see this problem in mammals as much because nutritional studies
have been completed on these animals and people don't often suppliment
dog and cat foods with extra vitamins.  HOWEVER, in these days of extra
suppliments and nutritional additives I suspect we will start to see a
reoccurance of these common nutrtional diseases in all pets.  In fact with
the number of ferrets that are recieving ferritone, pet tinic, lixotinic,
ect.  I am suprized that we have not seen more of this problem in our
ferret populations.
 
As for ferret food I reccomend a good quality high protein (>28%) food
such as totally ferret.  Marshals is an acceptable second choice.  Zupreem
is also an excellent choice but it tends to make ferrets fat!
 
As an aside it was probably both the liver and kidney that were involved
since vitamin overload affects both organs.
 
The Animal Medical Center
Avian and Exotic Pet Medicine
ABVP(Avian) Resident
510 East 62nd St.
New York, NY 10021-8302
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(212)329-8714
[Posted in FML issue 3113]