I ve tried to harvest as many questions as possible, and many of the
questions were asked from multiple people. If I missed your question,
drop me a line.
Q: How large was the sample size(s) for your percentages?
A: I could tell you, but then I would have to bore you to death I may
do that anyway. Actually, the sample size allows me to use the more
powerful large-sample methods of statistical analysis. Sorry, but that
is all I will say at the moment. I have an obligation to preserve the
data for scientific publication in order to honor the spirit and
intentions in which the donations were made.
Q: Why is it always the older ferrets that have tooth problems and not
the younger ones?
A: It s an evolutionary conspiracy. Well, older ferrets are just like
older humans; the older you get, the more problems that seem to crop up.
Tooth damage is accumulative, regardless of type. Five years of dietary
wear leaves more damage than two years, six years of cage biting harms
teeth more than four years, four years of periodontal disease causes
more problems than one year that sort of thing. Older ferrets have more
dental problems BECAUSE they are older; it is as simple as that. That is
why initiating a program of dental care when the ferret is young is so
important. Prevent the problem when the ferret is young and you won t
have to ask questions like this one later.
Q: Are finger toothbrushes ok to use?
A: It depends; how large are your cahones? Personally, I don t like
them--not because I am afraid of those sharp little canines, but because
my finger is larger than most toothbrushes. Every time I have used them,
I ve gagged the poor little guy when I try to clean the back teeth. I
don t need my little buddies associating my fat ol finger with being
gagged.
Q: Do ferrets get cavities?
A: Not like the one in my head. I didn t see a single cavity in the
entire collection, and none are mentioned in the literature. That
doesn t mean a ferret cannot get a cavity, but if they did, it would be
extremely rare. I would suspect if any ferret had a particular danger
it would be one eating sticky sweets and having teeth with tooth damage
that would promote caries. Nonetheless, if you have seen anything that
makes you suspect a cavity, take your ferret to the vet.
Q: Can you recommend any brands of toothpaste to use?
A: The type that smears on a toothbrush. Any toothpaste designed for
dogs and cats will work fine. Also, the so-called training toothpastes
for human infants and toddlers are also good (run a search under baby
toothpaste ). ANY toothpaste that does not contain fluoride is
considered safe to use, including those designed for adult humans.
The fear is that in such a small animal as the ferret, the amount of
fluoride in the toothpaste could poison them if swallowed. This is,
in fact, not a myth; a real danger exists.
There is no lethal dose listed for ferrets ingesting Sodium Fluoride and
the lethal dose that kills half of the dosed animals varies by species,
so I cannot actually tell you what dose would be lethal. The oral lethal
dose of Sodium Fluoride that kills 50% of rats and a handful of other
species is listed in the CDC as 52 mg/kg, but this number is provisional
when applied to ferrets. A ferret that weighs 1.5 lbs weighs 0.68 kg, so
the estimated oral lethal dose would be roughly 36 mg. A new 181 gm tube
of Tartar Protection Crest contains 0.243% Sodium Fluoride, or roughly
440 mg of the compound. If our estimated lethality for Sodium Fluoride
in ferrets is correct, this would mean that if 12 ferrets weighing 1.5
lbs consumed a tube of Tartar Protection Crest (all eating the same
amount), all would get sick and you could expect 6 of them to die.
Obviously, there are not a lot of ferrets dying from ingesting
fluoridated toothpaste, so realistically the risk is quite low. In
truth, the vast majority of cases of fluoride poisoning occur from
consuming insecticides or rodenticides. However, there is a difference
between a lethal dose and a toxic one. A toxic dose can cause a number
of problems, but, again, there is a paucity of published studies of
fluoride toxicity in ferrets. Shupe et al., in a 1987 paper on American
mink said tolerance levels in the feed of not more than 50 ppm fluorine
for breeding stock and 100 ppm fluorine for animals being raised only for
pelts are recommended. 50 ppm (parts per million) is roughly the same as
saying 50 mg/L (milligrams per liter). If you dissolved a tube of Tartar
Protection Crest into a liter of water, the Sodium Fluoride level would
be about 440 ppm, or 440 mg/L. I m not going to go through a convoluted
set of mathematical formulas to try and figure out what the dose of
Sodium Fluoride would be in for a pea-sized drop of toothpaste dissolved
in a mouthful of spit, but whatever it is, you can see that swallowing
it could potentially have toxic repercussions. While I am not worried in
the least about dental fluorosis in ferrets, skeletal fluorosis could
potentially be a problem; it can cause cataracts, joint pain, bone
defects, reproductive problems, and the calcification of ligaments. Even
if the risks are small, it would be better to skip all that and just keep
the ferrets away from fluoridated toothpaste.
Now, this answer is not intended to scare anyone; I am a firm believer in
both fluoridated water and toothpaste. It is just that ferret owners
need to understand the necessity of spending the extra effort and money
to buy non-fluoridated toothpaste for their ferrets. I don t think it
really matters if you use toothpaste designed for dogs or cats, or human
babies or adults, as long as the stuff is non-fluoridated. Try a few
different types, use the one your ferret likes best, and donate the
others to your local ferret shelter.
[Posted in FML issue 4526]
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