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Wed, 4 Aug 2004 22:05:40 -0700
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Bob C: Diet in the Wool Questions (6)
 
Q: If carbs are so bad and you don't think ferrets should eat them what
do they eat instead?  I thought the ferret had a super fast metabolism
aren't carbs are needed [for energy]!?
 
Q: I don't understand if ferrets need glucose to live, how can they
get it from protein?  If they don't eat carbohdrytes, can they get
malnourished?
 
Q: Our ferrets should do as much exercise as possible but the fact is
that most of them spend long hours caged, so again, they won't need the
same amount of nutrients or the ratio could vary [from wild polecats].
 
A: There are those of us that think, those that exercise, and those that
think of exercise.  As for me, thinking IS exercise.  Wait, I just had a
thought crap, now I m all sweaty and tired and I need a nap.
 
Excellent, profound questions!  Ok, food consumption basically
accomplishes two functions: it provides energy for life and it provides
materials for growth, repair, maintenance, and fighting disease.  The
ferret's energy needs are expressed as caloric requirements, while
material needs are expressed as nutritional requirements.  If a ferret
were a car, then the energy needs would be the gas, while the material
needs would be the parts, oil, and supplies used to build the car, as
well as keep it in repair and running.
 
The nutritional requirements of ferrets vary somewhat during their
lifespan and they include water, protein and associated essential amino
acids, fat and associated fatty acids, and various minerals and vitamins.
Yes, energy is also a nutritional requirement, but I'm keeping it
separate for this discussion.  Ferrets have no--as in zero--carbohydrate
requirement, meaning they can live their entire lifespan without a need
to consume them.  This reflects their evolutionary history; polecats
might consume carbohydrates contained within the gastrointestinal tract
of their prey, and I am sure they consume some fruit in a limited amount
on a seasonal basis, but the amounts ingested over a year is less than 5%
of their diet and a portion of that is indigestible.  For much of the
year, such as when polecats specialize on amphibians, or in the early
spring when the body condition of prey species is poor and available prey
is at the yearly low point, the carbohydrate being consumed is only a
fraction of a percent.
 
The nutritional requirements of growing kits are very high in order to
fuel and supply their steep growth curve.  This is why kits eat--and
poop--so much; they are running food through their digestive system about
as fast as they can.  This is also why many nutritional studies show
carbohydrates in the diet increase size and weight of growing carnivores;
the extra energy in the food (when compared to a protein source of
energy) changes the slope of their growth curve, maximizing growth and
size.  This makes a big difference when growing mink for their pelts,
but they hardly live longer than a single season so the long-term effects
are considered unimportant and are largely unknown.  Once a ferret has
reached adulthood, nutritional requirements more-or-less stabilize as
the body goes into maintenance mode and only worries about warding off
disease, maintaining the body and replacing worn-out parts.  At this
time, if a ferret needs a little more nutrients, it can eat just a little
more and things are fine.  It is possible older ferrets have slightly
increased or decreased nutritional requirements, depending on the
nutrient, but if so, the evidence is thin.  There is no compelling
evidence that suggests a healthy ferret has a decreased protein
requirement as they age.  During growth spurts and pregnancy, a ferret
will generally eat more food, meeting their nutritional needs provided
the food is adequate and nutritious.  However, many ferrets become
anorexic during illnesses and if the illness lasts a considerable length
of time, they often fail to meet their nutritional needs.  Frequently,
these ferrets are thin, light, and weak: all signs of mild to moderate
under-nutrition, or even malnutrition.
 
There are basically four degrees of nutrition:
malnutrition, under-nutrition, adequate nutrition, and over-nutrition.
 
Malnutrition is when you don't have enough nutrients for the body and
it is endangered as a result of self-cannibalism; that is, the body is
utilizing its own tissues for energy and other needs (sorry, losing
weight is not the same thing; you ARE cannibalizing fat, but that doesn't
make you malnourished--but it was a good try!).
 
Under-nutrition is when you don't have quite enough nutrients, so you
use body reserves to make up the difference and the body is not being
cannibalized.
 
Adequate nutrition is when you have the exact amount of nutrients and are
not using your reserves.
 
Over-nutrition is when you have more nutrients than you need so that many
are left over and wasted, or converted to fat.
 
If the nutrition problem is related to starving, that is, both a protein
and calorie deficiency, then it is called marasmus.  If the malnutrition
is due to a lack of protein in the diet, but the ferret has enough
calories (generally from carbohydrates), then it is called kwashiorkor.
It is important to note that the health of the ferret is not an issue
with under-nutrition; healing and growth could be a bit slower, but as
long as the condition doesn't develop into malnutrition, the ferret
will recover quickly as body stores are replenished.  Remember, in
under-nutrition, the ferret is not getting enough nutrients, but can make
up for the loss by utilizing body reserves.  That means that even though
the body reserves are being depleted, the ferret is meeting their
nutritional obligations.
 
In terms of the nutritional requirements during exercise, I am sure there
are differences, but the real question is, How significant are those
differences?  In terms of micronutrients, proteins, or fatty acids, they
would be a bit more, but not outside a few more mouthfuls of food per
meal.  Ferrets certainly have the ability to manage those differences on
their own simply by eating a little more or less.  The real difference
would be in terms of energy needs.
[Posted in FML issue 4595]

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