>and there's this assumption that "natural" means both "safe" and
>"healthy".  Arsenic is "natural".
 
Boy, is that ever true.  I have a book of poisons which I first got
because someone on a cooking list was suggesting that people put
buttercups in salads even though buttercups are a ranunculus and that is
not considered a safe family to consume, and an earlier resource I had to
protect some primates wasn't thorough enough.  Anyway, it is a general
book of poisons so it has all sort of types from cleaning agents to fish
toxins to plants ones, to whatever, and MOST of the poisonous substances
are natural ones.  Now, that does not mean that most things that are
natural are poisonous -- after all, we all eat a number of things -- but
that many organisms have developed natural defenses to reduce grazing or
have otherwise become poisonous.
 
In some cases whether something is poisonous depends on level.  For
instance, Magnesium is an important nutrient, but in too high amounts
(including those a health food store recommended to an elderly relative)
it causes mental confusion, kidney damage, and a host of other problems.
 
>My warning to people is: do not turn off your brains.  Don't just start
>stuffing your ferts (or yourselves) with stuff because it's "natural"
>or, on the flip side, because it's a government-approved drug.  Do some
>research.  Ask around.  Talk to a vet you trust.  If it sounds like it's
>too good to be true, it probably is.  If the evidence for whatever it is
>is based on testimonial ("it worked great for my sister's brother's
>second cousin's ferret!"), proceed with /extreme/ caution...
>
>Are there studies?  Look into them, and /research the studies' origins/.
>For example, make sure that impressive-sounding university cited on the
>study actually exists.  Yes, it's fairly common for people to write
>these so-called "studies" and claim degrees they don't have, or from
>universities that don't exist.
 
Excellent common sense advice which I hope people heed!  One trick is to
put down a school that is real as being affiliated when it isn't, and
some people even claim a greater level of degree or expertise from a real
school, so it pays to check.  It is useful in some of these cases to go
to the school mentioned on the web, see if it is real, see who is in what
department and what the backgrounds are, etc..  Search engines are so
useful...
 
Oh the other hand, sometimes something just has to be tried.  That is
less of the situation now than it once was, but sometimes a chance has
to be taken because the alternative is not acceptable, as when many of
the meds now in use for ferrets were first tried to save lives, lengthen
them, or improve quality of life.
 
Turns out that my memory is likely pretty good.  Good to know that
senility isn't setting in.  If you look in the FHL at
http://www.smartgroups.com/message/readmessage.cfm?gid=1423922&messageid=1786
you'll notice that as part of a different conversation someone in the
know (the right education) was mentioning which meds were first tested
for ferrets and it was only those few vaccines.  All the rest of any type
come from educated tries.  Welcome to Ferret Medication Realities 101,
a class in the Twilight Zone (tm) where intrepid souls work to make
medicines for other species fit their four legged family members.  Cue
music...
 
Tail lump:  Go to this site and see if it may be a chordoma then read
about those and get the surgery if so:
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
[Posted in FML issue 3933]