>I'm confused about one thing.  In nature theses groups of animals are
>obligate carnivores and eat no carbs.  In other countries, they feed
>them more meat than we do.  Yet, I've heard nothing but warnings about
>how food (like Zupreme which we love) with high protein content can
>hurt a ferrets kidneys when they are adults and are seniors.
 
The statement that they get fewer carbs in some of those countries is
also in question because there are still those who use milk sops of bread
as part of the diet...
 
There are a lot of hypotheses around.  This one has some interesting
data leading to it but it is still a hypothesis so it may or may not pan
out when researched.  Nothing wrong with taking precautions based upon
hypotheses that have some strong evidence, though, as long as person
remembers that the outcomes of research into the hypotheses still are
unknowns.
 
As for a lower protein levels in hopes of reducing kidney damage the last
I heard it is not known if that bears out with older ferrets in general
but it may with some individuals.  I have to confess, though, that I have
not kept up with that medical problem category and really need to treat
myself to a primer when I get a bit of time, so I also hope that someone
with more recent ferret info in this regard steps in to teach us all.
There are a lot of kidney health posts in the FHL Archives
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/
and that is another topic I'd like to work into a post compilation of the
files for when folks need a concentrated level of info quickly.  So far
we have ones on cardiomyopathy, A/V Heart Node Block, common parasites,
and prostate problems.
 
Helga, the prostate compilation may help with designing a medical
follow-up for your boy if his health doesn't worsen further in the
short term:
http://www.smartgroups.com/vault/ferrethealth/prostate.txt
 
Good luck to you.
 
Todd, LOL!  Thanks!
 
The pear shape can be from several things and some of them need vet
care.  Possibilities include adrenal disease, ascites from something
like cardiomyopathy or another cause of that symptom, fat, etc.  Time
to have a vet check!
 
>These will be my last posts on this question; the point that it is
>dangerous and unethical to use untested herbal medicines on ferrets has
>been largely missed, and the thread is rapidly deteriorating into some
>sort of "Bob dislikes herbals" and "Mary has to defend them" discourse.
 
Yes, that has happened.  When discussing this, though, readers should
never make the mistake that standard meds in general were first tested
for ferrets before use rather than being generalized to use for ferrets
by experts used to their pharmacology from uses for humans or for other
members of Carnivora.  Sure, vax were tested, but the vast majority of
the meds used on ferrets simply were tried at some point.  I know that
is not clear to people who added ferrets to their families after much of
this had already been done so for them medication and surgical approaches
were already in place when they first got ferrets.  Still, most meds used
on ferrets simply were tried by vets at some point without testing for
ferrets first.  If you go to old FMLs you will find many mentions of
first tries of different drugs for ferrets, and if Christopher or someone
else still has copies of the internet stuff on ferrets before then (We
used to but no longer have those.) yet more will be found.  That's been
the norm: for vets to study a drug used for a different species and then
it it seemed a likely useful candidate to then try it.  The idea that the
standard meds had formal ferret testing beforehand is a misconception
which many people have, though certainly the body of evidence from the
uses since these things were first tried is itself a form of
investigation and info gathering.  We've been in the position of trying
things first or simultaneous first multiple times, having had ferrets in
the family so long (examples: using the Aminophylline and Enacard combo
for Level 3 A/V Heart Node Block, using Florinef in Addisons for ferrets,
using chemo for lympho in ferrets, etc and onward... Every approach and a
first person and there are MULTIPLE FML members who have and have had
"firsts" in their households.  Sometimes you just do what you have to do.
 
BTW, timely reminder again: although I am one of the co-moderators of the
Ferret Health List I am not a vet, just someone with 20 years experience
with ferrets.
[Posted in FML issue 3935]