Hi. This is in response to Shea's posting about being chewed out for feeding her ferrets 8 in 1 Ferret diet. I live in upstate NY in a small town. The local stores only carry one brand of ferret food, and that's 8 in 1. There is one small pet/bait shop in town that sells Marshall farms ferret food, but the business is run very badly and I don't like the way the animals are kept (for those of you who defend pet shops, I know that not all pet shops are bad, but this woman does not clean any of her cages for several days, and it's very noticible when you walk in. She also doesn't supply constant food or water, and for these reasons, I won't support her business). So the nearest location that I can get any sort of variety in ferret foods is an hour away. And in the winter, that's a rough trip. So I feed my ferrets what is available. It may not be the best out there, but it is what is most available to me. I give them all supplements like Shea says she does with hers, and none of my ferrets have rough coats. They have very soft, full coats, and are full of energy. I have tried other brands, but what eventually happens is that I get snowed in and am unable to get to the supplier, or my ferrets just won't eat the stuff. Rather than mess with their digestive systems and continually change the food that they get, I feed them the same thing everyday, and supplement it with Ferretone. No one should be flamed for trying to do the best they can for their ferrets. I do what I can for mine, and I am confident that they are well fed and taken care of. I know people that feed their ferret high quality ferret food, but their ferret also sits in his cage 24/7, has no toys or playtime, and no litter box, and no sleep sack or anything. What a person feeds their ferrets is not the only measure of how good an owner they are. People should keep this in mind before they criticize. And yes, I give my ferrets water, too. Tricia PS - I don't mean to insult or anger anyone, but I feel that it is incredibly unfair to criticize Shea for feeding her ferrets a lower grade ferret food. [Posted in FML issue 3254]