BRAVO, Bill! Wow, wish we were in Beaverton right now! Helping a shelter by eating a Mexican meal! YUM! Makes me want hongos with spirits, cilantro, anchos, onions, etc, some refritos, polo con arroz, etc. My Spanish is very rusty but my appetite isn't! If you live in Beaverton and missed this then get yesterday's FML by writing SEND FERRET 3741 to <[log in to unmask]>. The ONLY way to ACCURATELY age kits: Average Dental eruption ages (L = Lower, U = Upper for this chart, C canines which are the conical teeth, P = premolars which are the teeth between molars and canines, M = molars which are the more flattened teeth at the back of the mouth, number start toward the front for each type, 49 days = 7 weeks = , 56 days = 8 weeks, 63 days = 9 weeks, 70 days = 10 weeks, 77 days = 11 weeks; you can do the approximate month ages.) Day Week Teeth 50 7 UC, LC, LM1 53 7 and 1/2 UM1 60 8 and 1/2 UP2, UP3, UP4, LP2 67 9 and 1/2 LP3 74 10 and 1/2 LP4, LM2 That is the only reliable way to get the approximate ages of kits. If those teeth are breaking through it's the approximate age. (Source: _Biology and Diseases of the Ferret_) "Feelings" that some place "may" be sending out kits too young don't cut the mustard. The only way to KNOW is the way above. Size or even eye opening can be affected by multiple factors, such as distributors who have an illness present or who don't make sure that all kits get enough to eat. >This is all fine and dandy, but regardless of insulinoma or not, when has >it *ever* been healthy to feed a ferret sugar? Aside from the obvious, of >course (during a seizure or insulinomic episode). Well, polecats have been seen taking some berries in small amounts... but back to topic. If a person has a ferret which has advanced insulinoma and the meds are getting pegged, then it may be that bucking up blood sugar through the direct route (ingestion) can be useful to give extra time of quality life. No one knows for sure, but it's worth trying when the options are wearing thin. If a person has a very nervous ferret (as some past abuse victims tend to be) who is too prone to anorexia then for some it can be useful to make bitter meds like Pred acceptable with a sweet matrix -- the alternatives do NOT work with all ferrets -- because any hypothetical risk from the sugar is way in the noise compared to the actual existing risks. Suit the approach to the individual! We have an elderly one for whom Nutrical -- sugars and all -- is essential for her quality and quantity of life right now due to a combination of those factors. [Posted in FML issue 3742]