Q: "Are there any diseases or illnesses that could make it hard for ferrets to eat bones?" A: Yet another outstanding question! Thanks for paying such close attention to the series. Any disease or illness that would make a ferret have a problem with ANY diet would qualify as one that may cause problems for ferrets eating bones. The reason it is safe for ferrets to eat bones is because the ferret's stomach acids dissolve the points and sharp edges. Any disease that would reduce the stomach pH could potentially cause problems. This is a great question, but one similar to the one about feeding bone to ferrets with damaged teeth. You should ALWAYS take your ferret to a vet ANYTIME it is ill. A ferret should see a vet at least once a year for an annual checkup and vaccinations REGARDLESS of health. Even if you think your ferret is healthy (and it probably is), many diseases work slowly, making it difficult for owners to recognize the trend until the condition becomes serious. The once per year examination gives your vet the opportunity to KNOW your ferret and to track subtle changes over time. The cost of a yearly vet checkup might seem unjustified, but I can state from experience that catching a disease in its early stages can be much cheaper than trying to save the life of a ferret once it becomes gravely ill. It is worth the money. In a very simplistic sense, there are two types of ferrets; those healthy enough so dietary change questions are moot (eating bone, changes in diet, caloric restriction, etc.), and those where the ferret is so ill ANY change may cause problems. While the questioner is NOT obtuse (I read their entire email message and its pretty sharp), there are some people so dense that ANY suggestion of dietary change in healthy ferrets is always interpreted as if I advocate such changes in ill ferrets. While that could be a possibility, it should never be done without the supervision of a vet. The bottom line is if your ferret is healthy, just go slow and easy, and there should be few or no problems. If your ferret is ill, you MIGHT be able to make changes; just do it under the supervision of a veterinarian. Q: "I am STILL worried about bacteria on raw food...." A: Eating bones keep teeth polished, exercise gums and support tissue, and help wash the oral cavity with saliva, promoting a healthy oral ecology. This means chewing bones helps maintain a proper level and diversity of oral bacteria. One very interesting hypothesis (with an increasingly growing body of supporting evidence) suggests oral bacteria coevolved with mammals for their mutual benefit. Similar to the bacterial ecology of the bowel, the bacteria of the healthy mouth have several functions, one of which is to help PREVENT colonization by dangerous ("bad") bacteria. This hypothesis is directly out of invading species theory, which holds the success rate of an invading species is extremely high in virgin soil situations, and very poor when trying to enter regions inhabited by species already environmentally adapted to the local conditions. This same hypothesis predicts ferrets probably would have gone feral in New Zealand (they did, with a little help from their human friends), BUT would NOT go feral in most of the USA (in 300 years, they have not). A similar problem has been widely documented in women who habitually douche in excess. Dozens of confirmed studies show over-douching is tied to bacterial infections, precisely because the bacterial ecology of the vagina has been compromised allowing the dangerous bacterial to colonize. Bowel ecology is another supporting case; the evidence supporting the importance of a healthy bacteria ecology in the bowel, and the prevalence of infections and other problems when that ecology has been upset, is overwhelming. Some people have a very hard time understanding that a body (human, ferret) is just another environment for invading parasites, bacteria, and viruses. The body has an ecology all of its own, which is different depending on the state of health of the individual. The oral ecology is not just some accident of fate; it evolved over millions and millions of years, and its presence has the ultimate effect of making the invasion by dangerous bacteria more difficult. If bone (or raw foods) promotes oral health, then it--in effect--helps combat the very danger causing the worry. For example, just the washing effect of saliva flow can have great benefit; many bacterial contaminants that would remain in the mouth of a ferret consuming kibble would tend to be washed into the stomach of a bone gnawer, where stomach acids could neutralize them. In contrast, kibble DOES NOT promote oral health. It provides a food substrate for bacteria, creates a place for bacteria to hide and grow, changes oral pH, increases or decreases saliva flow, and changes dozens of other factors impacting the oral ecology of an animal that evolved consuming a very specific diet of animal bodies. If you want evidence of the negative impact of kibble on teeth, just consider the modern era problems of tooth wear, plaque, gingivitis, periodontal disease consistently tied to kibble diets. Bob C [Posted in FML issue 4170]