Just checking in. Sorry I have been more-or-less unavailable, but I've discovered how much I enjoy my "little pink ferret" Heather. I forgot how wonderful a baby can be and I have to breathe in as much of her baby smell as possible. I've been doing a LOT of ferret proofing in the last couple of weeks. One of the members of the group of four I adopted the night before I flew to Europe (Daisy) has never read the books on ferret proofing. I have discovered she can climb anything she can get a solitary nail into, which means my computer desk, book- and storage shelves, and enlarger tables are now "Daisy Monuments" to ferret-proofing failure (or is it anti-ferret-proofing success?). Every couple of days I discover a new region of Daisy's explorations. I feel like supergluing her tail to a brick and her feet to coasters. Strangely, I am sort of proud of her abilities to find new avenues of ascent towards the upper environs, but I'm tired of finding stuff on the floor, imaginatively decorated with ferret poop. I have started working on the new and improved dietary series. I would like this series to be a bit different compared to the previous one, so I am starting each section and subsection with a specific question asked by an FML member. I already have a large number of questions sent in by FML members, but if anyone has one, NOW is the time to ask. So I can identify it better, PLEASE use "BOB - DIET SERIES QUESTION" in the subject line. All questions will be answered within the dietary series. Examples of current questions include: 1. "Are there peer-reviewed scientific articles that specifically link insulinoma to eating carbohydrates?" (Yes, actually quite a few, and I will review them and explain why they are important) 2. "Is Salmonella a real or imagined problem?" (Both, and I will discuss real and imagined problems and perceptions, and how scare tactices can be identified) 3. "What is the diffference between BARF, raw, and natural diets?" (OooOOooO! Good question, and I will work hard to answer it without making too many typos with my big beefy hands) 4. "Why do you hate kibble?" (I don't; I hate foods that hurt ferrets. If kibble did not cause harm, I would not be against it) 5. "Do ferrets really need their teeth brushed?" (Absolutely, unless a diet makes your ferret the exception or your ferret is toothless) I am willing to make some of my photos of kibble-mediated dental injury available to FML members, but I do not have a place for them so people can take a look. I am willing to work with someone to make a webpage, or perhaps some type of temporary ftp site. Or maybe Bill can do some magic to limit the pictures to FML people? I also have a lot of questions queued up regarding ferret teeth, skulls and bones. I am happy to discuss most of my latest research as long as I am not expected to release specific numeric data. As the work progresses, the data can change and I would hate to see someone quoting old numbers if new ones are significantly different. Also, I need to preserve the data for scientific publication. I may not post again prior to the end of the year, so please accept my personal wish that each of you have a wonderful season and new year. Merry Mustelid to all, and to all a Good Ferret! Bob C talktobobc at yahoo.com [Posted in FML 5464]