Disclaimer: This is purely my opinion and don't want to start a raw/live vs anti raw/live debate Hooligan's post: >When I asked my vet about using a Raw diet for ferrets. Her response >was interesting. She basically told me that pretty much all the >specialist from US Davis that she frequently consults were anti-raw. Hi. I know you were talking about raw meat in regards to grocery store meat, but I think whole prey counts as raw as well. I attend UC Davis, intern at the VMTH, and my ferrets also see the exotic vets there. I have yet to find an anti-raw vet. They have all encouraged me to continue feeding raw when I told them I fed live prey to my ferrets. In fact, they told another ferret owner who was also present when I took my ferrets in that prey/raw meat was better for a ferret's health. Since feeding raw/prey, my ferrets have experienced exactly what you described with the 11-13 year old ferrets. Granted they're much younger than an 11 year old, but the physical changes of my ferrets was almost instant when I switched onto raw. (went from coarse dull fur to thick shiny coats, good teeth, more active) The only warning the vets said about feeding raw/prey is to know where my feeders are coming from. You want to make sure they're from a clean and diseased free breeding facility that actually takes care of their animals. I'm going to start breeding my own feeder colony so that way I know the exact thing I'm feeding my ferrets. Hope this helps a bit. Nikki UC Davis Animal Biology Pre-vet [Posted in FML 7197]