I think by now pretty much everyone knows that some people whose ferrets have digestive woes are helped by fiber such as pumpkin or yams and that improvement can increase over time. (Exception: those ferrets who are genetically prone to cystine stones may instead need fiber sources that are lower in sulphur as per some past posts in the various archives with info that a British biochemist in this field sent to me -- info one expert found questionable afterward in a private note but to which other experts did not object in replies.) This work is in a different type of animal, and there are hundreds of intestinal microbes which help with digestion (some of which are so delicate that they can only be found by the DNA they leave behind because in the air that we breathe they disintegrate). It still is not just known how much those many microbes or the genetics involved in some aspects of digestion differ in domestic ferrets from other animals (but it is known that dogs differ in over a dozen ways from wolves in the latter regard and some in the former). Still, some of this may be basic to digestion, so here is a a press release which might explain why those foods high in fiber help some ferrets: <http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/351462/description/Bacterial_molecules_may_prevent_inflammatory_bowel_disease> A few quoted small segments: Molecules secreted by intestinal bacteria work to prevent misplaced immune attacks in inflammatory bowel diseases... The animals developed elevated levels of inflammation-dousing regulatory T cells in their colons, the team reports July 4 in Science. The cells work like wet blankets, dampening autoimmune flare-ups before they burn out of control. The team also found that those short-chain fatty acids protected the mice from an experimental form of colitis, an immune disease that destroys the colon... might not even have to take the fatty acids as drugs. Eating higher amounts of dietary fiber might also do the trick because the microbes consume fiber to make the acids End quoted segments Since it is in Science there might be a Science News link in a while, too, with more info. See also: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23828891 Sukie (not a vet) Ferrets make the world a game. Recommended ferret health links: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/ http://ferrethealth.org/archive/ http://www.miamiferret.org/ http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/ all ferret topics: http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html "All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow." (2010, Steve Crandall) A nation is as free as the least within it. [Posted in FML 7844]