Hi! Someone (someday I'll get better at learning names!) mentioned that salt may cause a problem to ferrets at the beach. I don't think this is a big concern. Just make sure your ferrets have good access to fresh water. They tend to be good at taking in what they need. Salt toxicity occurs when an animal becomes severely dehydrated over a long period of time or has a chronically increased salt consumption. It goes something like this...the ion concentration is increased in the extracellular fluid because of the decrease in water (or increase consumption)...eventually ions will cross the blood brain barrier to reach an equillibrium between the the extracellular fluid and the fluid in the brain...high ion concentrations in the brain not good for normal brain activity...if animal drinks water at this time, the high ion concentration of the fluid in the brain will draw water in...increased pressure on the brain...you can see where this will lead -- not a good thing. I think salt toxicity occurs more in large animals just because of the management practices. ie. automatic waterer out in the pasture that isn't checked everyday to see if it is working properly, some slip up in the mixing of feed, etc. Lisa and Noah Daisy -- Mom, why did you move the plant? Squirt -- I didn't do it! [Posted in FML issue 1642]