This is a response to Trish and her very conservative food recommendations for ferrets. Diet, whether for humans or our pets, has been a topic of discussion for ages. What is right and what is wrong! It is a topic that will be debated long past my life, and everyone else's life too. It is bad to smoke or consume alcohol..just ask the 100 year old woman who has had a 'nip' everyday of her life or the 110 year old man who swears it is the cigar he has smoked after dinner every day for the past 80 years that has kept him alive so long. (And I am a non-smoker and the original designated driver!) My original ferret lived to be 10 1/2..old by most ferret standards..he never suffered an ill day in his life. He went to bed one night, curled up with his favorite toy in the middle of the ball and that was how we found him the next morning. He ate anything and everything that met his fancy. That included raisins, all sorts of melons, bananas, various vegetables, potatoes (He killed for sweet potatoes!) as well as his Mazuri ferret food, which was always present for his munching. Isolated case? I am lucky? Ferret number two, Billy, is now 8 plus. He is the original stick in the mud. Doesn't like anything 'cept his dry food and his Feline Growth wet food. HE is a sickly ferret..has been all his life..now he is suffering from insulonoma, brought on by his adrenal desease. Diet a factor here? I don't know. My youngest, Garret, also eats everything. He is 5 1/2 and healthy as an ox, er, ferret. If it exists as food, it ~~will~~ be consumed, with great relish. Trish, I have always respected your opinions, observations, and experiences. But on the issue of diet, to a point, after having grown up and spent many of my 5 decades on this planet, many involved in animal husbandry, I would have to disagree with some your food guidelines. Diet just isn't so cut and dried. Ferrets in the wild may be primarily carnivores, but they are oportunistic. They ~~will~~ eat berries if they find them and know them to be sweet. They ~~will~~ eat grasses, for what reason no one knows. No, I am not an expert on wild ferrets (BFF) but I do have enough experience with carnivores of many types to know that they do sample vegetable matter at times. Someone brought up the fact that they felt that ferrets need a 'variety' of food tastes, implying that it was the stimulation they needed (I am reading between the lines here....) Here, I agree 100% with Trish. In the animal kingdom, it appears that only primates really need the variable food stimulation... Dogs, cats, ferrets, hamsters, etc. are quite happy with the 'same old, same old' type of diet. No, I am not contradicting myself... heh... They do love the treats (read: variety) but it is not needed to keep them eating regularly and consuming consistant amounts. Ooh..too long a post....Draw your own conclusions about what you feed your babies. And..again, I do agree with Trish on this: If you do decide to give your fuzzy, treats, do so in moderation..if for no other reason, just to keep from having any unplanned 'corner' deposits created by the deviation from a normal diet. Joe Garret: That bag of M&M's is mine. ~No it isn't..that is mom's snack food~ NO! It's mine..HEY! This bag is too heavy to carry to my hidey hole..what gives? I've done it before. (I knew there was a reason to buy the 10 lb. Costco bag!) Billy-Bob: Where is the Ferretone? I want my Ferretone! [Posted in FML issue 1931]