Hi All - I am really enjoying the diet posts from Bob! Is there anyway one can get the posts (or download them) as a set. I get the digest version of the list.... [Moderator's note: I'll make the posts available as a set when the series is over. Oh, and this list is *only* a digest version :-) BIG] I was given my first ferrets in 1985 and of course knew nothing about them. There was no one to ask and no access to ferret lists. They were about 2 years of age, a gib and a sprite. Being a good zookeeper, I researched diets for small carnivores and ended up using a daily combination of regular cat food (9 Lives - the only "good" cat food we had in Israel at the time), frozen and thawed day old chicks, seasonal fruits and veggies (about 1/3 cup per animal) and fruit yogurt or high protein baby cereal. These ferrets lived to age 12 - the gib and 11- the sprite, and were never sick a day in their lives. They were handled by many 100's of kids over the 10 years I had them (I kept them at the zoo). I have no proof of course that diet was the reason that the animals lived so long and were so healthy. They never had shots of any kind, as we had no access to the proper vaccines. Well, time passes and progress hits Israel, I now use Iam's kitten, or SD Feline Growth and sometimes Totally Ferret (when I can get it...). All my kids have their shots and since I am a caring ferret owner, I am careful not to give to many treats - translation: a small piece of fruit daily, no dairy products and no baby cereal. I am starting to wonder if I am making a mistake. I wonder if in my efforts to be the best ferret mom I can be, I am in fact shortening their lives? Any comments? Beverly Burge Zoological Assistant - Jerusalem Zoo http://www.itmi.com/jeruzoo/ [Posted in FML issue 2313]