I am posting since I had many responses to my post asking me to post again with any information I have gained. I was curious to see if there were many ferrets which have developed adrenal diseases which were on a diet which did NOT include dry, formulated foods. I got many posts which said "I feed dry foods but have not had any cases of adrenal disease", some posts said "it cant be one thing such as diet, so why bother suggesting it is?" or "your question and answers cant be scientific or accurate so why bother asking?" but I DIDNT get any posts which were "yes my ferret has adrenal disease and is not fed on dry foods". Since I am a Research Scientist I realise no firm conclusions can be formed from such data, and I do also realise that there is probably not a single one cause of adrenal diseases. The reason I ask such a question is because I find this particular "possible cause" interesting and I want to form my own opinions as to if there is a possible link worth researching further. I realise there are no end of questions which could be asked and no end of possible causes to be investigated but if one particular area is interesting to anyone I say ask away. some of my thoughts reguarding dry formulated foods * they certainly have their place, (in fact I feed Iams to my cats) * could it be possible that such food in fact lack some micro-nutrients or that the balance the the manufacurer decided (no doubt scientifically) is WRONG for our ferrets? (There is still some huge gaps in the knowledge of the micro-nutrient requirements in humans and the way in which humans utilise them so imagine the gaps for ferrets!!) * could it be possible that they contain an additive which is unknowingly harmful? * Perhaps the fact that all the components are mixed evenly and enter the digestive tract together somehow influence the absorption of some of the nutrients. * Could the fact that many ferrets have an unlimited supply of food at all times be harmful since, as a predatory animal the normal physiology allows for and expects short periods of hunger (Im not suggesting to starve your ferrets). *Could any of these factors predispose a ferret to adrenal diseases or influence a ferret ALREADY predisposed to adrenal disease through other means such as genetics etc.? * Perhaps altering the diet to include all/more fresh meat(offal included) might REDUCE the risk of adrenal disease. I realise that big scientific trials are what is required, however realistically these are not going to happen in the near future so perhaps instead of sitting on out buts and waiting (im sure that dosnt apply to everyone), our own small mini trials/ observations/ or trends might add further ideas/ thoughts/ suggestions/ or direction to the problem of seemingly increased risk of adrenal disease in American ferrets Throwing thoughts around like this can only be beneficial as long as they are not taken as anything but ideas to get you own minds ticking. If anyone is also interested in the associations between diet and adrenal disease or has had problems with this disease maybe you are in a situation where you could change your ferrets diet to fresh meat etc. or even to half dry food, half fresh and report on any changes you observe in the health of your ferrets or in the prevelance of adrenal disease. Maybe in 5 years time I might get quite different answers to my question. Maree and Jaala ("gimme more, more, more rabbit, chicken, lamb and beef and dont you dare forget some offal bits!") [Posted in FML issue 2304]