>As for exercise, yes, exercise is far more important than diet in >regulating obesity. But there are two things at work here. Fat is >produced by diet, and muscle tone is produced by exercise. For a ferret >to be in shape, it needs proper amounts of both. Few ferrets are actually >obese; but most ferrets tend to have poor muscle tone (if you met one of >mine, you would immediately see the difference). I agree with the above but also think there are a few other factors to consider on fat vs. muscle tone. Genetics, sex, and age at spay/neuter. Not being a scientist in this field this is just my opinion but I would think diet, exercise, genetics, sex and the age at spay neuter all combined in each individual ferret will determine their fat to muscle ratio in different ways. I have a ferret farm sprite (early spay neuter) who is a far better climber, very active, eats her TF well etc. who is generally sort of thin (not overly so) but has a tendency to carry fat in her abdomen area. My gib who was neutered later (5? 6? months) who is constantly begging for and getting into the equivalent of ferret junk food (only eats anything good for him if he's starving) is also active but not a climber etc. but is a "hard body". They are both free roam and free feed and get treats at the same time (although Boris is far more likely to get into the dog food, and scratches at my leg for treats constantly, sigh) Just my thoughts Mary, Boris, Giesela and Booker the dog [Posted in FML issue 2516]