Q: [Paraphrased from several emails] "Isn't exercise more of a factor in ferret obesity than 24-hour food availability? Aren't many small meals better than a couple of large ones? Are human diet problems a good analog for ferret diets? When are good times to feed?" A: Two old hippies finished the same time in a race to win a pizza. The pizza was their tie diet. He he. Diet humor. A bit cheesy. Believe it or not, the digestive system of all mammals functions basically the same. Herbivores have different structural differences, such as enlarged caecums, complex stomachs, and increased bowel length, but the way the stomach and intestine works is very similar. However, small differences can be quite important, so better comparisons are made between animals who eat similar diets, and the best comparisons are those made between animals of the same genus. Since humans are omnivores, they are not as good analogs for ferrets as another primary carnivore, nor nearly as close as another member of the genus _Mustela_. Since there are many different members of the weasel group, many investigated at depth (such as the mink, longtail weasel and black-footed ferret), any of these studies would be better to use as an analog for ferrets than people. Also, if you ever study weasels, you will find the differences between them to be quite minor in almost all respects. Basically, in terms of diets and dietary needs, what is true for one is true for all. Mustelids tend to be mostly noctural, or active only at night. However, most of them can become dinural (active during the day) in order to better feed themselves. Some studies have found the "nocturnal" label to be misleading; most _Mustela_ members are actually crepuscular--that is, active during dawn and dusk. One reason is it helps them avoid daytime predators, such as lynx or wolves, as well as nighttime predators, such as owls. Dawn and dusk are difficult times for day or night specialists. This might help to explain why polecats can see some color (reds and blues) when most truely noctural animals only see in black and white. Another clue is that ferrets are very photoperiodic in moult and reproductive cycles (both are hormone related). If they were fully nocturnal AND lived in extremely low-light burrows, photoperiod cycles would probably be not so important, as is found in some nocturnal, burrowing animals. The point here is that _Mustela_ members generally have two major activity periods during a 24 hour period. Excluding high-energy kits which will run around at any disturbance, if watch your ferrets closely, you will notice a similar pattern. Now, few animals can eat when they are asleep. So, if your ferret is active twice or three times a day, it is already on a 2-3 times a day feeding schedule. All I do is synchronize 20 ferrets together by training them to eat at specific times. This allows me to offer foods that are subject to spoiling or contamination. I put them down and the 20 devour everything in sight--no clean-up, no waste, no spoilage. It allows me to give fresh bone and meat without worry of bacterial enteritis or spoilage. Since my ferrets eat very little kibble compared to other foods (cooked egg, chicken, turkey, duck, beef, whole mice, chicken bones, turkey necks, crickets, earthworms, fishbait, rat pinkies, etc), this allows me to insure each gets a fair portion and the big guys don't hog it all for themselves. Also, since I am directly observing the ferrets eating, I can rapidly see which ferrets are off their feed, giving me an advantange in determining illnesses. But I have found other advantages as well. My ferrets are are more active, and play more than before, possibly because more are awake at the same time, and/or because they are not filling up on kibble-based carbohydrates. Additionally, they bond to me more, because they see me as their source of food. Last (not really, but for now) I have noticed they are in better condition, probably due to their increased activity patterns as well as a better diet suited to their evolutionary needs. Do some ferrets wake up and snack? Sure, but there is a world of difference between a want and a need. They only NEED to eat 2-3 times a day. 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). Humans are a poor analog because our obesity tends to relate to a high fat intake; ferrets need between 20-40% fat (depending on sex, age, etc), which would make the typical human become a member of the "Fed Zepplin" group. Because our physiology is slightly different, and we evolved different eating habits, the carbohydrates that help make fat humans lose weight tend to pack it on in ferrets. So much depends on the evolutionary diet of the individual. It was pointed out that many weasels store food (cache food) for eating later. It was suggested this stored food allowed the polecat (or ferret) the ability to snack on food between meals. Probably not much; studies have shown most _Mustela_ members eat cached food during unsuccessful hunts or during low prey avalability times. Remember, _Mustela_ members have very deep sleeps in order to conserve energy, which is why they shiver when waking up--to increase their metabolism to activity levels. Finally, it was suggested that several small meals are healthier than a few large ones, In humans, that seems to be the case, but we are primate omnivores, and ferrets are mustelid primary carnivores. You would have to prove the causal relationship before I would buy it. Remember, wild carnivores are famous for their ability to gorge at feeding times; they *ALL* do it. The rule of thumb is, carnivores are gorgers (few meals), omnivores are snackers (many small meals), and herbivores are nibblers (continuous meals). Ferrets poop so much because they eat so much because their food is mostly grain-based kibble. Dump the kibble and turn the ferrets on to meat and bone based foods, and you will find a 2-3 time a day diet more than adequate for them, and far heathier, I might add. Oh, and FAR LESS POOP!!! Bob C and 20 Mo' Mousing Muses of Mustelidom [Posted in FML issue 2515]