As Sukie pointed out in yesterdays FML you DO need to be careful when using alternatives. One VERY IMPORTANT factor is that licorice root will also cause an overactive ( hyper) adrenal condition if the dosage is too great. ( So try to figure what the normal dosage for a ferret is-- I think this is a crucial consideration for most ferret owners and wanted to pass it along. In the early days we used licorice root here as well , but considering the numbers of adrenal ferrets that we saw-- I opted to research other treatments and save the risk of accelerating an already prominent condition.... just my 2 cents on licorice root! alicia at Ferret Wise [Posted in FML issue 2788]