From:
Sukie Crandall
Date: 2002-08-30 19:44:44 UTC
Subject: RE: Bob C: Ferret Caretaker Quiz
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-Id: <p05111705b99579522473@[10.0.1.28]>
>Well, Bob, me thinks you contradict yourself here. I would answer
>this that ferrets should be fed >whole RAW animal carcass including
>skin, feathers, bones and internal organs, perhaps supplemented
> 22. Ferrets are a) asocial domesticated polecats that generally
>tolerate socializing with litter-sized >groups of ferrets because of
>behavioral neotony,
>Que?
My take is that whatever gives them good health and good longevity is
fine. We primarily use high quality kibbles, and when mean (average)
and mode (typical) ages at death were compared here there weren't
differences between the ages our's achieve compared to the ones on
raw diets.
As the saying goes: "The proof is in the pudding".
Neotany is the retention of juvenile characteristics: behavioral and
emotional, or physical.
My question in relation to kibbled food rests around the temperatures
at which kibbles are made and how well ferrets cope with acrylamide
and other compounds formed at high temps (Some foods seem to not do
this in boiling situations as opposed to more dry or fried.), and how
ferrets respond to these compounds if they do at all. Of course, not
enough is known to draw conclusions at this time. BTW, there is a
further article on this in the most recent Science News so watch
http://www.sciserv.org for when it winds up being released.