From:
rrc961@mizzou.edu
Date: 2002-08-31 13:36:52 UTC
Subject: RE: Bob C: Ferret Caretaker Quiz
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <6440268.1030801012262.JavaMail.root@scandium>
Sukie wrote:
> >Yet, these animals remain quite healthy. In fact, there are a number of >very well-done studies that show animals that are allowed to eat ad lib >have SHORTER lives than those fed a few times per day (15-20%
> >shorter, or more!).
> The proof is in the pudding. When the result is a happy and healthy business with lives that are of good length then something works.
Actually, the proof is NOT in the pudding. You are making the assumption that ferrets eating dry, extruded food are living the same length of time as ferrets eating a more natural diet, but you have no idea if that assumption is true or not. There are at least 15 recent, well-done studies investigating ad lib feeding in primates, several carnivores (canines, felines, procyonids, ursids), lagomorphs, many rodents, and even viverrids than conclusively show such diets SHORTEN lives by as much as 15-20% or more. If ferrets lost the same amount of time off their lives as these other mammals (including humans), a ferret that would live to ten years only lives eight. That is a HUGE difference in lifespan.
Actually, I doubt if a ferret having unlimited access to "natural" foods (= prey carcasses) would show such a change in llife span. I don't think they would--or could--eat enough prey to become seriously obese. I believe the problem is the amount of carbohydrates in dry, extruded foods (kibbles). Ferrets, or rather polecats, did not evolve the physiological ability to process such sugar loads, a phenomenon that has a parallel in humans. Humans that consume high sugar loads over long periods of time tend to become diabetic to one degree or another. It is possible ferret insulinoma may be caused or triggered by a high carbohydrate diet. If so, not only would ferrets suffer a shorter life span, but they may also suffer a deteriorated quality of life; hardly the proof one finds in most puddings.
Thanks for the opportunity for discussion.
Bob C