From:
Sukie Crandall
Date: 2002-08-31 19:40:02 UTC
Subject: RE: Bob C: Ferret Caretaker Quiz
To: rrc961@mizzou.edu, ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-Id: <p05111708b996c6e31e42@[192.168.1.102]>
> >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,
That fits with a number of pers coms I have had in recent months with
an assortment of people feeding carcasses exclusively; we are getting
similar lifespans and health.
The person who i spoke with over years on this topic who seemed to
have the longest mode at age of death was actually someone who used
frozen feeder mice and kibble. He claimed to regularly get 9 or 10
years of age from run-of-the-mill U.S. petstock ferrets. That was
years ago and I haven't heard updates for a while and don't know if
he still has ferrets. This is anecdotal, I know, but the particulars
of the discussion in relation to foods has been largely hypothetical,
or extensions of non-ferret studies (which can be stronger evidence),
or hypothetical.
> 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.
Okay, valid point and I agree that the hypothesis that this might
also impact on ferret longevity needs testing because it might prove
helpful in adding to longevity, health, or both.
Re: carbohydrates and insulinoma onset. As far as I know that
remains a hypothesis so it might turn out to be valid or may not, as
you know but some readers may not. We each select among hypotheses,
based upon our own live's particulars, to find those we observe, but
it is important to recall that they remain hypotheses. For example,
we provide a lot of true darkness for our ferrets. Our results in
relation to some aspects of adrenal growths such as number of
bilateral ones and onset ages are excellent (again anecdotal) so we
tend to go with that, but it is also essential that we remember that
it remains a hypothesis.
One thing I would like to know more about in relation to kibbles
involves the method and temperature of cooking. This is because of
the formation of high levels of acrylamides in a number of foods
(esp. starches) with high temperature cooking (except boiling when
potatoes were studied), and of other potentially dangerous compounds
in charred meats. For humans, part of the investigation is if our
long history of having cooked foods has led to protective mechanisms
such as raising blood levels of these compounds to permit easy
removal from the body, but ferrets are not animals with a similar
long history of cooked foods. It possibly might be very interesting
if ferret foods were tested for such compounds and their levels.
(Note qualifiers.)
BTW: in relation to raw foods, a search of the FHL archives will show
some vet posts in relation of poisoning, infection, parasites, etc.
so what exists is a comparison of things without the needed numbers
existing to make the best selection.
As was found when meat baby foods turned out to not be available in
some parts of the world, there are food types which simply are not
available here.