From:
sukieferret
Date: 2002-05-09 11:10:00 UTC
Subject: Re: bladder stone query
> Recently in the UK, I noticed that there have been a few posts
> connecting dry foods with bladder stones in male ferrets.
>
> I would be interested to know of the incidence of bladder
>stones in ferrets esp. as in the US most ferrets are fed dry
>kibble.
We've had ferret for 20 years. All get some homemade foods,
some baby foods, etc. but mostly kibble and it has always been
that way. In those two decades we have never had one with
bladder stones.
I have read of some instances in which ferrets had diets high in
yellow corn and this changed the pH of the urine, allowing
stones to form, but on learning more details on this from the vets
here, especially Dr. Jerry Murray, I found that the ferrets were
getting large amounts. (I don't know if some individuals may
have a personal inclination to such problems, but in case that
also may play in I'd be more careful with the diet of ones who
have had them.) What were the ingredients and proportions of
those in the foods given in those UK reports?
The urinary tract problems we've been through ourselves have
been:
2 ferrets who had the most common cause of bladder problems
(if my memory serves) by having prostate enlargement due to
adrenal growths.
1 ferret who had kidney damage from a very bad case of ECE.
It has been strange reading multiple posts about bladder stones
recently. I think that if you search the archives at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ferret-Health-list
you will find only a handful of ferrets discussed with them before
this abberant clump.