From:
Junassicpark@aol.com
Date: 2003-02-17 20:02:58 UTC
Subject: RE: Ferrets and Fruits/Vegetables
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <5260883.1045517446306.JavaMail.nobody@strontium>
On the suggestion by Sukie Crandall, I sent Dr. Tom Willard of
Performance
Foods/Totally Ferret a copy of my original post to the FHL regarding
ferrets
and fruits/vegetables. Below are my questions and his answers. I am
only
posting my questions and his answers so that this post is less lengthy.
Is it true ferrets get NO nutrition from fruits and vegetables??
>To say they get NOTHING from vegetables or fruit is not quite correct.?
If
either contain some soluble carbohydrates such as raisins contain
fructose,
ferrets can absorb some of the sugar.?? However, this is not really a
good
thing for the ferret.? Other than this, they get very little else.? The
reason is two fold.? First, they have very short small intestines where all
of the digestive enzymes are secreted that are necessary for ALL
digestion to
begin.? Secondly, they do not have the type of enzymes necessary to
digest
these two food items.? All carnivores poorly digest raw vegetables but
the
ferret is particular at a disadvantage due to the reasons given above.?
None
of the vitamins or minerals found in vegetables and fruit are in a soluble
or
in a free state and since there are no enzymes available to break these
"bound" nutrients from the natural constituents, ferrets cannot digest
them.<
?
I can understand that ferrets are not able to process fiber, but does that
also mean that they are not able derive ANY nutrition from fruits and
vegetables?? Does it make a difference in ferret digestion if a fruit or
veget
able is processed in some way, such as when it is processed for ferret
kibble, as opposed to being whole/unprocessed or just dried??
>Cooking can help to release or change the configuration of some
nutrients
including amino acids but again due to the very short GI tract and the
lack
of enzymes there is little value in most non animal based foods for
ferrets.?
One good sign that ferrets are not getting anything from a food, including
some ferret treats and foods, is if the food appears whole or only
partially
broken down in the feces.<
May I share the information you provide me with other folks owned by
ferrets??
>I hope you will.<
[It looks like Tom Willard may have had a sticky "?" key, so it made
sense when I re-read it thinking of that as a possibility. At first it didn't
make sense to me because Tom Willard has a doctorate in animal
nutrition and I am not used to him throwing in "?" after periods, but then it
did if I took that sticky key possibility into account. --Sukie]