From:
sukiec@optonline.net
Date: 2004-09-08 18:39:07 UTC
Subject: RE: Zinc for hair loss
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <3142671.1094668747937.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
I have heard from Dr. Tom Willard, whose doctorate is in the field of veterinary nutrition.
He points out that good ferret foods have enough zinc, that there are problems with giving zinc separately, and that ferrets are prone to zinc toxicity (also to be found written about in _Biology and Diseases of the Ferret_ an exceedingly comprehensive vet text. Too much zinc causes damage to ferrets' resistence to disease, livers, kidneys, and marrow. According to the vet text (which points out that ferrets are so prone to zinc toxicity that even galvanized dishes shoudl not be used with them) clinical signs include anemia indicators such as pale mucus membranes, posterior weakness, lethargy, nad high levels of zinc in affected organs. Death comes form such things as kidney lesions, enlarged, pale and soft kidneys which may have surface depressions; orange livers with malformed tubules and debris, --oh, here is one I didn't notice before and left out of earlier info (Sorry.) -- pitted and bleeding stomachs, and depression of the marrow's erythroid series.
Notice that some foods like regular TF already have enough zinc for situations which require extra such as pregnancy.
Dr. Willard wrote:
>The nutritional requirement for Zn appears to be around 1 to 2 mg per
>day. TF furnishes about 5 to 7 mg per day which covers growth,
>maintenance and pregnancy when they eat about one ounce of food per day.
>Unless there is a reason to believe there is a Zn deficiency, I can not
>see why one would give an oral dose of Zn as it can be toxic in high
>doses. If it is a Zn deficiency, it should be added with the food in
>the form of a mineral supplement and not dosed separately. I would not
>recommend doing this.