From:
Steve Austin
Date: 2006-02-08 19:08:13 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] sugar
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
No one knows for sure why ferrets get insulinomas, but it is a good
guess that their diet is too high in sugars, especially for obligate
carnivores. Meaning they were designed/built to digest a high load
of meat proteins, and not really carbs.
It is not just sugars like in sweet foods, it is carbohydrates,
those break down into sugars too and ferret kibbles are loaded in carbs.
Adding additional sugary treats is just compounding the problem.
The sugar is not accumulating, per se, it is that the pancreas (not
spleen) has to produce
a lot of insulin to process the sugars coming in, more than it should
have to produce if a mostly meat /high protein diet were fed.
But, will a small amount of sugar in a laxative, given a few days a week,
or
a month matter? Or a small piece of a banana used to give meds? I doubt
it will matter much in the long run.
But you have to realize for years and years raisins and cheerios were the
stereotypical treat for ferrets- many many owners still give these and
more
sugary treats on a daily basis, and not just in small amounts.
In my opinion, treats should be more meat based, high in protein, if they
will get to like it, pieces of chicken, eggs, steak, meat baby foods,
etc.
Getting them on higher protein, better quality ferret kibble, and
encouraging manufacturers to find a way to make lower carb kibbles
will only benefit out ferrets in the long run.
Make sure your ferret is on a good ferret food, some are mostly plant
proteins, with corns/rice as filler instead of meats. Just read the
ingredient list
to see what are the top few ingredients.
ferrets speed bump when bored, playing too hard and taking a break,
just figuring out what to do next. I have a quick home glucose monitor
to check my older ferrets that I am not sure about, but it would be
unusual
to see this in a young ferret. If your ferret continues to do this and
is not
responsive to you, or to a quick lick of ferretone, or seems to sleep
longer,
weakness or weight loss,etc. then a vet check and blood sugar test would
be in order.
Patty
On Tue, 7 Feb 2006 09:34:28 +0000 (GMT) anthonycorlando@yahoo.com writes:
> I've had an ongoing dialogue with a major manufacturer of ferret
> foods & treats who've assured me their nutritionalist have approved
> their product for occasional use. But I can't get them to tell me
> how much sugar is "safe" for ferrets.
>
> I've heard ferrets cannot process ANY sugar & it just accumulates in
> their spleen until they develop insulinoma. Is that true? Is there a
> "safe" amount of sugar (since most lax contains it)?
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