From:
"Sukie Crandall"
Date: 2007-12-07 19:51:06 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Drinking Urine
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
--- In ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com, "Suzette Schumaker"
<suzetteschumaker_fpg_1@...> wrote:
>
> I have a Ferret that is about 10 months old , well yesterday my
> husband came into the Ferret room & said that he caught Bear ( 10 mth
> old ) drinking his urine . why would he be doing this ???
>
I wonder if some develop a liking for the taste.
Before you turn up your noses (and with that odor, I can understand), know that early
human physicians used to taste patient's urine to know if anything is off. Despite the
smell normal urine is supposed to taste like water, or like water with added minerals. If it
tasted off from that then infection was present, but what they usually tasted it for was the
presence of sugar because that it how they usually diagnosed diabetes. For this reason
and because ferrets are attracted to sweet flavors I think that I would have a blood glucose
check done on any ferret who drinks urine while knowing that all is probably well simply to
be safest because although diabetes is rare in ferrets it is an extremely serious illness in
them.
Historical side note involving dental health: whether true or false (with either possible) the
ancient Romans wrote that the people in another country sharing their sea (I won't say
which one since those who take over a nation often say things they consider insults about
those they use.) brushed their teeth with urine to whiten them but that the practice also
pitted the tooth enamel and eventually rotten the teeth. I have no idea if that record was
accurate on any count. If it is true then it may pay to watch the teeth of urine drinking
ferrets for caries more carefully.
I'll see if I find anything useful in a bit of surfing but I am very low on time (two very ill
human family members and other responsibilities) so I doubt I will find anything this time
around since I have never read of any found cause.
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