From:
Sukie Crandall
Date: 2007-03-07 00:25:02 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] D3
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Having learned in a private conversation today and yesterday with two
friends that D3 can pose risks to ferrets when the amounts are too
large I began to search under:
"Hypervitaminosis D" +ferret
because knowing how easily this vitamin can be overdone might point
once again to the importance of recalling the crepuscular (dawn and
dusk activity) with time in between in dark burrows that the ancestry
of ferrets includes in a way that goes beyond the melatonin and
adrenal growth questions.
***** Does anyone know how the D3 levels of ferrets compare to those
of related diurnal animals? *****
Not everything I came up with is related to what I was seeking, and I
do not know how reliable some URLs are, but I will list some sites
come upon which may interest people, and then people can take them
with their own grains of salt.
It is very important to recall that nutrients have to be in
reasonable balance or all sorts of problems can happen, also since
ferrets have a shorter digestive period than we humans do, that home
created diets which are not balanced are going to more rapidly cause
problems for ferrets than they would for humans. For example, here
are some points (which I hope that I got right) that are just from
general mammalian nutritional information I've read:
Too little calcium in the diet can cause the body to rob calcium from
the bones and teeth in order to process phosphorous.
Too much C in the diet can reduce levels of copper which in turn can
reduce levels of iron.
Too much of any of the COLA grouping of amino acids can cause cystine
stones in ferrets who are vulnerable to getting those. (Okay, I KNOW
that one is right because we have two of those ferrets ourselves and
adjust for their needs.)
Too much of some B vitamins can do as much nerve damage as too little.
Multiple minerals can be poisonous in amounts that are too high.
Etc.
You get the idea. It is not a situation of "more is better".
Balance is essential. That is why the professionally designed diets
ARE designed by people with doctorates in veterinary nutrition by
conducting thorough and careful study and testing, not by hunches.
Those foods are designed to avoid hypervitaminosis, hypovitaminosis,
toxic effects of over-doing some minerals, etc.
BTW, although it is general "knowledge" that it is hard to over-do
water soluble vitamins the reality is that there are a number
recorded cases of problems with Bs and C, and the effects can be
strong ones.
While searching I came upon another site on poisons to avoid around
pets:
http://www.petvets.com/petcare/general.html#toxic
Here is a hypervitaminosis table but I do not know if the source is a
reputable one or not:
http://www.pet-plus.co.uk/Info%20Feeding%20raw%20food%20vitamins.htm
The page includes a table and if that URL doesn't work try some of
the attached text in a search:
> Hypervitaminosis (oversupplementing)is more common than vitamin
> deficiencies. Vits C and B complex are water soluble and are not
> stored to any great extent in the body. A,D3,E and K are stored in
> fatty tissue and the liver, excessive supplementation of these
> vitamins over a period of time can cause them to reach toxic levels
> in the body. Dry ferret foods contain correct amounts of vitamins
> and minerals, no supplements should be needed for healthy ferrets.
> The table below shows how...
Actually, I am a bit concerned by some of the things on 2 related
pages of that site though I see some other things that add up for me:
http://www.pet-plus.co.uk/Info%20Ferret%20feeding.htm
and
http://www.pet-plus.co.uk/Info%20Feeding%20raw%20food.htm
gives the many things this place does to provide what it considers to
be a balanced raw diet for ferrets. I have no idea if they know what
they are talking about well enough or not.
(BTW, although I keep reading and learning I do still feed kibble
because I know it is balanced and because I know how serious the
multiple diseases that are possible from raw feeding can be ( a few
problems for examples: E. coli, mycobacteria, salmonella,
actinomycosis, botulism, campylobacteria). Different people will
weigh things in different ways.
This has links to many studies:
http://www.vitamindcouncil.com/researchVeterinary.shtml
Notice in the studies that this page links to that in members of
Carnivora hypercalaemia and hypocalcaemia are both things that can
happen if D3 balance to other nutrients is off, and that it can throw
off some other minerals as well. Hypercalaemia occurred with
hypervitaminosis of D3, and other problems like rickets with the
opposite, and following is more of what can happen if the balance is
wrong in the other direction (hypovitaminosis D) esp. if there is
also a genetic vulnerability. (Yes, dietary needs can vary with
individual medical needs as well as by species.)
> J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2003 Apr 15;222(8):1093-6, 1077.
> Links
> Suspected pseudohypoparathyroidism in a domestic ferret.
>
> Wilson GH, Greene CE, Greenacre CB.
> Department of Small Animal Medicine, College of Veterinary
> Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
> A 1.5-year-old ferret examined because of seizures was found to
> have low serum calcium, high serum phosphorus, and extremely high
> serum parathyroid hormone concentrations. Common causes of these
> abnormalities, including nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism,
> chronic renal secondary hyperparathyroidism, tumor lysis syndrome,
> and hypomagnesemia, were ruled out, and a tentative diagnosis of
> pseudohypoparathyroidism was made. Pseudohypoparathyroidism is a
> hereditary condition in people that, to our knowledge, has not been
> identified in ferrets previously and is caused by a lack of
> response to high serum parathyroid hormone concentrations, rather
> than a deficiency of this hormone. The ferret improved after
> treatment with dihydrotachysterol (a vitamin D analog) and calcium
> carbonate. It was still doing well after 3.5 years of continued
> treatment.
It would be interesting at some point for someone to put together a
comprehensive list of studies related to incorrectly provided
nutrition and ferrets. Certainly, an excellent place to start would
be with a copy of _Biology and Diseases of the Ferret, second
edition_ since it has an incredibly large, inclusive, and unbiased
nutrition section, then look at later vet texts for later studies,
and finally do an independent search for further studies that met the
needs of peer reviewed journals and similar criteria that shift out
chaff so that the best of the best is what is left for consideration.
Now, like anyone who does not have an advanced degree in veterinary
nutrition (to understand the nutritional aspects) or in veterinary
medicine (to understand what they might wind up treating when
nutrition goes wrong) my own info gleaned is by definition only
piecemeal, but I recognize that shortfall, and would be very happy
for the opportunity to learn more on this topic from the real
professionals. Life is for loving and learning...
I never did find any firm enough about the possible crepuscular link
that I set out on this search to find (though D3 levels are also
related to sun exposure according to some things I found), and I
never did find how the D3 levels needed by ferrets compare to those
of related diurnal animals. So, my original questions that began my
search remain with me, as questions sometimes do.
Sukie (not a vet)
Current FHL address:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
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