From:
"Danee DeVore"
Date: 2009-02-19 12:56:10 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Ferrets and digestion
To: <ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com>
Recently, there was some discussion on whether or not ferrets can digest
plant matter.
>From the research and reading I have done, the answer is a tentative yes. =
I
say tentative, because they do not do it well.
Ferrets have a very short transit time through their digestive system, and
as a result, their ability to digest foods is not as efficient as some
animals. The following is a quote from Dr. Susan Brown=92s article =93Rethi=
nking
the Ferret Diet=94, which can be viewed online at:
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=3DA
<http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=3DA&A=3D479&S=3D1&SourceID=
=3D43>
&A=3D479&S=3D1&SourceID=3D43
>Because of the short GI tract and the poor absorption of nutrients,
>ferrets require a diet that is highly concentrated with FAT as the main
>source of calories (energy) and highly digestible MEAT-BASED PROTEIN.
<SNIP>
>Ferrets cannot digest fiber, as is found in some vegetable and fruit
sources.
>If there is a significant amount of fiber in the diet it serves to
>lower the nutritional value of the food. As mentioned, ferrets need a
>highly digestible meat-based protein in the diet. Vegetable protein is
>poorly utilized. In the presence of excess vegetable protein the ferret
>can suffer from such diseases as bladder stones, poor coat and skin
quality, eosinophilic gastroenteritis (wasting, >diarrhea, ulcerations of
the skin and ear tips and swollen feet) poor growth of kits and >decreased
reproduction.
Fats and proteins are molecules, and vary depending on the source. Plant
proteins and fats are very different from animal proteins and fats, and
present different challenges when being digested. Here is a quote from the
following article.
http://www.9searches.org/articles/plant_protein_vs._animal_protein-300.html=
>But as much as we=92d like to think that a protein is a protein is a
>protein, the body=92s metabolism of proteins and amino acids differs
>depending on the source. It could be assumed that plant proteins are
>metabolized more quickly in the GI tract because the simple amino found
>in the plants do not have to be broken down by pepsin or protease in the
stomach and small intestine.
>However, research shows that plant proteins are actually slightly less
>absorbable than animal meats, likely due to their enclosure in plant
>cellulose which is more difficult for the body to digest=B9.
Plant proteins are harder to digest, and so they are not a readily availabl=
e
source of protein for an animal like a ferret that has poor absorption to
begin with. Cooking will make the plant proteins more available, as cooking
begins the digestive process and makes foods easier to digest, but they are
still not a good source of protein for a ferret. This does not mean that
ferrets can not digest plant matter at all; just it is harder for them to
digest plant proteins.
The following is a quote from the same article, and addresses that some
cooking techniques make proteins more readily available, if you do not
believe that statement.
>Cooking also affects the digestibility of plant proteins, and it has
>been suggested that boiling improves protein quality whereas toasting
>or dry heating does the opposite.
But, all this does not mean that ferrets do not derive any benefit at all
from plant matter, or that they can not digest plant matter. They simply d=
o
not do it well.
I found a report in my Biology and Diseases of the Ferret that reports on =
a
study done on ferrets where they were fed a diet of plant based protein. Th=
e
ferrets did not die, although they did not thrive and did have a tendency t=
o
develop bladder stones and also had poor or no ability to reproduce.
Fox reports that ferrets fed a diet of plant proteins will have a more
alkaline urine, and this will make the formation of bladder stones more
prevalent. Information on this study appears on page
166 of my Fox book, which is the second edition.
So, if ferrets are not able to digest plant material and can not gain any
benefit from it, how did the ferrets in that study survive at all to even
develop bladder stones? If they had not been able to digest plant matter,
they would have died of malnutrition.
Still, I for one believe that grains have no place in a ferret's diet.
Grains are linked to IBD in other species, and may well be the cause of the
number of IBD cases we are seeing now in ferrets. This is a personal
opinion based on my own observations of my own ferrets as well as my
observations of what is happening with friends' ferrets.
As I said in a previous post, I initially blamed the problem on chicken,
because when I fed my ferrets with IBD Gerber=92s turkey baby food and cook=
ed
turkey, their bouts with IBD decreased. But, I eventually found that I
could also feed them chicken baby food and cooked chicken as well, without
trouble. So what was different - the baby food contains no grains.
The other problem with foods that contain grains, is that proteins from
grains may be responsible for the formation of bladder stones. Meat
proteins are much less likely to cause this problem, based on the study I
mentioned above from my Fox book.
In over 20 years of raising ferrets, I have never had a ferret develop
bladder stones. But, I have always fed a diet that is high in meat protein=
,
and since there are now kibbles available that contain no grains, I feed my
kibble eaters those kibbles. All of my current ferrets eat a diet that
contains a minimum of 50% meat protein. My prey eaters may be eating an
even higher protein diet. I do see more and more reports of ferrets with
bladder stones, though, and I have to wonder if they are on a diet of
kibbles that contain grains, and therefore, protein from grains.
Danee DeVore
ADV - If your ferret hasn't been tested, you don't know!
For more information visit:
http://www.ferretadv.com <http://www.ferretadv.com/>
ADV - Find out how you can help:
http://help4adv.terrabox.com/
[Moderator's Note:
Danee's post provides information to correct a common
fallacy in food discussions in a balanced fashion with
resources,=20
Please, do not use it as a opening for food fights or
personal food preference discussions. Those derail
the FHL from its health purpose and are covered ad
nauseam in both the FML and FHL Archives so are
not acceptable.]
------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:ferrethealth-digest@yahoogroups.com
mailto:ferrethealth-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
ferrethealth-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/