From:
"Ulrike"
Date: 2008-11-06 19:35:33 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Different Food Question
To: <ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com>
I was actually wondering why ferrets should have a high fat diet. Are wild
prey animals a high fat diet? I was under the impression that wild (prey)
animals are usually lean. Which would mean that polecats/ wild predators
eat a leaner diet than our ferrets. I was wondering because a few of my
ferrets developed dilated cardiomyopathy although they get more than enough
taurine. I add lots of heart to their raw diet and they also get a lot of
raw muscle meat. It should have plenty of taurine. Plus there's taurine in
their dry food. So what other factors influence cardiomyopathy? Could it
be too much fat in the diet? Just thoughts that are going round my mind
when I saw a video clip on rabbit nutrition, it was said that there is very
little heart disease seen in rabbits because they're on a naturally low fat
diet. So could it be that the fat content of the ferret diet is too high or
is heart disease just something carnivores are susceptible to because they
have to eat meat? Like an unavoidable dietary side effect? Or is the
reason for cardiomyopathy not known, is it just one of those things that
ferrets get? Or am I rambling nonsense because I'm tired?
Ulrike
----- Original Message -----
> Technically, to date there are no known min/max nutrient requirements
> known for ferrets beyond their need for a high fat. high protein, low
> fiber, low ash, preferrably NO carbohydrate diet.
------------------------------------
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/