Furovite...to eat or not eat?

Question
Hello again! I have a quick question regarding Furovite, my two boys absolutely love this stuff but I am wondering if it is okay to give to my chubby little Meeko or is there a possibility of him gaining weight?

He is already quite plump and i've recently changed his food to a better brand in hopes of helping him stay fit. Aside from the fact that he cant jump particularily high and often swings his little butt around to help him slide off of furniture as opposed to jumping off like Pocket does he does not seem to have any problem with being a little big. But I still dont really want him to get any plumper haha. Any of your input would be most helpful:) thanks!

Answer
Hi Lisa, Pocket & Meeko:

Furovite is a supplement meant to both stimulate appetite and add calories to a ferret's diet. It is usually used for ferrets who are underweight, thin and frail, possibly sickly or post surgical.  It's really not a good idea to feed it for a long time under any circumstances due to the ingredients in it that contain sugar (malt syrup and cane molasses).  It's always a good idea to read labels and watch for ingredients like this - anything that ends in "ose" is a sugar, as is any type of molasses, cane sugars, "malts", etc.

It has fairly recently been discovered that insulinoma in ferrets (cancer of the pancreas - a part of the stomach) is caused by sugars!!  Therefore, that's a really important reason NOT to feed any kind of sugar to a ferret for any reason. For that reason, I would never ever recommend Furovite and if I owned some, I'd throw it out, personally.

A healthy treat or two you might want to substitute is Ferretone, which is an oil with no sugars in it at all. When you get the bottle, mix it 1/2 and 1/2 with virgin olive oil (which is also good for them) because it cuts the vitamins in half, but they will still love it. Given this way, they can have UP TO ONE TABLESPOON PER WEEK.  Refrigerate the half (bottle) you are not using so it doesn't go rancid. Also, don't use it if it gets particles in it - it should be clear at all times when fed to the ferrets. When rancid, it gets yellowish particles that suspend in the liquid - that's how you know it needs to be thrown out. I keep mine in the refrigerator and have never had to throw any out since I've been doing that. I do keep about 2 ounces out in a little dropper bottle at a time.  Once they taste it a couple of times, it will be their all time favorite treat and they will do anything for it. It's healthy for them without the sugars.

Another great treat is called N-Bones for Ferrets - these are little sticks that are made from gelatinized chicken broth (no salt added) and is completely good for them,in addition to giving them something to chew on. They can have one of these a day if you want to - won't add fat or sugar or anything bad for them at all. Both N-Bones and Ferretvite can both be purchased at Ferret Depot online (or almost any ferret supply/food store).

Those are the treats my kids get - hope your kids love them as much as my kids do. Haven't seen any ferrets yet who don't love them.  

For your information, here's a great list of foods that are listed according to how good they are for the ferrets. Try not to feed anything lower than a "9" on the list and your ferrets shouldn't need ANY additional vitamins or supplements to have a balanced diet. Treats should be just that - treats - just small amounts to have *occasionally*, not a meal but a tiny snack. Here's the good food list:

* http://www.mdferretpaws.org/care/food_treats.html

Thanks for writing - here's to the best health of your ferrets!

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers