Taurine dosage?

[ferretmania]

I have been trying to find information of how much taurine a ferret need ,but no such luck.I know it´s not possible to give too much ,cause taurine is watersoluble like vitamin C,but it would be nice to know how much they need.

Does anybody know how much,in grams, they need per kilo bodyweight a day ?


Thanks

[sherrylynne]

Here's a thread on taurine, and I think on amounts. Not likely as precise as you are looking for, but it should give you and idea:
holisticferret.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=raw&action=display&thread=1120

[mustelidmusk]

And the answer is.....
...nobody knows!!!!

The reality is that we're not even certain that ferrets NEED taurine. But it's assumed that they do because they're obligate carnivores.

here' a bit about taurine. The general belief is that dogs do not require taurine. Some vets are changing their minds and stating that dogs may benefit from a little taurine, especially when under stress.

Cats definitely require taurine - so the assumption is that ferrets, as obligate carnivores require taurine as well.


The good thing about taurine is that you can't eat enough of it to have any build up/toxicity. Any unused taurine will be eliminated in urine. It's also difficult to absorb taurine ----it doesn't like to stick around at all.

All 4 of my ferrets are splitting 1 capule per day as follows:
* the capsules may be 500mg or 1000 mg depending upon what I can get.
* I dump 1/2 of the capsule into the morning meal and the other half into the evening meal.
I've been ding this for about 4 years now, and my brat are over 5.

I don't know if this next thing is due to the taurine, but every time my brats visit their vet, the comments that they have remarkably strong/steady hearts .

darker cut of meat such as chicken thighs and heart have mmore taurine. lamb is also a good source of taurine.

I've had 3 holistic vet agree that I should continue with the taurine supplements.

So...this is why I recommend taurine supplements!

-jennifer

[ferretmania]

Thank you very much both of you Now I have a rough idea of what to give them as supplement,really appreciate it

[Chelsea]

There really is no definite answer to that. The good thing is, you really cant overdose taurine. Any extra, unused taurine, is simply eliminated from the body.

Beef heard is a great source of taurine, both my weasel boys get it 2-3x a week.
Bailey usually gets beef heart daily.

It can be hard to find around here, only one store near me carries it, so whenever I go shopping I take every single beef heard they have

[ferretmania]

@ Chelsea

Hehe I can understand why ..I would do that too...I haven´t been able to locate beefheart fresh so I have to go for frozen beefheart.Which I can get plenty of here in Denmark .They sell it in allmost every Barf store here.
Thats why I wanted to know about the dosage.And all the information have been very usefull so already ordered taurinpowder to add to their meals

[sherrylynne]

And for me- I can find beef heart, no problem! Unfortunately- one of my guys seems to be sensitive to beef organs
So instead- I order chicken hearts by the caselot