Forza10 dog kibbles to a badger

The badger’s characteristics

The Badger, or “European Badger” (Meles meles), is a mammal from the mustelidae family. An adult badger measures 60-90cm in length, adding 20-24cm for the tail; in autumn the weight of an adult animal can reach up to 24 kg, whilst during hibernation the weight increases to up to 34 kg. The body shape is unique and resembles a forward-facing wedge, which narrows sharply towards the end of a long, thin snout. The neck is almost invisible. The legs are short and thick, resting on the ground with the whole paw plant. The fingers feature long, smooth claws, suitable for digging. The fur is thick and bristly with a very characteristic color: the back and sides are grey-brown with silver hues; the belly is dark. There are two black-colored strips on the muzzle, starting from the upper lip, passing through the eyes and reaching the ears. The life expectancy is 10-12 years, or up to 16 years in captivity.

Boris the badger, affected by blindness due to an enteritis

In May 2017 a young badger was brought to the Zoo in Almaty. Initial examinations defined it was just over 5 weeks old and its growth parameters and development were normal, with a weight of 914 grams. The badger puppy was quarantined in Almaty Zoo’s Veterinary department and given the name Boris. Boris’ menu was very varied: veal or chicken, carrots, apples, bread, sunflower oil, milk, Zophobas (moth flour) and newborn rats. Every day the pup increased in weight and presented a joyful and cheerful behavior. In the meantime, Boris was transferred to the "Contact Zoo" ward. When the puppy had reached, according to calculations, an age of 6 months, it was decided to vaccinate it against distemper, Infectious Hepatitis, Parvovirus Enteritis and Parainfluenza. Given that the badger belongs to the caniform suborder, the Novibac DHPPi vaccine was chosen. 72 hours after the vaccination, Boris was taken to the Veterinary department with obvious symptoms of Parvovirus Enteritis: vomiting, diarrhea and a total refusal of food. All necessary analyses were performed and the diagnosis was positive. The hypothesis was that the badger puppy, brought in from the wild nature, could already have been a carrier of the disease, with the vaccine not working as expected because the disease had already developed itself. The Veterinarians thus prescribed a complete therapy. For two weeks the puppy was fed through parental nutrition, which led it to lose 30% of its weight, but worst of all the disease caused its blindness. The animal could not see the objects around it, like its food and water bowl. Furthermore, its behavior had become very aggressive.

Dog kibbles to a badger

FORZA10 Ophtalmic Active dog kibbles were added to Boris’ usual diet, with a daily portion of 150g 0.3lbs, also adding FeliDerm vitamins for skin and fur health. The results surprised us. Boris’ health began to improve: its eyesight returned, with the puppy able to distinguish its food bowl at a distance of 2 meters 6 feet as well as the movement of objects and the Zoo staff. The badger had also become less aggressive. As observed by our Veterinarians, since Boris started to feed on FORZA10 Ophtalmic Active, its vision has improved by over 20-30% compared with previously, with a continuous and constant progress and recent updates showing it has now reached an improvement of 60%.

Why did our kibbles end up in a Zoo in Kazakhstan?

Discover this extraordinary story, read the accounts of the other animals fed with FORZA10 kibbles and the results it achieved. Boris the badger’s case was followed by many experts: the deputy director of the Veterinary department of Almaty Zoo Ingher N.V., the Veterinary chief Duseynov A.S., the Veterinary surgeons Cimiruc A. S., Sachkov V. and Chenjibaev D.A.