What food can you give to a ferret?

Answer 1

A ferret needs a food made specifically made for ferrets that are designed to meet their daily nutritional requirements. Feed the best food you can afford and your ferret will be healthier and happier. A good nutritional ferret food will help to prevent disease and illness, and it's much cheaper than to treat it with drugs and surgery later. For variety and training, offer an occasional treat, duck soup, or chew treats made for ferrets.

Use the following guidelines to select a dry or kibbled food for ferrets:The first three listed ingredients should be a high-quality meat protein - chicken, poultry, beef, or lamb (preferably whole - not meal) meat. Protein must be 35 - 40%, Fat must be 18 - 30%, Fiber - 2% (good fiber ingredient - beet pulp) (anything above 3% can cause digestive upsets), Needs to contain 21 amino acids including taurine, an essential amino acid for vision and proper functioning of the heart.Must have a low ash level (7.0% or less), Good carbohydrates ingredients - rice flour or brewers yeast.

Ferrets are true carnivores (strict meat-eaters - whole prey) belonging to the weasel family, or mustelidae and is related to ermines or stoats, minks and weasels. Ferrets lack a cecum and appendix, the section of intestine that helps omnivores process vegetables and they cannot adequately handle diets high in fiber or carbohydrates and requires a diet high in protein and fat, consisting mainly of meat and animal products. They cannot digest vegetable, fruits, or grains. They digest food in about 3 to 4 hours, and must have food and water available at all times. Most high quality ferret foods contain all the essential vitamins and minerals necessary, and does not need any extra supplements.

A baby kit (6 - 11 weeks old) might not be accustomed to eating solid food and may need to have moistened food. One part dry food with three parts warm water, let sit about 3 minutes, until consistency of oatmeal (adjust ratio if needed). What a ferret is fed in the first six months of life, it will only recognize that as food. It is important to feed a variety of food from the beginning. A lot of owners buy a variety of ferret foods and offer as a mix. This will prevent any problems, should a brand become unavailable.

Feeding a ferret an improper or poor diet of highly processed food with excessive vegetable protein can cause many illnesses and premature death. A ferret can suffer from such diseases as bladder stones, poor coat and skin , eosinophilic gastroenteritis (wasting, diarrhea, ulcerations of the skin and ear tips, swollen feet) and poor growth. Foods high in carbohydrates (sugar - ferret treats) causes insulinoma in ferrets. Do not feed a ferret vegetables, grains or fruits, they are unable to digest and could cause stomach blockage that without surgery will cause a painful death. Do not feed ferrets any dog or cat food, they are not nutritionally appropriate and will cause heath problems. A high quality kitten food is acceptable if you are unable to obtain ferret food.

Avoid dyes (look at the color of the food), fillers such as corn, corn meal, corn grits, wheat middling, bran, germ, flour, and other grains or fish as the primary protein. Avoid anything with soy flour or soybean meal. Avoid fruits and vegetables ingredients. Foods with corn products can cause intestinal blockage in ferrets.

Avoid artificial preservatives such as Ethoxyquin (used as a preservative in pet foods to prevent the rancidification of fats), BHT (synthetic analogue of vitamin E), and BHA (an additive that accumulates in the body fat and known to cause cancer in animals) as these ingredients are considered to be harmful to a pet's health and may increase the likelihood of cancer.

There is a direct relationship between foods and disease. Be aware that most ferrets love sweets and are prone to being "junk food" eaters. Do not feed candy, cakes, sugar-coated cereals, soda, junk food, ferrets cannot digest sugar. Sugars puts tremendous strain on the pancreas and results in Diabetes, which is difficult to treat and leads to death. No dairy products (milk, cheese, ice cream), dog food or canned cat food. All of these can cause severe, life-threatening diarrhea.

Do not feed your ferret any kind of cat or dog food, they will suffer from improper nutrition and will become ill and could possibly cause death.

.Never feed your ferret these items:

Toxic or dangerous food for pets

• Chocolate
• Onions
• Grapes
• Raisins.
• Yeast dough
• Alcohol
• Tobacco
• Marijuana
• Moldy or spoiled food
• Wild mushrooms
• Large amounts of raw fish
• Potato, rhubarb or tomato leaves
• Large amounts of raw liver
• Large numbers of macadamia nuts
• Fruit pits
• Corn cob

Answer 2

Most human food should be avoided. Ferrets are carnivores and so should be fed raw meat. Meat such as chicken, rabbit, lamb, beef, turkey etc. Chicken and duck eggs are also good and are a great source of protein.

Ferrets are unable to digest fruit and vegetables and eating these can cause stomach problems or in more severe cases intestinal blockages. Fruit and vegetables are also high in natural sugars. Foods which are high in sugar should also be avoided as ferrets can develop diabetes. Another thing to avoid is dairy. Dairy products are known to cause stomach upsets such as vomiting and diarrhea when eaten by ferrets

Special ferret pet food is available in pet stores. Chose the ferret food with the highest meat content possible. Different foods are available for your ferret depending on their age. If you Google "ferret food comparison chart" you will be able to find the best food for your ferret. Cat/ kitten or dog / puppy foods are not suitable as they contain too much plant matter and lack the nutrients that a ferret requires. Although ferrets can survive on a high quality kitten food it is not recomended.

Ferret supplements such as FerrTonic and FerrTone are also available. They usually come in liquid or paste form and contain extra vitamins and minerals to keep your ferret as healthy as possible.

Make sure your ferret has a fresh dish of water or water bottle beside his food dish as some ferrets will refuse to eat if there isn't water nearby

Answer 3

Ferrets are obligate carnivores, like cats, meaning that they must have meat in their diets if they are to survive. However, they require very high levels of protein and fat, much higher than that required by a healthy cat, and so the best thing to form the basis of your ferret's diet is ferret food. This resembles dry catfood and is especially formulated to meet a ferret's nutritional requirements. They really like it, too.

You can also feed them meat - the majority love chicken and turkey and most will also eat beef, lamb and so on (though a ferret that has become used to dry food may take a while to get used to real meat). They can also eat fish, but be warned - feeding them fish will make cleaning out the litter box a far less pleasant task.

They should not eat vegetable matter, bread and so on because, as carnivores, their digestive tract isn't able to process them and consumption can result in abdominal blockages. However, most ferrets absolutely adore sultanas and you can safely give them one every once in a while as a treat or as positive reinforcement during training.

Answer 4

Wild ferrets, known as European Polecats or Mustela putorius (domestic ferrets are M. putorius furo), eat a wide range of foods including rabbits, hares, mice, voles, shrews, birds, frogs, rats and insects and has even been observed killing and eating grass snakes, the venomous adder and geese. Being highly intelligent, individual polecats sometimes exploit food sources that do not usually form part of a polecat's diet - one has been observed catching and eating eels, others regularly catch chickens.

Answer 5

A ferret is an Obligate Carnivore, which means they only absorb proper nutrients for their species from Meat, they can't digest vegetables or fruit {some are even deadly to them, like raisins/ grapes + catnip} which means their kibble and/or Diet must be high in animal protein, high in fat, and low in fiber.

Not all ferret foods in the market are good for them, so it's very wise to read the Ingredients shown on the box or bag.

It's preferable that the first 5 ingredients noted should have a specific Meat, or meat-related not a Meat by-product or too much vegetable/grain, if the food is Grain-free even better.

Some brands that are good would be ZuPreem for ferrets, EVO Ferret, Natural Balance, Wysong Ferret & Totally Ferret

Ideal treats would be meat-specific, like freeze-dried liver, chicken jerky, lamb, duck, beef, etc.

Ferretone is a ferrets blissful Delight, and healthy.

Anything not meat-specific, as far as treats, can actually be harmful, even triggering sickness.

Many ferret owners opt for BARF(Bones And Raw Food Diet) which is literally meat from the butcher, properly fixed to meet the ferrets dietary Needs, there's plenty websites instructing how to do this in a way that'll be very healthy for the ferret.

Other people mix Premium ferret food that contain at least 42-50% protein, with premium Cat food {also read the Cat food labels !! Same standard!!}, it is unwise to mix dog food unless the product is specific to Meat (such as EVO RM for small dogs).

If the ferret is ill, 1st stage or 2nd stage meat-specific baby food, in addition to certain ferret-specific food mixing is ideal.

It's popularly called Duk Soup.

To get a ferret to eat a food unfamiliar to them isvery challenging since they Imprint on a specific food, and will be stubborn beyond measure to switch foods, so giving them the occasional Human baby food as a "snack" would very Wise early on.

Answer 6

Ferrets are obligate carnivores, just like cats, so they only can eat meat. Any other kind of food is very bad for ferrets if given regularly or in large quantities. Look for pet food that has as much meat and as little grain, fruits, and vegetables in the ingredients as possible. My vet, however, said that corn is not too bad as a filler because ferrets just pass it through. Most importantly, ferret food should have very high levels of fat and protein. If you have to buy food in the pet store, buy food designed for ferrets or, if this is not available, good quality kitten food. I personally like the Zupreem grain-free dry ferret food - my young ferrets love it and seem to be doing well healthwise. When ferrets get older and have various health problems they may not eat enough dry food (although this is better for their teeth). I found that the canned Hills A/D is enjoyed by my older ferrets and is good for them (I mix it with a bit of warm water to make it soupy, which they enjoy). This food is used for weight gain and recovery in other animals so some people think it can make ferrets fat. This is not a problem for most ferrets (assuming they have plenty of play/roam time, which is critical to their health anyway). I also like to keep my older ferrets a little fat because even a minor flair up in IBD (which almost all old ferrets have) can cause them to lose weight very quickly, so better they start out a little chubby so you have time to nurse them through illnesses. Ferrets rarely get diabetes - the opposite (insulinoma) is much more common. For this reason, ferrets should NEVER have sugar as part of their diet - this probably causes (and definitely aggravates) insulinomas, which are slow death sentences for many older and middle-aged ferrets.

Answer 7

Most human food should be avoided. Ferrets are carnivores and so should be fed raw meat. Meat such as chicken, rabbit, lamb, beef, turkey etc. Chicken and duck eggs are also good and are a great source of protein.

Special ferret pet food is available in pet stores. Chose the ferret food with the highest meat content possible. Different foods are available for your ferret depending on their age. If you google "ferret food comparison chart" you will be able to find the best food for your ferret. Cat/ kitten or dog / puppy foods are not suitable as they contain too much plant matter.

Ferret supplements such as FerrTonic and FerrTone are also available. They usually come in liquid or paste form and contain extra vitamins and minerals to keep your ferret as healthy as possible.

Ferrets are unable to digest fruit and vegetables and eating these can cause stomach problems or in more severe cases intestinal blockages. Fruit and vegetables are also high in natural sugars. Foods which are high in sugar should also be avoided as ferrets can develop diabetes. Another thing to avoid is dairy. Dairy products are known to cause stomach upsets such as vomiting and diarrhea when eaten by ferrets

Make sure your ferret has a fresh dish of water or water bottle beside his food dish as some ferrets will refuse to eat if there isn't water nearby

.

Answer 8

Domestic ferrets will eat mice, rats, chicken, etc., but not pig