What should I feed my Ferret?

Many people have their own diets for their Ferrets. Some feed them kitten food while others make their own Ferret food. There are even lines of special Ferret food. What ever you decide to do, keep these things in mind.

Ferrets are carnivores with a high metabolism. They should never be put on a sole vegetarian diet. They need constant access to high-protein food. The best thing you can do is feed them fresh food.

If you would like to prepare your animal's dinner from scratch, there is a good ferret diet available at Pionus@ix.netcom.com. You can give a bit of apple, banana and grapes once or twice a week.

Becareful of cat foods. Some may contain things that Ferrets can't eat. For example salt.

Ferret intestines are about 75% the length of a cat. Their large intestine is like a straight tube and lacks a seacum. It is not very efficient at bacterial digestion or nutrient reabsorption. Food passes through adult Ferrets in about 3 hours (1-2 hours for kits).

Protein is required in their diets. They need high ANIMAL based protien and fat. If their diet is based on plant protien, they may get urinary tract infections. Good sources of animal protien are from chicken, beef, eggs (cooked, never raw), liver, bone meal and fish meal. They also require at least 10 essential amino acids.

Ferret feed should contain 35-38% protien. Cat food usually contains about 30%. There should also be at least 22% fat for adults and at least 18% for older, non breeding ferrets in their food. Chicken and poultry fat are the best quality of fats for your ferret.

Totally Ferret is a good ferret food. Many people have found their ferrets to have even shinery, healthy coats. Most have found no bowel problems by feed their ferrets this diet and jills seem to not lose their hair while nursing.

Soy, wheat and corn protiens should never be fed to your ferret. Crackers, puffed wheat, rice cakes or other grain products are not advisable as the grains do not digest well and too much may cause diarrhea. Never feed your ferret sugar (this includes chocolate) as this is toxic to them.

Some good snacks to feed your ferret are packaged liver flavored cat treats, vegetable such as shredded broccoli and chopped green pepper or cohpped skinless cucumbers, fruits like pears, papaya, rasins bananas or apples. Cooked meat or chicken scraps are okay along with cooked egg scraps.

Since ferrets are susceptible to dehydration, they should always have plenty fresh, pure water. Water bottles are not as messy as dishes, but dishes are easier for ferrets to drink from. If you get a dish make sure the ferret can't tip it over, as they have a habbit of doing.

Make sure their food bowls are never empty since their digestion process is very quick. Fresh food should always be there so they can munch on demand.

Keep in mind that ferrets are meat eaters. So watch out for any small pets you might have. They have been known to eat rabbits, gerbils, hampsters, guinea pigs, birds, mice and rats.