My ferret won't eat raw meat! Is that ok?

Question

I have been told to feed him raw meat because he needs it. He doesn't seem to think so and will not touch anything raw!
He isn't skinny or unwell and is playful, so does it really matter or not?

Answer 1

No worries! Ferrets don't Need to eat raw meat. A good quality ferret chow has all the protein they need. Some ferrets even get used to a certain brand of kibbles and won't eat any other brand. This often happens with older fertz.

Just remember to limit treats -- most of them have sugar and/ or fruit. One of mine likes chopped dates, the other likes Yogies. They only get one or two pieces every once in a while. However, ferrets are Carnivores. Just because they have a sweet tooth doesn't mean it's good for them. If you want to give them a varied diet, you could experiment with chopped up boiled eggs or even chicken baby food.
Bottom line, your ferret sounds like he is healthy and happy. He's fine without the meat - raw or cooked.

Answer 2

Your ferret will be fine if it doesn't eat raw meat. Just make sure to feed him a high quality ferret food and stop offering him the meat.

Raw meat is actually not a very good food anyway.

Answer 3

I have heard of giving a ferret raw meat, however I also heard that if you want to do this, it has to be done from the time they are born.

It will not hurt your ferret if he doesn't eat raw meat. Just make sure he is getting a high quality ferret food.

Someone suggested feeding him babyfood. Be careful doing this. Some babyfood has additives that can be harmful. A safe one is Gerber, stage 2, Chicken and Gravy. Now ferrets can be picky eaters. He might not eat the baby food at first if at all. Now, I only feed my sick babies a babyfood mixture. It causes their poop to be runny and it stinks, but it has good nutritional value to it.

Another good thing to feed him is chicken soup. This doesn't really effect their poop. This is something you make yourself. I will put a link at the end that has the recipie. If you feed him this, he will not eat as much kibble, but still offer it to him. Chicken soup can be used as a healthy treat and if you ever have to give him meds, it is good to hide them in.

Here are two links with info on the chicken soup.

http://www.trifl.org/gravy.shtml

http://www.ferretfacts.com/chickengravy.html

Answer 4

Depends on what an animal gets use to.

Not the same but similar I had some Dogs that I would feed Raw Meat or Milk or other such goodies that they really liked and afterwards it might take them a few days to decide to eat that plain old Dry Dog food. or If one would switch dry dog foods.

Your little Ferret might have never grown to like the raw meat as yet...

Answer 5

RAW meat is their NORMAL DIET! Have you ever seen a ferret with a little BBQ grill cooking its meat? lol OF course not their digestive tract is meant to process RAW meat. Alot of people go out of their way to FEED RAW as it is better for them. I give Pirate raw chopped meat, or beef as treats, Just no salt/spices, or anything else, just the meat, he also gets cooked chicken and chicken soup (the broth from boiling the meat nothing added) Ferrets are Obligate Carnivores - this means they CAN NOT digest anything BUT meat protein and fats. So no fruit, no veggies, no carbs, no sugar! Their body does not digest it Please review and read some of the references I will list below they will give you tons of ACCURATE info on ferrets and their care So is it OK if he ate some burger meat or hot dog Yes its fine (although I would avoid the premade burgers and NO more hot dogs as you have no idea what fillers, spices are added)

Answer 6

They dont need raw meat. Dry ferret or good quality kitten food (wet or dry) is fine. We also give ferret vitamins (it is a liquid- comes in a brown bottle and I can't think of the name) that they absolutely love to lap up. Some things our ferrets love as treats- applesauce, meal worms, any fruits and veggies.

Answer 7

Just give him a good high protein Ferret food and he should be fine. Ferrets know what to eat by sent. so if your ferret has only had dry or wet ferret food to eat all it's life then that's all it knows it should be eating. If you want you Ferret to go on a natural diet then you needed to start them out that way as babies.

Answer 8

i've always fed ferrets regular, dry ferret food. u can get it pretty much anywhere, walmart, petco, petsmart, specialty stores, vets...i've NEVER heard of feeding a ferret a raw diet. i'm sure it wouldnt be a bad thing tho. just go with the regular stuff. thats probably what he was fed before u got him, thats probably all hes used to. they have ferret treats too, he'll probably love those...good luck!

Answer 9

He probably just doesn't like it. Mine loved cooked chicken, though. Just make sure he has good food, not the cheap kind. My girl did great with no raw meat.

Answer 10

The problem is, he doesn't recognize it as "food". Feed him a good quality food made especially for ferrets and he will be fine.