what type of food can a ferret eat other then ferret food ?

Question

my boss said that he gives his ferret kitten food but is that safe to eat for a ferret will it get all the nutrients that it need from kitten food . also is there any human food that a ferret CANT eat ?

Answer 1

I feed my ferrets Purina Kitten chow nuturing formula. I have found that it is better and way cheaper than most ferret food. According to the ferrets for dummies book kitten food is ok to give ferrets. I used to add the ferretvite stuff to it, but the food has taurine in it so you really don't have to add it to the food. Ferrets can also eat different types of meat (chicken etc..), but if you have a Marshall ferret having been raised on dried food it probably won't eat meat. Don't feed your ferret any type of chocolate or anything containing sugar. Don't give them bones(may choke) or anything that is too big or too hard to swallow.
Also most ferret foods lack certain nutrients that ferrets need(I did alot of research), and most of the high quality ferret foods are no better than a high quality kitten food. My ferrets are way better looking and alot healthier than when I fed them ferret food. I always reccommend it to people who have ferrets and don't want want to spend alot of money on ferret food.

Answer 2

We are longtime ferret owners and we'd recommend feeding high-quality ferret food ONLY.

We use Ultimate by 8-in-1 but there are other good foods out there.

We supplement the Ultimate with FerretVite (a vitamin, mineral and sugar based treat that ferrets are CRAZY about.) It's also aptly known as Ferret Crack. But use it only as a treat and supplement, it's not a substitute for top-grade food.

Answer 3

OK...here is the thing...

Cat food is for cats.

Kitten food is for kittens.

Dog food is for dogs.

AND

FERRET FOOD IS FOR FERRETS! lol

Ferrets bodies and digestive system are meant to eat meat ONLY! The best thing to feed your ferret is a quality ferret food, a "high calorie vitamin" such as FerriVite, and for a snack give them ferret treats.

Every once in a blue moon you could offer your ferret s nibble of a cracker or pretzel (they love them) or a lick of yogurt or ice cream. You really have to give these items sparingly because too much carbohydrates or sugars can cause a common ferret disease called insulinoma.

Good luck and take care of those fuzz-butts!

Answer 4

I wouldn't give it anything too spicy or sweet, but other than that any FRESH meats, fruits, or vegetables are fine...I wouldn't outright replace the ferret food though...there may actually be one or two things in it that ferrets really need, but throwing a few extra things in would be a nice little treat for your furry friend

Answer 5

Go to http://www.critterstore.com and they have the foods listed for Ferrets and all other animals. i use them for my gerbils and they are very reasonably priced

Answer 6

Ferrets are dedicated meat eaters. They need Either
1) A diet of raw food and Bones
2) A high quality Ferret food
3) A high quality Kitten food

There are three basic types of animals: carnivores (meat eaters), herbivores (plant eaters), and omnivores (both). Ferrets are obligate carnivores. This means they were created to eat meat. Yes, we will try to steal your soda and candy. We have a sweet tooth, but you wouldn’t give your cow a steak or your pet rabbit meat. So why would you give your ferret a vegetable? We eat every four hours and require continuous food and water. When purchasing food for a ferret, PLEASE READ THE LABEL and remember that we are carnivores. Most ferret food manufactures use plant matter as fillers and binders to keep the cost down. Like our health care, in choosing our food, cost should not be considered. Just think of all plant matter as ending up in the poop-pan, and your money too. At the rescue, our humans learn

Again, learn to read the label. Foods with sweeteners, such as molasses, raisins or raisin juice, and corn products (a natural sugar) can contain high quantities of sugar. Since we have a sweet tooth, this makes it taste better, but we do not need it. I guess what we are trying to teach our humans Is that a good quality diet consists of dog food for dogs, cat food for cats, which are omnivores; grains for rabbits and cows, which are herbivores; and a good protein diet for us little carnivores. Note, ferrets are not natural fishermen, so fish protein is not a natural protein, but is used for cost reduction. It also makes our fur an poop smell bad. Suggested good quality foods are Totally Ferret, Path Valley, or Mazuri.

Treats: 1. Gerber chicken or turkey w/ gravy Stage 2 2. Gerber or Beechnut Chicken and broth, heat 3 seconds in the microwave 3. Cooked chicken or turkey, next to the bone only, please do not salt, gravy, or season our food. 4. An Occasional Pounce tarter control Chicken treat. 2x weekly 5. Play with us an extra ten minutes when you don’t usually take us out. 6. A little Petromalt, Ferrivite, or Ferritone. No more then the size of a pea and only once a week. Does not include Petromalt for hair ball treatment. 7. A little duck soup on occasion so we will eat it when we are sick.
http://theeducatedferret.net/Documents/FoodAndDiet.pdf


Protien:
Feeding your ferret a proper diet is extremely important. Ferrets are strict carnivores and should be fed a high protein (at least 34%), high fat (at least 20%) high quality chicken or lamb based dry ferret diet (See Shopping- Ferret Supplies for examples). Totally Ferret, Zupreem for Ferrets, and Ultimate 8 and 1 are good choices. Chicken or lamb should be listed in some form (poultry, lamb or poultry meal) as the number one ingredient in the list of ingredients on the back of the bag. You should also look for food that is naturally preserved with vitamin E and has no artificial colors.
http://www.everythingferret.com/nutrition.htm


Raw Food
A nutritious and balanced diet is the foundation of good health for all creatures including ferrets. Ferrets have been kept in captivity since 300 BC, but it is only in the last 40 years that we have changed their diet from raw foods to commercially processed foods. We have made the change primarily because we, the public, have demanded a uniformly easy to feed and hopefully nutritious food that allows us to successfully keep ferrets in our homes. I think everyone would agree that it is easier to pour little bits of food out of a bag than to go out and find whole prey items to feed. But the question is are we really providing a healthy ferret diet using processed foods? Is it really possible to take raw food, grind it up, heat it to high temperatures, add ingredients that are not part of the normal diet, add back nutrients altered or destroyed during processing, press it into amusing shapes and have this be the equivalent of the natural diet”? I liken it to the Wonder Bread that I ate as a child. It was highly processed and stripped of many nutrients, then the nutrients were put back in chemically and it was put in an eye-catching package announcing its nutritional value. And didn't we love that package with the little colorful balloons telling us we were buying a healthy product? And don't we love the ferret food packages with cute pictures of ferrets everywhere? The food must be good if it has a ferret picture on it…shouldn't that be the case?
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=479

----Edited because I noticed another answer I felt needed addressing---
Quote:
ferrets like fruits and vegetables. My friends ferret used to love watermelon and zucchini. You can also feed bananas, raisins, and cereal such as fruit loops and cheerios

Please please please please do not ever feed your ferrets fruits or vegetables. raisins bananas or cheerios should only been give very very very very very very rarely and only in the tiniest little pieces. it is best to avoid these as well. There are ferret treats that have the 'taste' of these things without being bad for the ferret. Get the flavor treat instead.

Answer 7

stick with the ferret food. there is not enough nutrients in any other food for them. chocolate and caffein are to be avoided.

Answer 8

some types of cat food

Answer 9

ferrets like fruits and vegetables. My friends ferret used to love watermelon and zucchini. You can also feed bananas, raisins, and cereal such as fruit loops and cheerios

Answer 10

The only alternative is kitten food with at least 40% protein in it.