Feeding Your Ferret - What is the Best Ferret Diet?

The diet you feed your pet ferret is critical to their health. Ferrets are obligate carnivores, meaning they must have a diet high in animal protein and fat. In the wild they would be eating small prey and ingesting all of the body parts. Their food should be 32 to 38% protein from animal rather than vegetable sources.

Ferrets have short digestive tracts and no cecum (a part of the large intestine that processes fiber) and do not digest vegetable matter well.

When purchasing ferret food, carefully read the labels and select a premium food. The better ferret diets will be found online. Ferrets have a rapid two to three hour digestive process. So it is vital that their diet is easily digestible, with high quality, nutritious ingredients.

Ideally, the first listed ingredient for ferret food should be animal proteins such as chicken or poultry by-product meal. Other protein sources like other meat meals, whole eggs, liver meal or fish meal should be listed next. Little or no vegetable proteins should be fed. Soybean or soybean meal, corn or corn gluten meal, or other cereal grains should be avoided. Any food with carbohydrates (grains) listed as primary ingredients should not be fed.

Ferrets have very high metabolisms and need to eat many small meals. They should have fresh food and water available at all times and changed twice a day. Do not allow your pet to go very long without eating as serious health consequences can occur. Serve their food in a large, heavy bowl to avoid tipping. A hanging water bottle will avoid their water from being contaminated with food.

What Not to Feed Your Pet Ferret:

Never feed dog food. It will not be high enough in animal protein and will not contain Taurine. The amino acid, Taurine, is essential for eye and cardiovascular health. Also skip milk or other dairy products as adult ferrets are lactose intolerant.

Ferrets are very fond of fruit and vegetables but they should be fed very sparingly if at all. Vegetable matter can cause intestinal blockages which can even be life threatening.

Other foods ferrets must not eat are chocolate and raisins

Feeding Older Ferrets:

A ferret over four years old may need a food with a somewhat lower protein level to reduce the chance of kidney failure. There are foods formulated especially for older ferrets.

Changing Your Ferret's Diet:

When you change your pet's diet, add a small amount of the new food to their original diet. Increase the new food over a few days or weeks. You can also place the new food together with the old in a sealed container. This will help the new food to smell like the old familiar food. Adding water or heating the food will also help to combine the aromas.

Ferrets can be finicky and refuse to eat anything they were not introduced to when young. Some food contains fish protein which may be less palatable to ferrets. Although it may be challenging to find a diet that is both healthful and readily eaten by your pet, but it is very much worth the effort. You will have a happier, healthier longer-lived ferret companion.

Diedre writes about Ferret Care and Feeding for BestBuddyPets.com