Do you know what are the best foods for ferrets?
Can you give your ferret anything or are there nutritional rules?
Ferrets require a special diet so you have to be aware of the fact that not every food is good ferret food. Today I want to share with you what food is best for ferrets, what are the best ferret treats, and what are your options when it comes to ferret nutrition. With this post, you can be sure you are giving your ferret the best diet.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
What Is Ferret’s Natural Diet?
Ferret’s diet is actually pretty simple. They are strict carnivores which means they should have meat and meat only. When you are picking the best foods for ferrets, you have to pick a diet that consists of meat, bones, and organs of different animals. They aren’t like dogs so if you feed your ferret with vegetables or fruit, you can actually make him sick.
What Should Best Foods For Ferret Have?
Feeding a strict carnivore means giving him an animal-based diet. That means a ferret’s diet should be high in proteins and fat and low in fibers. Proteins and fat come from animals while fibers come from vegetables and fruit. Ferrets have a very fast metabolism which means they can’t digest fibers. That is why too much fiber in their system can make your ferret sick after a certain time. The same story is with sugar. Ferret’s body doesn’t know how to digest too much sugar which can lead to serious illnesses and that is why fruits are off the table for ferrets.
What Is Good Feret Food?
There are two options for you to feed your ferret with. It is your choice to decide which one is more suitable for you, your lifestyle, and your ferrets. It doesn’t matter which one you choose, just make sure you choose the best one in each option to keep your ferret healthy and happy.
Raw Meat Diet
The first option is the natural diet and it is the one I mentioned in the paragraph above. The best raw food for ferrets is a raw meat diet, meaning you can feed your ferret with meat, bones, organs, or whole prey. A whole prey diet means feeding your ferret with mice, rats, quail, or other small animal carcasses. Besides that, you can give your ferrets chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, and any other meat/bones/organs there are. The trick with raw meat diet is that you have to give them balanced food. That means you have to combine meat, bones, and organs. You can’t give them only meat, or only meat and organs without bones. You have to combine all 3 factors to keep them healthy. It might sound complicated, but you can make a feeding schedule and use it as a reminder when it is time for bones and when it is time for organs.
Ferret Kibble
The second option is to feed your ferret kibble. Now, kibble is not as good as raw meat nutrition, but there are a few kibbles that can be considered as one of the best foods for ferrets. Kibble is a good option for people who don’t want or can’t deal with raw meat. Cat grain-free kibble is good cat food for ferrets. Besides the grain-free option, you also have to make sure the kibble has a high percentage of protein and fat, with a low percentage of fiber. I don’t want to go into details now, but if you want to find good ferret kibble, read my post about picking the best kibble for ferrets because I have listed the exact percentage and some other requirements you have to respect.
What Are Good Snacks For Ferrets?
As you can imagine, the best ferret treats are similar to the best foods for ferrets. Here too you can pick one among two options or you can even combine them from time to time.
Raw Meat Snacks
This category is a natural diet part of good snacks for ferrets. Yes, you can use small pieces of raw meat as a snack too. But, that is not the most popular snack. The most popular ferret snack is a raw egg. They love it and it helps them with digestion so it is a good idea to give it to your ferret at least once a week. There are people who cook meat for their ferrets, but I don’t think that is necessary. You can cook the meat although it is better to give it raw since cooking lowers the nutritional value of meat.
Other Ferret Snacks
Other ferret snacks you can buy in pet stores and those snacks don’t have to be labeled only as ferret snacks. You can choose them the same way you would choose a kibble. Look for a grain-free snack, rich in proteins and fat and low in fibers. One of the most popular snacks in this category is salmon oil. You can buy a bottle of salmon oil and give it to your ferret once a week. It acts as a raw egg, it is delicious and it helps with digestion. Also, it keeps their coat beautiful and shiny. Another pretty popular snack among ferrets is salmon paste. The paste is a good replacement for malt paste ferret owners used to give to their ferrets. The salmon paste is better because it doesn’t have sugar like the malt paste people usually give to cats to help them with hairballs.
What Food Should You Avoid?
We’ve already established that there are best foods for ferrets, but what about bad ones. Here you can read what foods you should avoid when it comes to your ferret’s health and why.
Meat With Spices
What you mustn’t do with ferret’s nutrition is to use spices. Don’t use salt, pepper, or any other spice or condiment with raw or cooked meat you want to give to your ferret. That means you can’t share your lunch with your ferret because the condiments in the meal can harm your ferret. They don’t need additional salt, sesame, oregano, or some other spice for enhancing flavors, they love meat.
Dog’s Food
When it comes to kibble, there is a difference between cat’s and dog’s food. Most high-quality cat kibble is good for ferrets, but most high-quality dog kibble isn’t good for ferrets. Dogs and ferrets don’t share many nutritional similarities, while cats and ferrets do. That is why you can use cat food to feed your ferret. Actually, there are many cats food that is good for your ferret, even better than some ferret kibble.
Low-Quality Kibble
A low-quality kibble is a kibble that doesn’t have the nutritional requirements ferret food should have. That means they aren’t high in proteins or fats, they are high in fiber and they are high in sugar. Most low-quality kibbles have vegetables and fruit because they are cheaper and easier to transform and add to kibble. You should avoid kibble with peas, corn, and other grain since they aren’t good for ferrets. Especially peas since they can cause bladder stones in ferrets that can seriously harm them because they can cause a blockage.
FAQ
Is Cat Food Good For Ferrets?
Yes, high-quality grain-free cat food is good for ferrets since cats and ferrets have similar nutritional requirements.
What Cat Food Is Best For Ferrets?
Cat food that is high in proteins and fats, low in fibers and grain is a good option for ferrets. You can read more about ferret kibble in my post about the best ferret kibble.
Is Kaytee Ferret Food Good?
Although Kaytee food checks the requirements when it comes to protein and fat percentage, it is not a good ferret food. The reason for that is because they still use peas in their mixture, although it is known that peas cause bladder stones in ferrets. That is dangerous because they can cause blocage of their intestines which can lead to death.
Is Marshall Food Good For Ferrets?
Unfortunately, Marshall food is not a good option for your ferret. Their food is high in sugar and other nutrients that can cause your ferret digestive problems. The main problem with this food is that it is full of filler ingredients (grain) that don’t have any value to the ferret’s nutrition.
Is Wysong A Good Ferret Food?
Yes, Wysong is one of the best options when it comes to the best foods for ferrets. They are high in fats and proteins, low in fibers and they are grain-free. Most ferrets that end up on Wysong have enough energy and good health.
Is Zupreem Ferret Food Good?
Zupreem is not a good option for your ferret since its ingredient list doesn’t have that many animal products on it. A good kibble has to have meat on the first 3 spots on the ingredients list, this is a food that doesn’t check that requirement.
Conclusion
Raw meat diet is the best choice for a ferret. But, there are people who can’t provide their ferrets that and that is where a high-quality kibble enters. What is your category? Do you feed your ferret raw meat or high-quality kibble? Share your experience about the best foods for ferrets in the comments below and subscribe to our newsletter!
