Changing diet.

Question
Hello,

I've had three ferrets, Lilly, Bear and Arachne. Bear passed away over the weekend. He had insulonoma but we didn't catch it until it was too late. I'm afraid the diet I feed them caused this. When we adopted Lilly and Bear their previous owner was feeding them the cheap Wal-mart brand ferret food. We switched them over to Marshall's Ferret Diet and thats what they get now, but I still think its not good enough. I want to switch them to a diet of raw meat and animal stuffs, hopefully eventually to get them onto whole prey. However they're very stubborn.  

I've tried just giving them raw pork. Arachne seemed somewhat interested but Lilly stuck her nose up at it. I also tried feeding them some chicken baby food and then the baby food with some furovite mixed in, same reaction.

I've heard Wysong's dry food is one of the best on the market. My question is, would their Au Jus diets be good for ferrets? The only ingrediants are animal proteins, water, and guar gum. Its high in moisture but I assume any raw diet would be. Bear in mind this would only be a transition till I could get them to eat raw.

Is raw even a good idea? I've read about it but I have yet to speak to a vet.

Thank you.

Answer
Hi Stephen:

The B.A.R.F.(bones and raw flesh) diet actually isn't the best for ferrets, although they are obligate carnivores, requiring ONLY meat and meat by products to exist, as they have no caecum do digest vegetable proteins.  Because ferrets pick and nibble off and on all day long, the BARF diet tends to deterioriate and can spoil before they eat it.

What most good ferret owners do is make a "soup", which is a slurry of chicken (start with cooked, then move to raw IF little by little IF you want to; there is really no reason to however).  Personallly I like to save the work and use Hill's A/D (canned feline food you get from your vet by Rx) and thin it to gravy consistency with some water and warm in microwave oven, then put it down for them to eat. Yes, start with Ferretone around the edges to encourage them to eat it, that will probably help. You may even need to finger feed it until they get used to it. Soon they will be gobbling it up.  Given once a day, then will soon have shiny coats, put on some chubby weight and be nice healthy ferrets.

There are better 'staple' foods than Marshalls to be on for a daily basis also. Here is a list of foods graded from 10 to 1, with 10 being the best - try to choose one in the 10 or 9 category if possible. You can order online if necessary (that's what I have to do since I live in a small town). Here is that list:

   http://www.mdferretpaws.org/care/food_treats.html

Be sure to clean the 'soup' bowls as soon as they are finished eating, whether you make it yourself or use A/D, or Hill's I/D (also good). There are a ton of ferret "soup" recipes online. Do a search for "duck soup" (no there is no duck in it LOL, it's named after a ferret who was named "Duck" and the original soup idea was made by his daddy) and you will come up with a ton or them. Steer clear of any that have any molasses, honey or anything sweet in ANY form, as it is a direct cause of insulinoma.

Hope this helps. Ferret nutrition has a direct correlation to the longevity of a ferret. NO FRUITS, no sweets of any kind, nothing that ends in "ose" (it's a sugar), and your ferrets will be on the way to a great diet.

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers