Help! Diet!

Question
I have 1 2 year old ferret named Spaz and have been noticing that he is losing hair on his ears, face, tail and stomach. I took him to the vet to be checked for adrenal diseese and it was negative. The vet said it was probably an allergy to his food since he didn't have any problems when he was on Marshall food.

Right now I am feeding him Pedigree Dog food. His previous owner said this was fine so that is what I have been feeding him. Can this food cause him to be itchy?

PLEASE HELP!!!!

Answer
No No No Pedigree is as far from ferret appropriate food as it gets. Ferrets are obligated carnivores which basically means their bodies are built to breakdown and digest meat and meat only. Dog food also doesn't have the appropriate nutritional needs a ferret requires.

I would begin switching him immediately. And allergy to any of the ingredients can very well lead to hair loss among other serious complications.

A good ferret food should follow these requirements:
high protein (32%-38%)
Proteins should come from animal, not vegetable sources
The first 5 ingredients should all contain some kind of meat product
Vegetable proteins such as soy flour, soybean meal, corn gluten meal, or cereal grains (wheat, oats, barley, rye, or rice) listed as the first ingredient should be avoided
high fat (19%-22%)
high-quality, simple carbohydrate should be listed second or third in the ingredient list.
Fiber levels should be 2.5% or less
Taurine is an essential amino acid, along with lysine and methionine
Dyes and fillers are very unhealthy
Avoid anything preserved with ethoxyquin, BHA or BHT

Try feeding a mix of 2 or more foods

Some high quality foods I feel are appropriate and I use in my ferrets mix are
EVO ferret
Zupreem
Totally Ferret Venison
Drs. Foster and Smith Natural
8in1 Ultimate CRUNCHY (only the crunchy is an ok food)

Some feel it is ok to mix in a high quality kitten food I would only do this if you are already using a high quality ferret food.