milk and ferrets.

Question
Hey. My ferret is one year old. I got him in a pet store about 1 and 1/2 months ago. I am feeding him Marshall. I would like to know if I can give him milk. After all, he is a mammal. Ouuu, he comes to me when I whistle too, making that chicken nose, which would be a ferret nose, hehe. Why??
Thank you,
Aires


Answer
Hi Aires,

Congratulations on being a new ferret parent!

To answer your question, milk is not good for ferrets at all. It will give a ferret diarrhea which can be very dangerous as it can lead to dehydration and other things. So, you should most definitely not give your little guy milk.

That little chirping funny noise ferrets make is called "dooking". That is a very good sign! It means your little guy is happy! Keep up the good work.

Something I like to give new ferret parents that write in is this neat little chart that lists all the food that ferret parents feed their kids. It ranks all the foods and lists the first 5 or 6 ingredients in the foods.

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

As you can see, Marshall's isn't the best food you can feed a ferret. I don't mean to overstep any bounds or be rude by telling you this, I would just like to point out that Marshall's isn't a good food to feed them and it is more expensive than the 8-in-1 Ultimate Ferret food that is ranked the highest on this chart. When looking at a ferret food, you should be looking for at least 30% protein, 20% fat and no more than 3% fiber. Also, when you look at the list of ingredient breakdown on the bag, it shouldn't have corn, soy or wheat products listed in the first three (really the first four or five) ingredients. Food companies will add corn and wheat products as a filler and a binder for the kibble. Ferrets are obligate carnivores which means they can only digest meat. Being exposed to corn on a regular basis can be detrimental to their overall health. It can cause gastrointestinal  blockages, that if not caught in time, will cause the need for a very painful surgery for your fuzzy or even a very painful end.

If you decide to switch your food, it needs to be done gradually, over a few weeks. The first week, you should mix about 85% of the old food and 15% of the new food. The next week, try 75% old food and 25% new food and so on. This needs to be done this way because ferrets (especially young ferrets) imprint on their food. If they are given a certain food for a long time, they don't recognize anything else as food. Switching their food gradually is a nice way to trick the ferret into eating a new food.

I hope this information helped and if you need anything else, please don't hesitate to ask.

Sincerely,
Emilee Andrews