human food

Question
I have two young male ferrets they are both healthy, playful and love  trying to get human food I try to keep it out of their room but the other morning i was letting them play while i was eating breakfast and the younger of the two stole a piece of my toast with peanut butter on it. Is that OK? Is the anything that I should make sure they don't get?

Answer
Hi Jaie,

Ferrets are obligate carnivores, which means that their short digestive tracts can only digest meat. They should not be allowed fruits or vegetables of any kind because while some ferrets get lucky and escape intestinal blockages from these types of foods, others don't get so lucky. You should feed them a high quality ferret food and you can (and should) enrich their diet with different things such as chicken, turkey, beef or other meats. You can also try feeding them feeder mice that you can buy live or frozen.

Ferrets shouldn't be allowed wheat or grains either. This is another reason why checking your labels on the food and treats you bring home for the ferrets is so important. First, you want to look for the protein content. The food needs to have at least 35% protein in it and about 20% fat in it with less than 3% fiber. Second, if corn, wheat, soy or any similar products are listed in the first three ingredients of the food, then don't buy it. Ferrets can't digest these kinds of things, so it isn't suitable for a ferret diet. Also, be careful about sugars in your ferret's diet because too much sugar can lead to insulinoma, which is somewhat similar to diabetes.

As a side note, peanut butter is not terrible as a treat for ferrets in really small amounts.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have further questions.

Sincerely,
Emilee Andrews