New Ferret Chews Bowl & Water Bottle

Question
I just bought a ferret named Minxy from my local Petland, and she is a sweety, or so I think. She's young. I'm not sure how old but they said they knew she was under 6 mo., and she's very small. Wish I knew a way to tell the age better.

She's active, playful, and as far as I can tell a healthy ferret that likes to sleep most of the day and have fun while out of her cage.

I however have a concern, and I'm not even sure if it's something I should worry about. She is opting to chew on her food bowl while eating and her water bottle while drinking. I'm not really sure why.. I mean, I can kind of see the water bottle - trying to get the water out.. but the food bowl she typically takes out a piece and eats it beside the bowl and she'll randomly lift her head up during or after each piece to bite the heck out of the bowl!

Is this normal for young ferrets? Is it ever going to stop or is there something I can do to deter her from doing this sort of thing? Or is there possibly something wrong with her?

As far as poop and pee go - as far as I can tell it's fine. She goes quite a bit, it's normal poo and I'm pretty sure she pees quite a bit too (not as easily noticeable in her cage of course).

Her food is Marshall's Premium Diet, and she seems to eat it fine I suppose. She doesn't eat a whole lot of it but I notice she usually eats after play time. She drinks a lot of water, and I've been putting Marshall's Bi-Odor in her water daily as directed.

Thanks for your time.

Answer
Hi Holly:

What you are describing makes me think that she is not happy with something.  The fact that you are putting an additive in her water is where I would start. I've never seen it recommended to put anything except pure, clean water in their water bottles - so toss the 'bi-odor', which doesn't do much anyway, and let your little one have fresh water.  You might want to be sure that the water bottle is working well also. If it is not secured tightly to the cage, it can slip from side to side and she may not be getting water every time she tries.

I'm assuming you didn't change her food when you got her. Ferrets tend to "imprint" on their food and often don't even recognize other foods as being food unless they are introduced to them as a very young kit. You would be doing her a great favor by offering her a *mixture* of 3 or more of the "premium" ferret foods such as Marshalls, Totally Ferret and maybe some 8 in 1 Ultimate or Path Valley ferret food (just don't EVER feed Kaytee food, especially their 'FIESTA MIX', as it contains dried fruit which is deadly to ferrets and often causes intestinal blockages.  Here is a link to some great ferret foods you might consider and their full content. Ferrets need at LEAST 34% protein in their food, and they need to have taurine and a high fat content:

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

The more variety your ferret is exposed to as a kit, the better, as you will want her to be open to trying new foods as she ages. Always remember that your ferret is an "obligate carnivore", which means her digestive system is designed to eat ONLY meat (or pelleted meat), so meat and/or meat byproducts should be the only items in the list of the first four or five ingredients.

I stronly recommend a book called FERRETS FOR DUMMIES by Kim Schilling for all old and new ferret owners.  You can also get a LOT of general ferret care information at:

http://www.ferretcentral.org

Hope that helps - best of luck to you and your little girl. I think she will stop biting the food and water dispensers when she has water she likes and maybe some other foods added into her current kibble (add just a little at a time, increasing the amount of new food each time you refill the dish).  Hopefully that will make a big difference!

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers