what can ferrets eat?

Question
i was wondering if i could give ferrets people food, not as a full diet but as a snack. like fruits and veggies. i was eatting dried cranberries and dropped one and she ate it and loved it. so i wanted to know if that was ok, also if they are allergic to any food like dogs i would like to know about that too! thanks so much!
annie

Answer
Hi Annie:

So, your little one sneaked a snack? LOL The truth is that ferrets are what is called "obligate carnivores", which means that her whole digestive system is made for meat. The best thing for your ferret is a dry kibbled diet made especially for ferrets, such as Totally Ferret, 8 in 1 Ultimate, Path Valley Ferret Food, Zupreem, and several other foods that you can find easily online at either The Ferret Store, or Ferret Depot, or other ferret speciality sites online.  Some will tell you that cat food or Kitten food is okay, but it doesn't really meet a ferret's high protein needs, so if you want your ferret to live long, feed a food made especially for ferrets.  

"Dangerous" things for ferrets: chocolate, anything sugary (it messes with their blood sugar level), dried fruits (BEWARE of Kaytee Fiesta, as it has dried fruits and many ferrets have died after eating it; a class action lawsuit is in progress in regards to the distribution of it because it is so dangerous to ferrets).  Ferrets tend to LOVE to eat all kinds of things that are potentially deadly to them: pencil erasers, styrofoam, rubber of any kind, soft plastic...they consider all of that good to eat and many ferrets have died of intestinal blockages as a result, so do be careful of these items specifically.

A ferret has a very short digestive system, so dried fruits and other foods like that pass thru basically undigested (if you're lucky).  The problem comes when they get stuck somewhere in the bowel and can cause an obstruction. For that reason, foods other than kibble or pieces of chicken or turkey really aren't good for your ferret.  I do know people who indulge their ferrets with ONE occasional raisin or craisin and they cut it into 1/4ths and make four little treats out of it, so the pieces are small enough to pass thru the digestive system.  I don't specifically recommend that, but if you really *must* give that as a treat, please do cut it into quarters for her safety.Ferrets also love raisins, but they are recently being linked to kidney failure after feeding them over a period of time. Apparently there is a cumulative effect on little ferret kidneys.

Other people food that is "safe" to feed as a treat (treat being only 3 or 4 pieces a day) are regular unsweetened Cheerios. You want to limit anything that isn't nutritive, because ferrets are small and their food intake in a day isn't a large amount, so it's important that it be good nutrition for them.

Some great and safe treats for ferrets can be found on ferret specialty stores and some pet stores. The Ferret Store divides their treats into "healthy" and "unhealthy", so you can find all healthy treats here: http://www.ferretstore.com/threhefetr.html  Cut and paste the link into your browser. It's really not worth the worry to feed our 'kids' unhealthy things - at least not for me. I think it's great that they divide them for us so we don't have to read every label or buy not knowing what we're getting :-) Ferret lovers who have lost their ferrets to unhealthy foods and treats united last year and begged distributors to do this for us - and they listened. The Ferret Depot has also done the same thing so we can give our 'kids' healthy treats.

There's a great book for both new and experienced ferret owners called "FERRETS FOR DUMMIES" by Kim Schilling, and I highly recommend it to everyone who owns a ferret. You can pick a copy up really reasonably at http://www.half.com .

Thanks for your question. I hope your little one has been good and maybe Santa will bring her some healthy treats for the holidays :-)

sincerely,
jacquie rodgers