I got my ferret from a petstore when she was a kit- a few weeks old, and have never been able to get her to eat anything besides her dry ferret food- not even baby food..wondering if this is the norm? She is 4 months old now.
Answers:
Ferrets are imprinted on different tastes while they are still young, so now is the time for you to get yours used to a few other things, baby food being one of them.
I have four ferrets and used two different ways to get them to try it and once they tried they started liking it alright.
One of my females hates being dirty and is very picky. So when I want her to try something new I usually just smear it on her paw or on her belly. She hates being "dirty" even more than having to taste new things that she will clean herself and lick it off.
Another way is to put the baby food on a saucer and drizzle FERRETONE on the top of it. I have yet to find a ferret that could resist FERRETONE forever, though it took some tricks to get my oldest female to like it at first. I drizzle FERRETONE on anything I want them to try and I use it for grooming purpose by dripping some on their bellies. I can clean their ears and clip their nails while they lick their bellies clean.
My four are on a mix of 8in1Ultimate Crunchy Ferret Food and Maxximum Kitten. They also get FerretLax for hair balls prevention, FerretVite vitamin supplement, Ferretone and the occasional Yogies treat. Those aren't really the best thing for them, but they only get half of one when we practice our tricks(sit up, roll over, jump through hoops). Another treat they'll get for just that reason is 1/4 to 1/2 of a raisin.
I do offer other things occasionally, but they haven't seemed interested in anything else. Last thing I tried was a half defrosted raw chicken wing. I will keep offering things like that because just the smell of it is considered an enrichment. A ferrets sense of smell is very keen and they do like sniffing out new things.
I'd suggest that you also offer, along with the Ferret food, some fresh fruits and vegetables. You may also want to offer some wood blocks for chewing and the occasional treat.
Ferrets are carnivores, I wouldnt give anything else besides ferret food because thats what its geared for. Some people use kitten food HOWEVER you should compare and contrast the ingredients and protien levels.
You can give chicken in treats and things like that maybe even some sardines once in a while. There are some good ferrets sources online
First of all, the above answerer is mistaken. Ferrets digestive systems are not made to handle fruits and veggies. The occasional raisin as an extra-special treat is okay, but they aren't omnivores - ferrets are strictly carnivorous. Also, they aren't rodents with teeth that keep growing like hamsters or rats. They don't need wood to chew on. In fact, it would probably to harmful to them.
My ferrets eat their ferret food (Zupreem + Totally Ferret) and Iams Kitten. Plus, when they get sick they eat Canine/Feline a/d (Hill's Science Diet), Gerber Chicken baby food (stage 2) and this stuff the vet gave me called Carnivore Care.
At 4 months, your ferret should still be open to new foods. The keyword here is "should" though. You should try integrating another high-quality ferret food into his diet. Just start adding it to her bowl in addition to her regular food. The only reason you'd need to feed your fert baby food is if she's sick. It might be a good idea to try and familiarize her with it. The way I got mine to eat soft foods was I got a feeding syringe from the vet and "force" fed a little. They soon realized they liked the taste.
If your ferret doesn't like anything but her ferret food, then you don't really need to worry. One of the biggest reasons ferret owners feed more than one type of food is because when they are mature, it is really hard for them to accept new foods and heaven forbid they stop making your particular brand of food.
Notsoswan is totally correct. every now and than, I will give my weasels a taste of banana or peanut butter as an added treat, but only every now and then, and only a taste. The also love lunch meat. If you try this, stick to a lower sodium variety. I tried tuna once, and they turned their noses up at it. There is also a wide variety of ferret treats out there. My two live Bandits treats. Again, these are all just treat options, should not be overfed, and not replacements for a regular diet. Just like people, ferrets have different tastes, and what one likes another will walk away from. Have a ball with your new fuzzy! Giver her lots of attention and care, she'll love you with all her heart!
Please don't give your ferret wood blocks or anything else designed for rodents. Ferrets are not rodents.
I had a couple of ferrets who would only eat ferret food, and then some who liked the occasional treat like a raisin or piece of banana. Ferrets are carnivores, so if you want to try feeding them something other than ferret food, try meat! You have to be very careful with foods like that because too many raisins for instance can cause serious health problems.
If you aren't already you should be giving your ferret a liquid vitamin supplement (which I've never seen a ferret turn down) like FerretVite. But read the bottle carefully and never give too much. Also store the vitamins away where your ferret can't get the bottle because a vitamin overdose can be fatal. (The cap is screw on however one time my ferrets got the dang thing off but I caught them before it was too late!)
you needed to start her out on several different ferret food when you first got her, because they get used to one food because of the smell. Get another kind of ferret food and gradually mix some of it with her current food, to get her use to it. Just mix in a little at first, because changing foods to fast can upset her stomach. As for treats, mine like moist cat food treats. Mine also like raisins and dried bananas, although it not really good for them to eat anything sweet, but I just don't give them very much. Also don''t give them any vegetables, they are carnivore (meat eaters) and lack the enzyme to digest them
My first ferret has never wanted to eat anything other than ferret food, except for sugary things she shouldn't. It's perfectly fine if she never wants to eat anything else, but try to get her to eat several different kinds of ferret food. And as everyone else has said, ferrets are NOT rodents and anyone who thinks so has no experience with them.
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I was looking for info on what I could give my ferret as a snack and I have a few ideas now so thx for that! I also want to share what we just went thru with our little ferret, Rommy. He had to go to the vet this week and, to our surprise, was diagnosed with Gingivitis! Rommy had been stealing the dogs hard food and this was the cause of the Gingivitis. He is recovering very well and acts like he feels 100% better! But he hated, and I mean HATED, the meds! So I made him a nice breakfast blend that got him to take the meds every single time! I crushed up some of his dry food and mixed hot water in it, put the liquid meds in the wet food mix and then add a little FerretLax in it and mix it all up. He ate every bit of it every single day! The vet said it was fine to give the meds like that. Now every morning Rommy is standing at attention waiting for his breakfast blend! He is so sweet! But I don't have to tell anyone reading this blog that ferrets are the sweetest little animals ever!! ;)
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