What do you feed your ferrets?
By oceangirl
@oceangirl (170)
United States
December 26, 2006 5:09pm CST
Do you feed yours Totally Ferret, some other kind of special ferret diet, or something else? Do you feed them meat or some kind of special recipe?
We would love to be able to feed ours Totally Ferret. We used to. But it is incredibly expensive! Plus it's tough to find here, so we started having to have it shipped. It costs an unreal amount of money to ship bags big enough to bother.
So we feed Iams Kitten. They seem to do well enough on it. Any suggestions?
2 people like this
4 responses
@Signal20 (2281)
• United States
27 Dec 06
I'd check with your vet, I've always heard that cat/kitten food wasn't good for ferrets, has too much of something or other in it for them-but the foods do seem to be similar. I don't have a pet store close to me, so when I run out and haven't stocked an extra bag, or if my dogs decide to eat the bag I do have lol, I'll give them a little cat food for a day or two till I get to the store. My ferrets are very finicky, they don't like meat or eggs. I tried giving it to them when they were young, but they wanted no part of it, unfortunately-it would be so much easier for me if they would, I have 2 other animals I make special food for lol. I started them on that Marshall's food, but that got way too expensive for me, and a gal at the store said that because of the fish in it, that makes they're poop even stinkier. I use one of the 8 in 1 brands, usually the chicken one. They seem to really like that brand. I've tried a couple of the others, like the one you mentioned I think that's the one,-picked it up on sale once real cheap and of course they wouldn't touch it. They're so picky lol. But, like I said, check with the vet on the kitten food. Iams is pretty expensive as well, may be cheaper if you could find another brand of ferret food.
1 person likes this
@Signal20 (2281)
• United States
27 Dec 06
You live in the states, have you ever seen this site? Drs. Foster & Smith, really good company. I've ordered everything from a 50 lb dog cage to flea meds to fish food, prices are pretty resonable too, especially if you can find stuff on sale/clearance. Shipping, eh, about the same as everywhere else really, what I do, I think it's a flat rate 8.00 for orders up to 30.00(something like that anyway-check it before ordering), I just order a bunch of stuff to at least make the shipping "worthwhile", like I'll order 25.00 worth of stuff. They're pretty quick to ship, and I've never had to return anything or no problems with them.
1 person likes this
@oceangirl (170)
• United States
27 Dec 06
Thank you for all the help! I will definitely check the site out. We did check with our vet, and she seems to think Iams is okay, though a food made especially for ferrets would be better. I know it has to be a high quality kitten, not cat, food. I've always heard it's because of a ferret's high protein and fat requirements...
@mygreyparrot (1461)
• United States
28 Dec 06
Mine eat several different foods mixed. I haven't fed Totally Ferret in a few years. I usually feed TheFerretStore.Com's Superior Choice. I also feed Zupreem, Sheppard & Greene, and Ultimate. Marshall's is too fishy for me, and my kids don't like it. It's expensive, but worth it in the end. Mine don't like Iam's kitten at all, but it's not the worst food out there either.
1 person likes this
@mygreyparrot (1461)
• United States
28 Dec 06
A mix is a great idea. There have been stories of companies changing ingredients in one brand, and causing people's ferrets not to eat. Some ferrets are very finicky. At least if they are used to a few different foods you can just remove one or add another :). TheFerretStore food used to be much cheaper than it is now, but it's still a good food. I also give my ferrets meat every once in awhile, but only a few of them like it. They all love Duck Soup.
@oceangirl (170)
• United States
28 Dec 06
Okay, now I know I'm out of touch. I didn't know the ferret store had their own brand of food.
It sounds like a mix is probably best, then. :)
@mari61960 (4893)
• United States
28 Dec 06
Hi, there is a chart for ferret food comparison chart at www.theferretstore.com look under Ferret News and Info. Also www.petfooddirect.com has frequent great deals. This will help you know what you should be feeding for best nutrition. I am currently feeding a combo of 8 in 1 ultimate, Inovia feline or ferret, and Natural Gold.
Drs Foster&Smith offer Natural Gold at a good price. How many Ferrets do you have? I have two Goyle and Griffin. Good Luck
1 person likes this
@oceangirl (170)
• United States
28 Dec 06
Thanks for the info!
We have three currently. Two are older, and one is a little spitfire who has to have everything to herself. She loves us and hates other ferrets!
Maybe a combination of foods would be a good idea... Thanks for mentioning it!
@troopy (168)
• Australia
30 Dec 06
We have 2 ferrets and 7 babies. The adults love bbq chicken which is real good for them, pasta and good high protein cat food. The babies are now 3 weks and eat the dry cat food mixed with cat milk to soften it. Our ferrets wont eat wet cat food, they just get pretty much what we eat.
