To keep tiny predators in captivity is not easy, you need to know exactly what ferrets eat, and only then get a new funny pet for your family. Inexperienced people can destroy furry animals, offering them sweets or other food from their table, not all ready-made pet food is suitable for our handsome men.
What do ferrets eat in nature?
The best way to understand what ferrets eat is to learn about the life of their nearest wild relatives in the natural habitat. Relatives of our heroes are ermines, weasels and mink, they all make up a beautiful but predatory family of cunies. There are steppe and forest ferrets, the range of which extends from Siberia to Central Europe, and the American black-footed ferret, living in the United States and Canada.
Even the largest steppe species of animals does not exceed 56 cm in length, so it is not surprising that ferrets in nature are mostly small live animals - gophers, spittle, rats, mice, toads, ducks, young rabbits, rabbits, large insects. Domesticated fritters originate from forest ferrets, the length of the body of these animals is up to 51 cm, mainly they were taken out for the destruction of harmful rodents.
What to feed the ferret at home?
Understanding what ferrets eat at home, one must always remember one important thing - our heroes are obligate (specialized) predators. They eat in nature mostly comparable in size animals, so for our pet, a diet of venison meat, wild boar, cow or sheep is not the best option. Better assimilated ferrets young veal or lamb, some kinds of offal.
What is the food for the ferret?
Many lovers do not particularly care about the problem that ferrets eat, buying ready-made canned food or dry rations for their sweet predators. These animals in captivity are more difficult to meet than a cat or a dog, so it is sometimes difficult to get specialized feeds at a local pet store. Some products with ferret photos on the package have a poor composition, bring more harm to pet pets than good. In the question of what kind of dry food to feed the ferret, it is better to obey the advice of experts who recommend products of the brand Evo Ferret and Bosch Totally Ferret.
The best specialized ferret food:
- Totally Ferret Baby - an excellent diet for young individuals, ferrets eat it perfectly in any phase of development.
- Totally Ferret Active - if you are concerned about the quality of nutrition of adult animals older than a year, then this German food will be the best solution.
- Totally Ferret Senior - this food is optimal for a ferret, which is in venerable age.
- Evo Ferret - one of the best non-grain products for ferrets professional class, ferrets eat it with great pleasure.
Cat food for domestic ferrets:
- Orijen Cat and Kitten is a Canadian product in which 75% protein is completely non-grain. Experts do not recommend offering this product to animals with white fur.
- > GRNADORF rabbit with rice sterilized - a Belgian product with a reduced grain content, a high percentage of protein, can be fed to white breeds of ferrets.
- Flatazor Crocktail Chaton is a French ration of the best raw materials, specially developed for pregnant and lactating females.
- FELIDAE, Grain Free pure ELEMENT S - grain-free high-protein feed, Holistic class, produced in the USA, is made on the basis of quality poultry meat and ocean fish.
- GO! Natural. Fit + Free - food class holistic, contains poultry meat and salmon.
- Eukanuba Kitten Chicken & Liver - a balanced composition with a normal protein content, is allowed to be given to pregnant and lactating individuals.
What kind of vegetables can ferrets?
Solving the problem that it is better to eat ferrets, home owners often offer a variety of vegetarian food. The intestine of our predators does not cope with the cleavage of the cellulose, so ill-considered experiments in this matter can lead to bad consequences. As an additive to the main dishes, it is allowed to give the animals occasionally some types of vegetables, after cutting them in small pieces.
What vegetables are eaten by ferrets:
- tomatoes;
- cucumbers;
- pumpkin;
- broccoli;
- radish;
- Bell pepper;
- melon;
- watermelon.
What kind of fruit can be given to ferrets?
Fruits occupy an extremely small percentage of the diet of fluffy predators, so it is better for them to take the role of a rare delicacy in the matter of eating domestic ferrets. The danger is represented by sweet varieties of fruits, the stomach of our pets with difficulty digesting sugars. We solve the problem than feed the ferret, carefully, we offer them plant products rarely and in small quantities.
What fruit is eaten by ferrets:
- apples;
- pears;
- bananas (except for dried fruits);
- mango;
- pineapples.
Meat for ferrets when fed
Natural habitat conditions are the best option, but not all owners will be able to provide pets with a natural diet, seeking animals for living mice, worms, cockroaches, young chickens. Professional feeds are expensive, so amateurs with an average income in question, than you can feed the ferret, give preference to personally cooked homemade food.
What kind of meat do ferrets eat:
- duck;
- a hen;
- turkey;
- young beef;
- rabbit;
- by-products;
- trout;
- mackerel;
- flounder;
- cod;
- horse mackerel;
- quail eggs (a couple of pieces a week);
- boiled chicken eggs (one in two weeks);
- shrimp (a couple of pieces a week).
How many times a day to feed the ferret
The accelerated metabolism of these nimble predators differs from the digestive processes of cats and dogs, they need to constantly replenish energy reserves. Inexperienced amateurs translate them into 2 meals, little understanding of the case, how many times a day to feed the ferret. This approach leads to starvation and deterioration of the active animals. It is best to provide pets with open access to the bowl with food throughout the day.
Than you can not feed ferrets?
Feeding ferrets mainly produce products that contain a high percentage of valuable protein and a small number of grain components. For this reason, dog food is not recommended to buy, and non-grain cat diets are suitable for our pets well. It is advisable to bypass the food of the economy class, they contain a huge percentage of cereals and potatoes. It is not recommended to feed ferrets to the following fish species: pollock, blue whiting, capelin, sprat, roach, carp, pike, crucian carp, burbot, perch, sardine, sea bream, smelt.
What can not be given to ferrets:
- milk;
- sour cream;
- pork;
- sausage;
- smoked meat and fried meat;
- dishes with spices;
- citrus;
- flour products;
- candies;
- grapes;
- dried apricots;
- figs;
- spices;
- mushrooms;
- nuts;
- bow;
- garlic;
- salty foods;
- products from soy.
Home ferret diet
In the question of how much a domestic ferret eats a day, among amateurs there is much controversy. According to observations of specialists, ferrets can come to the bowl and feeder from 7 to 10 times a day, consuming food in small portions, so you need to constantly keep the bowl filled. Sexually mature specimens require up to 400 g of products, young plants consume half the food. It is desirable to distribute the main products as follows:
- ferrets eat at least 35% of animal protein;
- up to 22% - fats;
- up to 20% - carbohydrates;
- up to 3% - vegetable fiber.