I have been owned by ferrets for only 20 years and am currently
surrounded by 46 of them. Whilst I have been feeding them a combination
of raw meat, kibble and lactose free milk for all of this time, it is
only in the past two years that I, like most ferret owners, have been
made aware of the benefits (or not) of feeding prey and now give them
weaner mice on an irregular basis (can't afford to do this every day
as it already costs me more than AU$150 per week to feed them all).

Over the years I have met only two ferrets who lived to ages older than
some of mine; one was 15 years and the other 13 years of age and to
hear that some have lived to 17 and 20 years just blows me away. Of all
the ferrets I have lost over the years, only two of mine, so far, have
lived to the age of 12 years; one ate only cat biscuits (kibble), milk
and all the Fruit Loops he could steal and died with perfect teeth, the
other ate a mixed diet - didn't have perfect teeth but was not affected
by dental problems during her life time. Six of the other ferrets who
have spent most of their lives here are currently in the 8 - 10 year
age bracket and eight are in the 6 - 8 year bracket. The majority of
the remaining group are in the 2 to 5 year range, with a couple of 6
to 18 month olds.

Some of my brood I have bred myself so I know the lineage, but most of
them have come through being either abandoned or surrendered boarders
therefore it will be hard to tell if it is diet or genetics which have
the biggest effect on their longevity. Because I don't feed a "natural"
diet I have to keep a constant eye on the dental condition of my
ferrets but it will be a very long time - until each ferret passes away
- before I can really be sure which way might give them a longer life
span and even then will I really know?

In the meantime, all my ferrets just love being fed - full stop and,
although I don't believe ferrets in the wild (if there is such a thing)
would survive more than about 5 years, I treasure every day I have my
ferrets with me and, no matter how short or long, I wish them the
longest life I am able to share with them.

Dianne.

[Posted in FML 5415]