We have had similar problems with our ferts--they are on Mazuri now, but it
has happened with other types of food.  When we first got our babygirl
Jasmine, she was our only fert.  We were living in an efficiency apartment
at the time--just one big room, so we could listen to her activity at
night(My big macho man fiance who made fun of me for cuddling her so much
that first day was totally hysterical that first night we had her: "Are you
sure she's breathing?  Maybe you should go check.  Are you sure she's all
right?  I'm going to go check, just to make sure she's not cold or
anything.").  ;-)
 
She wolfs her food sometimes, not chewing it at all, so she chokes on it a
lot.  (So does our other baby, Bear, so I guess it's not that unusual).
It's gotten to the point that when we hear choking sounds coming from the
area of the food dish, we yell in unison: "How many times have we told
you--CHEW your food!"
 
Then the choking ferret just gives us a LOOK and goes back to scarfing down
food and choking, just to make us mad.
 
Oh, sometimes they do get hairballs, and a simple kitten hairball remedy
works wonders on ours.  Cheap, too.
 
Hillary & Jerry: "CHEW your food!"
Jasmine & Bear: "Cough, choke, gasp, wheeze, etc...."
[Posted in FML issue 1783]