Dear Selina,

>here's a question for the FML that I don't think has come up before..
>what would you think the ideal diet for a ferret would be? I think it
>would be chicken cheweasel cross - the benefits of whole prey, the
>convenience of kibble, and the rubbery texture that ferrets love, not
>to mention how bright and shiny their teeth would be.. thoughts?

I'm from Hungary also. I have 3 ferrets. Lui, my first ferret was
bought from a pet store almost 5 years ago. Unfortunately at that time
we didn't know too much about feeding, so we fed him mainly with kibble
and tinned cat food. Later I have read and learnt quite a lot from
internet, so I have started to give him meat (mainly boiled meat) --
he ate it, but he prefered tinned food than meat.

2 years later we have adopted Matyi -- he was 1 year old and his
previous owner told us Matyi ate only kibble and tinned cat food also.
Interestingly as I have offered meat, he had choosen it and since then
he has prefered meat than kibble and tinned food. What is more, I can
tell you that Lui was very jealous of Matyi, so since then Lui has
taken to eat meat instead of kibble.

This summer I have bought a kit from a breeder. This kit (Morgan) was
fed only with meat (poultry, rabbit, mice, rat) since weaning. I have
tried to give him some kibble (the same reason for example when
travelling) from the beginning but he doesn't want to eat any kind of
kibble or canned food. Matyi has arrived with yellow and very ugly
teeth. Since he has eaten meat, his teeth have become white -- and I
can tell the same thing about Lui. Now I feed my ferrets meat (and
sometimes with kibble -- when travelling). I cut raw meat (poultry with
bone, skin, liver, heart, etc -- or rabbit -- sometimes fish) to big
pieces, boil water -- and I pour some boiled, hot water into meat. They
like this juicy meat (certainly after chilling). They like eating mice
also -- they eat all part of mice. They have got sometimes fruits (only
peach, melon, grape, banana without peels and seeds), eggs (mainly
yolk), vegetables (only slicing cucumber). For treating they get dried
small fish and Ferretone. I think they have got all of needed nutrition
and vitamins. They are healthy (except Lui -- he has unfortunately
right gland adrenal disease -- but I think this is not because of
feeding), they have healthy teeth, skin and coat and we have to visit
vet very rarely.

When Lui was ill, I fed him Bob's Chicken gravy, because it was soft,
delicious and easy to eat. He liked it -- but as he became better, he
has prefered meat than BC gravy.

Kriszti, Lui, Matyi and Morgan

[Posted in FML 5427]