There seems to be yet another food debate running, so I'd like to add some
of my own experiences here.
 
I used alot of different ferret foods when I first became involved with
ferrets, and after starting the shelter.  Many foods recommended contain
alot of corn and grain products which are pretty useless to ferrets.
Ferrets need a diet high in animal protein, not plant protein!  They also
need a diet high in animal fat to provide the proper balance and energy to
utilize the proteins.
 
BTW, I've added a section to my web page on ferret nutrition written by a
veterinarian and nutritional consultant.  It explains what is good and bad
in ferret foods on the market, and how to choose a good food.  I hope all of
you will check it out.  Excellent reading!  My web address is
http://www.flash.net/~ffrs
 
Through my experiences in sheltering, I learned that Iams Kitten Food was
much better for the ferrets and began using that, I saw quite a difference
from the old foods (ProPlan, Kaytee, L & M, Marshall's Ferret Food, Mazuri,
and several others).  Running a shelter you see all kinds of ferrets in all
kinds of good and bad nutritional health.  They did better on the Iams than
the other foods, but when I switched later to Totally Ferret, the results
were *astounding*!  Many who had just been getting by on the Iams, became
much healthier and more active, and some recovered from whatever was ailing
them at remarkable rates on this food.
 
I have switched completely to TF (but still use Iams when it is *donated* to
the shelter from time to time, I feed it to the youngest and healthiest kids
here, those 3 and up ONLY get TF, any other foods donated with ferrets that
come in are either rejected or trashed...that's how strongly I feel about
the crappy foods on the market) and even though TF is expensive by some
standards, it lasts longer, there's less poop in the boxes and the kids feel
great!  That is worth alot to me, in fact, it is *everything*.  How can I
call myself a shelter and claim to be providing the best of care for these
kids and not provide them with the best possible diet also?!!!
 
Actually, in dividing out the costs of feeding TF I found that it only costs
about 65 to 80 cents a day per ferret (depending on how much the ferret
consumes...boys eat more) to feed TF, that's about the cost of a drink at a
fast-food place, a ferret is certainly worth that!!!
 
You may note that the ingredients in Iams Kitten Food and Totally Ferret are
quite similar, but it seems to be the quantity of each ingredient and the
*balance* of nutrition that makes the difference.  Read the Ferret Nutrition
document on my website and you'll at least understand why so many so-called
"ferret foods" are not good for ferrets, you'll learn how to read an
ingredient label, and you'll also see how many foods are simply mink chows
re-labelled for ferrets.  Mink are bred and raised for their *coats*, not
for longevity.  Most are killed at a young age, so this is why some foods
will give mink and ferrets alike a beautiful and shiney coat, but do very
little for keeping them healthy throughout their lifetime.  Don't fall for
the advertising and marketing, do the reading and learn for yourselves how
to choose the proper diet for your fuzzy-child.
 
Trish
Director, Ferrets First Rescue & Shelter
[Posted in FML issue 1919]