Hi all!  Well, I said last time that I had a few questions, so I hope you
will be kind enough to give me your opinions.  Up until I started reading
the FML, I hadn't put much thought into what we were feeding our little
babies - but the amount of discussion here as to what is (and perhaps more
to the point, what is NOT) good food for ferrets has got me worried.  When
we got our first two babies, Sinbad and Che, we were under the belief that
ferrets are "obligate carnivores", that is, that in a natural state, they
would survive on the flesh of other animals.  Well, our little girls have
been surviving on raw minced beef ever since.  We always leave them with
some dry kitten food in case they run out of mince, but they generally turn
their nose up at it, and will even dig it all out of their dish, as if to
say "this stuff is dirt, not food!" On the other hand, they adore the mince,
especially if we hand feed it to them...even if they're full and don't want
to eat any more, they'll keep taking it and stashing it away for later.
Apart from that, they get the regular raisins, peanut butter (except for
Millie who thinks it's DISGUSTING!!  and acts like we're trying to POISON
her!) and ferrotone treats.  Is this diet OK, or have we been
unintentionally harming our darlings?
 
Also, what should a ferret's fur be like?  When we got Sinbad, she was 6 wks
old and incredibly soft and silky.  Millie is beautifully soft too, at 11
wks old.  But Sinbad (who is now about 6mths) has gone quite thick and
coarse.  I was wondering if Millie's fur will also change or if it's an
individual ferret thing?  Could it be dietary?  If so, how could we improve
it?
 
I guess I could have asked all that in a shorter way, but once I start
talking about the ferret babies...well, you all know what it's like - people
listening to you with eyes glazed as you tell them yet another cute story
about what your darlings did last night...nice to know there are other
ferret obsessed people around.  Heaps more to share, but once again, I've
rambled enough.  If you don't want to fill up the fml with answers to
questions that have probably been asked a thousand times already, you could
email me at [log in to unmask]
 
Warmest regards, Sophie.
[Posted in FML issue 1521]