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Food / Treats

The most important thing to remember when deciding what food and or treats to provide to your ferret is that ferrets are obligate carnivores. This means that they require animal protein and cannot process vegetable protein or gain nutrients from vegetables. This is because ferrets lack a cecum, the section of intestine that helps omnivores like us process vegetables.

Also, from the time food enters the ferret's body until the time it exits is a matter of only a few hours. Because of this, ferrets need high quality food with high levels of fats and protein because as the body has less time to absorb these important nutrients. In Ferrets for Dummies (2000), Kim Schilling recommends that the food you feed your ferret contain at least 34% protein and 20% fat. We also recommend that when you read the ingredients on the label that the first ingredient should be an animal-based product and that at least 3-4 of the first 6 ingredients be sources of animal-based protein. Many high quality cat and kitten foods meet the important nutrient requirements of ferrets and are acceptable to feed your ferret as well as many of the foods marketed directly to ferrets. It is important to read the labels closely to determine what is the best food for your pet.