More Dooks Nutrition

NOTE - this belongs to More Dooks and I only post it here because her site is down and has been for over 6 months.

Ferret Nutrition Basics: A Crash Course for Complete Newbies

*the following is a combination of my advice/opinions and solid fact. I've written it very simply and even given it silly illustrations it so that it's as easy to understand as possible. I encourage you to continue reading an learning from many sources :)

Carnivores (understanding ferret history and body design)

Ferret nutrition is pretty easy once you understand the most core of the basics: Ferrets are called "obligate carnivores". That means that:

1. they need meat to survive

2. they get all the nutrients they need from eating other animals

3. their body isn't built to digest anything that comes from a plant

Ferrets are domesticated from wild polecats, which evolved for years and years eating mostly mice, voles, rabbits, and frogs. They absolutely did not eat seeds, nuts, berries, fruits, or vegetables; they only ate other animals. With such a long evolution on this diet, ferrets are designed to eat meat.

Ferrets also have a very short digestive tract. Food only stays in their system for 2-4 hours before it's out the other end, so they need food that digests quickly and easily.

Protein and Fat (looking for good stuff in ferret food)

Meat is made up of protein and fat, so these are the first things you want to find on a food for your ferret.

No one has really done good research to decide on the exact minimum amounts of protein and fat required by ferrets, but here are a couple recommendations I've found in books and published papers:

-- 30% protein min & 15% fat min

-- 30% to 40% protein, 18% to 20% fat

-- 30%-35% protein, 15%-18% fat

-- no less than 34% protein, 20% fat

Notice that they're all a little different, since we don't have this down to an exact science.

In my opinion, the easiest rule of thumb is: Protein is good, fat is good. The more you can get the better. I look for foods that list high amounts on their labels. I haven't found any ferret/cat food that I think is "too high" in protein or fat, and contrary to what some believe high protein does not do any damage to a ferret's kidneys. That's a misunderstanding caused by the fact that high protein is damaging to pets that ALREADY have a kidney diesease.

Carbohydrates and Sugar (bad stuff that ferrets should avoid)

Carbohydrates are not required by ferrets AT ALL, and the amount they eat should be limited as much as possible.

It's a common opinion that feeding a ferrret a food with a lot of carbohydrates will cause pancreas tumors, called insulinoma. Insulinoma is very serious and can cause a ferret to die earlier, need vet care or surgery, and have a less enjoyable life. Sugars are carbohydrates and are especially bad for ferrets.

HOW to Pick Food that Avoids Carbohydrates and Sugars

Pet foods are required to list their protein, fat, fiber, and moisture percentages on their labels. They are not required to list their carbohydrate levels, so most brands don't.

There are 2 decent ways to try to make an estimate of the carbs in a ferret food, and pick something with as little as possible. I recommend using BOTH:

1. Carbs are what's leftover after you've accounted for all the protein, fat, fiber, moisture, and vitamins/minerals in the food. If you just keep looking for food with high protein and fat levels, it will likely also be low in carbs.

Find a ferret food. Take 100. Subtract from that the protein, fat, moisture, fibre, and ash listed on the label. That will give you a rough estimate of the carbohydrate % in the food.

2. Look at the ingredients list for the food. The first few ingredients make up most of the food, so focus on them. Meats, fish, eggs, fats and oils will be made up of mostly protein and fat. Fruits and vegetables will be made up of mostly carbohydrates.

Fruits are usually more sugary than vegetables, and there are some pure sugar ingredients like 'cane molasses', 'honey', and 'raisin juice' that you should REALLY watch out for.

A final note: there are no dry kibbles with 0 vegetables- The vegetable is what binds the meat together so that the kibbles keep their shape and form. Kibble can't be made using only meat, but if you choose well you can find something that is al least mostly meat.

References

*Disclaimer: this may not be a complete list.

Brown SA. Basic anatomy, physiology and husbandry. In: Hillyer EV, Quesenberry KE, editors. Ferrets, rabbits and rodents: clinical medicine and surgery. Philadelphia (PA): WB Saunders Co.; 1997. p. 3�.

Bixler, H., Ellis, C.: 2004. Ferret care and husbandry. Veterinary Clinics Exotic Animal Practice. 7: 227�5.

Bell, JA: 1999. Ferret Nutrition. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Exotic Animal Practice. 2(1): 169-192.

Schilling, K.: 2000. Ferrets for Dummies. Wiley Publishing, Inc.

Susan Brown, DVM: Rethinking The Ferret Diet. http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=479

US Food and Drug Administration: Pet Food Labels - General. http://www.fda.gov/animalveterinary/resourcesforyou/ucm047113.htm

http://www.nutritiondata.com