What does a ferret eat?

[Drunken Monk]

Like the title says..I'm thinking of getting one in summer and I have no clue what they eat..I know about the vaccinations and other stuff cause I have dogs and take care of them pretty well, but I'm not sure what I'll be able to feed the damn thing lol.:eh:

[Spork!!!]

in my personal experience they prefer human flesh, mostly fingers...
they also love chicken, fruit, and from memory dry cat food.

[e11even]

My grandpas ferrets used to eat mostly chicken or rabbit, you can get special dry ferret food now too... and yeah, watch the fingers :|

[Doobz]

thos little bitches stink but they are cool as fuck eh... i got a friend who feeds them cat food... and by the way, they kill chinchillas >>>shrugs<<< ive seen it with my own eyes

[Smash Bros]

we used to have some. we fed them on the same food as a kitten.

but in the wild they eat mostly rabbit and meat. soo a high meat diet would be good for them. look for their nutrional needs aswell in books or online and try and get foods that will help there aswell.

[Drunken Monk]

Ah well that's very helpful..now I know what to feed the little guys. The only thing is though that I'm planning on keeping two together in the garden and well..if i have to feed it a chicken, it might get a little too brutal lol. I think my favourite choice of food from that lot is dry cat food. And yes, I think I'll wear gloves when I operate their diet, thanks Vinnie :hehe:


EDIT: in the wild they eat mostly rabbit and meat. soo a high meat diet would be good for them


Erm yeah I just figured out that the chicken can be killed before being served to them lol. So yeah, they'll get their carnivorous fill :) Thanks for the help dudes!

[steff]

kebab

[Drunken Monk]

kebab


Maybe I should just feed it Chelsea fans..nah probably give it indigestion and make it shit blood all over the carpet. Poor thing, it deserves better :hehe:

[steff]

/me infracts Drunken Monk :P

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferret#Diet

Wikipedia ftw - don't tell my seminar tutors though. :zip:

[Doobz]

some stupid ferret facts...

When ferrets are having fun they sometimes do a little war dance which can look a bit strange...

A ferret having fun means shuffling backwards at great speed whilst staring madly and showing lots of teeth.

The only problem with this activity is that the ferret is often so engrossed that when it's time to run away they often collide with the nearest door/wall.

The dance is sometimes accompanied by chuckling (this is called dooking).


Ferrets have very short digestive tracts so they use up the energy they get from food really quickly.

This means that after lots of fun and play, ferrets often sleep for hours...

Ferrets sleep curled up - sometimes with all paws in the air.

Ferrets when they start to wake-up sometimes shiver. Paws and the rest of the body shake to regulate body temperature which can drop while ferrets take a snooze.

Ferrets tend to wilt in the heat as they cannot sweat. If the weather is hot make sure there's plenty of fresh water and shady spots. A cool floor area can be created by placing a large ceramic/marble tile on the floor for a ferret to flatten out on. An ice-cube in the drinking water also helps.

[Doobz]

this is how monk is gonna dress his ferret...

http://www.spurgeon.org/images/Suge/ferret2.jpg

[Sir Brian]

Like the title says..I'm thinking of getting one in summer and I have no clue what they eat..I know about the vaccinations and other stuff cause I have dogs and take care of them pretty well, but I'm not sure what I'll be able to feed the damn thing lol.:eh:

you live in london. ferrets need a garden to run around. i have phoned the RSPCA. :glare:

[Drunken Monk]

you live in london. ferrets need a garden to run around. i have phoned the RSPCA. :glare:

Don't worry Sir Brian, I have the largest garden on the block! Plus I'm not going to keep the ferret here, it's going to be for when I go back home to India and I've been dying to get one for years so it should be great to finally get one this time. I used to have two SIberian Snow Hare in the past and they were really troublesome to look after and very delicate..so hopefully ferret-care won't be too difficult :) They look so cute though don't they?

[Drunken Monk]

/me infracts Drunken Monk :P

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferret#Diet

Wikipedia ftw - don't tell my seminar tutors though. :zip:

Thanks Steff, that was actually very informative. Cheers bro :)

[Smash Bros]

i had a pure albino ferret. it was awsome and very gentle aswell :S didnt bite unless provocted

[Drunken Monk]

i had a pure albino ferret. it was awsome and very gentle aswell :S didnt bite unless provocted

Yeah I've seen some pics of those and they look very cuddly and adorable. But I think I want one that has a little dark brownish shade to it or maybe even one that resembles the coat of a badger. I've always wanted one, and it'll be great if I finally get it. Thing is, I have very nasty memories of my Siberian snow hare shitting and pissing all over the room I kept them in, so I'm just a little tentative about my would-be ferret's bathroom habits is all. Then again it can't remove anything from it's system if it doesn't have anything in it, which is why I started this thread lol. Been really helpful so far actually. And I'm actually more afraid of accidentally biting it than I am of it biting me :hehe:

[Doobz]

so why havent you gotten one yet monk... whats keeping you from owning a furry little ferret??

[Smash Bros]

one with a badger coat would be really nice.

you can toilet train them like a cat or dog. we kept ours outside mostly in a cage we buitl for it. and took it inside every now and again. im a sucker for animals :P ill say no until it is ther ein front of me and then i want it :P

[Drunken Monk]

one with a badger coat would be really nice.

you can toilet train them like a cat or dog. we kept ours outside mostly in a cage we buitl for it. and took it inside every now and again. im a sucker for animals :P ill say no until it is ther ein front of me and then i want it :P

Haha sucker for animals too! I've had quite a few pets over the years and when I get my own place I want to have a whole zoo set up! Ducks, pigs, dogs, rabbits, birds, the whole nine yards!

Not sure about keeping it in a cage though. Almost everyone suggested I keep my hare in a cage but somehow I wanted them to scurry and scamper, you know what I mean? It'll be handy if I can toilet train it though, definitely save me a lot of trouble lol. What did you call your ferret Smash?

so why havent you gotten one yet monk... whats keeping you from owning a furry little ferret??

Cause I'm in London right now and I won't be able to afford its upkeep here. Plus I'm pretty sure there's a lot of hassles before getting a pet here, like licensing from your local council, petition from your neighbours about neighbourhood "aesthetics" and ofcourse you have to meet health and safety requirments. If I get it when I go back home to India in summer, there's only one thing I have to worry about - make sure it doesn't bite anyone.

[Doobz]

Cause I'm in London right now and I won't be able to afford its upkeep here. Plus I'm pretty sure there's a lot of hassles before getting a pet here, like licensing from your local council, petition from your neighbours about neighbourhood "aesthetics" and ofcourse you have to meet health and safety requirments. If I get it when I go back home to India in summer, there's only one thing I have to worry about - make sure it doesn't bite anyone.


thats a whole lot to deal with to get an animal, here in the states just tag it if its a dog and keep it from biting anything... yea i guess i would wait too...

i had a friend that stole a babay alligator from a reptile show here in the city... he brought it home and made a little habitat for it in its basement... i know the thing got about 2.5 feet before my buddy had to throw it in the lake... i wonder whatever happened to that thing

[Smash Bros]

well the cage we had was about 2m*3m. we used an old door for the roof over half of it and then had an outside area for it aswell with other things for it to play on.

we called her lily. she died :( when kristy moved she took the her with her and the place was too small and she stopped eating :(


and i grew up in the country on a farm. so i was always with animals.

[Doobz]

we called her lily.

i have a cat named lily... shes a bitch... she stalks me and attacks my feet... she tried attacking my son once, i hate that cat... i got 2 male cats with the idea that they could treat her like the bitch she is and she owned them too... this cat is the devil... i realy hate that cat, shes so pretty though

[Smash Bros]

lol. sounds like a nice cat :P

sort of like the one we have atm.

she is called misery. she stalks people. mainly me :glare:

[Doobz]

this cat likes everyone except me and my son... i dont know why...

i got it from a farmhouse and gave it to my mom... i think she dont like me because i brought it into the household... she would have rather been on the farm i guess... she has tiger stripes and acts like a tiger she wants to be a big cat im thinkin... ill kick that bitch in her head... every once in a while she will let me pet her but only for like a second then she gets mad and starts hissing and shit... i really think shes possesed

shes bi-polar and needs therapy

[Drunken Monk]

thats a whole lot to deal with to get an animal, here in the states just tag it if its a dog and keep it from biting anything... yea i guess i would wait too...

i had a friend that stole a babay alligator from a reptile show here in the city... he brought it home and made a little habitat for it in its basement... i know the thing got about 2.5 feet before my buddy had to throw it in the lake... i wonder whatever happened to that thing


Your friend is an idiot then is he not? :cheeky: That poor aligator must've suffered so much. I pity it. And then to dump it in a lake! *tisk*tisk*

[Doobz]

Your friend is an idiot then is he not? That poor aligator must've suffered so much. I pity it. And then to dump it in a lake! *tisk*tisk*


i agree definately that he is an idiot for stealing an alligator... but the thing lived pretty well for what its worth... he didnt have it for very long either... i just kinda wonder what happened to it... because i dont know how well a gator would get along in a freshwater lake

[Drunken Monk]

well the cage we had was about 2m*3m. we used an old door for the roof over half of it and then had an outside area for it aswell with other things for it to play on.

we called her lily. she died :( when kristy moved she took the her with her and the place was too small and she stopped eating :(


and i grew up in the country on a farm. so i was always with animals.


Aww sorry to hear that man. I always had this habit of befriending lovable strays. Was really attached to this puppy once when I was a kid and it was all white and stuff and a button black nose, droopy ears, little curled tail, the whole bit. And yeah it died cause it got ill and stuff and wasn't looked after properly. Also the hare I had were given away when I moved to London, something which I'm pissed about to this day and I hate having to think about "losing" animals in any way. I'm jealous of you for being a farm boy as well by the way, would've loved that kind of a childhood myself. Sounds like you had a pretty sweet set up there mate :)

[Smash Bros]

yteah was awsome.

we had sheep, cows and goat in our front yard so we didnt have to mow the lawn :D had a magpie aswell that ran away (no it didnt fly lol) duck, geese, and chickens.

was awsome. i had a cat for about 11 years. i loved it. always used to sleep with me, i named it and everything. was old aswell (as old as me) and was lazy now(had a great fucking life and all) my mum got with my step dad. he didnt like it so had it killed. i still have not forgiven him for that.

[Doobz]

was awsome. i had a cat for about 11 years. i loved it. always used to sleep with me, i named it and everything. was old aswell (as old as me) and was lazy now(had a great fucking life and all) my mum got with my step dad. he didnt like it so had it killed. i still have not forgiven him for that.


thats pretty sad that he would have an animal killed just because he didnt like it... that shit pisses me off so much... ive got a buddy that lives on a farm that will take about just animal, and if he wont keep it he knows someone who will... im not all gung ho about pets and all that but i value life in any form

[Smash Bros]

he usually isnt like that though. thats whats weird :S

[Doobz]

maybe he just doesnt like you :O

[Spork!!!]

roflmao

[Smash Bros]

yeah i had that thought aswell.

specially after we almost came to punchs the other year at xmas

[Doobz]

me and my step dad have traded blows on many occasions... it doesnt happen ant more... i would like to say its because ive matured but im gonna go ahead and say its because now he knows better:karate:

[Smash Bros]

we almost did cause he was blaming my mum for shit when we seen him do it. i told him it was him and to leave her alone. then he started on me. he ended up getting kicked out. then went and stole my lil bros tent that he got that day and was staying in and kicked him out.

[Doobz]

lmao... you kicked him out of the house, then he went and stole a tent and you kicked him out of that too?????????/

holy shit thats funny as hell... thats MY tent bitch

[Smash Bros]

no lol.

my mum kicked him out of the house.

so he kicked my lil bro out of his new tent cause he needed a place to sleep

[Drunken Monk]

You shameless hi-jackers! :P

Yeah Smash I am definitely jealous of the whole farm upbringing you had. There's a few interesting wild life experiences in London as well despite popular belief.


When I first moved in, there used to be a family of urban foxes in the neighbourhood and the mom of the pack used to come to our garden searching for food and rodents I think. Used to see it jump up and down on the fence and the shed and scurry around everywhere.


Then for some reason, cats started coming to our garden as well. There's this orange tabby that still comes in today, but a black one and a yellow and black striped one have made several guest appearances as well!


And finally, well our neighbour has a tiny sort of bird feeder and so shitlaods of birds are always around and yes, we have a sort of regular magpie visitor as well :) Hides nuts and berries all over the place and causes weeds to grown on the grass but we still like him. So yeah, even though I don't have a ferret, there's other wildlife around :grin:

[Smash Bros]

nice.

i only just discovered that there are deer around here :|

and we usually have roos and kookaburras around here aswell.

[Doobz]

what the hells a kookaburra

[Drunken Monk]

what the hells a kookaburra

It's a bird. They have a cricket gear company named after them that sponsors the Australian national team. Real good equipment as well, but we still beat them in the CWB series :grin:

[Doobz]

are you talkin about soccer, because i know nothing about soccer... i was watching a game today and all i could think about is "why does the timer go up and not down"

[Spork!!!]

http://images.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Kookaburra_portrait.jpg&imgrefurl=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Kookaburra_portrait.jpg&h=1193&w=1106&sz=266&hl=en&start=5&tbnid=ZDQFeyRWHnRabM:&tbnh=150&tbnw=139&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dkookaburra%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3 DX

Member of the Kingfisher family, makes distinctive "laughing" call. Usually solitary or in pairs. Carniverous I think, might eat some fruit/nuts but mostly lizards, mice, larger insects and even snakes. I often have a couple roosing in the gum trees down the back.

[Doobz]

i wiki'd it... i am now a kookabooka master

[Mitch]

We have Kookas on our side fences all the time, Rabbits running around allover the place at night, and Kangaroos just behind the back fence when it's raining for some reason.

Kookaburras are cool, they wake you up with their 4AM laughing sessions though.

[Smash Bros]

lol. best way to wake up though. would rather a kooka then a fucking rooster

[Doobz]

i have squirrels the size of small cats and a dog that never shuts the fuck up and a cat that attacks my feet... they found and killed a puma though not to long ago here in the city wich is fucking odd... ive seen deers and shit running around obviously because they are being pushed out of their habitats but a puma in illinois in the city... thats nuts

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/894573,CST-NWS-cougar15.article

[Drunken Monk]

Wow from ferrets' diets to farm animals to kookaburas..this thread's been quite active :hehe:

[Smash Bros]

what can we say :D

we love animals.

[Drunken Monk]

what can we say :D

we love animals.


Me too! I'm loving it! :D

[Bobbi]

in my personal experience they prefer human flesh, mostly fingers...
they also love chicken, fruit, and from memory as long as yocat food.

You can not give them fruit they can not digest it and grapes will kill them by causing a blockage they eat chicken quail chicks mouse not field mice but store bought ones from the butcher they eat turkey necks or get them professional chkn cat food or Blue wilderness cat food as long as it has 32 or more protien and 16% fat and 2 or less mg of fiber they have short digestive tracs go to yahoo groups type in ferret and join ferret whisperer, ferret talk 1 and ferret talk 2 , CSI the best one and I bet none of ya know about adrenal tthe tumors they can get or the other kinds of health problems well these people know alot and it cost ya nothing ferret 1 and 2 have some vets that are on it they are learning from peeps like u and me by telling them what is going on with our ferrets so they can help their patients animals ,So help a vet become a better vet and join and help others also . As long as your profile shows a first name and a state you will most likely be accepted
All are welcomed and most will be accepted

[zanadoo115]

I had a ferret that lived 10 years. You can but ferret food, but mine would never touch it.
They do very well on cat food. Either dry of the moist kind in the pouch. Dry is preferred because it helps keep their teeth clean.
Otherwise I would feed them whatever they were willing to eat. Anything in moderation.
They were quite fond of Cherios and mini marshmallows.