Erm, hi there "LesbianFerretMom", you're not meant to feed ferrets fruit & veg.
Ferrets are mustelids, i.e. strict carnivores.
A ferret was designed to get goodness from its diet by eating a large amount of animal-based proteins (i.e. meat) and doesn’t get much nutrition from plant-based proteins (like grains, fruit or vegetables)!
They can't digest it and it hurts their digestive system, it can also lead to a disease in the pancreas!! - They have a very short intestinal tract, only about 5 times the length of its body. A cat, another obligate carnivore, has an intestinal tract 10 times the length of its body.
- Food usually passes through a ferret’s intestine in about 3 hours, compared to the 5-6 hours it takes to go through a cat’s gut.
- The food a ferret eats must be highly digestible and concentrated to allow for the short digestion time, and must also be high in animal protein and fat, to help maintain a healthy immune system.
- Ferrets are lactose intolerant, meaning DO NOT feed them dairy products obviously i.e. cheese, milk, yoghurt, cream. It can lead to some very nasty diarrhea.
That is basic common knowledge, but you can also look here for a general gist:
http://www.all-about-ferrets.com/what-do-ferrets-eat.html You would seriously be doing your ferrets a favour by taking them off fruit & veg, maybe even take them to a vet who knows about ferrets and tell them what you have been feeding them & if they are in any danger/have signs of any pancreatic diseases. Then make the switch to kibble because it contains everything a ferret needs, you'll notice a change in their coats as they become thicker, fuller and shiny (remember ferrets beg for any food they can get their paws on, but it is up to YOU to make the decision, just look at wild polecat's for example, these are domesticated ferrets but should not be treated any diferently).
There are numerous websites that will tell you the same thing. Ask any experienced ferret owner and they will also tell you the same thing.
I'm not having a knock but please please please take into consideration the safety of your little furries, happy ferreting =)
Anyway on topic, we feed our ferrets Pet's at Home Ferret nuggets, superb stuff. We have found it to work wonders with our ferrets coats. We watched Rikku (a resuce) go from being stupidly skinny and short haired to being healthy and having a now lush coat that is so fluffy, full, thick and shiny. It is amazing.
<message edited by RazgriZ FX on Thursday, September 03, 2009 9:04 AM>