From:
"Roger Vaughn"
Date: 2003-05-31 20:13:17 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] RE:Minnie is home from the vet.
To: <ferrethealth@smartgroups.com>
Message-ID: <2712.192.168.132.34.1054411997.squirrel@mail.seaconinc.com>
I would skip the 8-in-1 treats. Ferrets don't need the fruits and
veggies, and the fruits in particular contain a lot of natural sugars.
Marshall's Bandit treats are meat based and seem to be well-accepted
by the ferrets. We didn't have much luck with the Totally Ferret
treats here either. I just got some samples of the new Path Valley
treats - Dook Dooks - and not even the cats will touch those....
Patty mentioned watching Minnie's sugars and carbohydrates (which are
really just complex sugars). That's good advice. The problem,
though, is that all kibbled foods like the ones you mentioned, and
even the Hill's prescription diets, are formulated with a lot of
grains - corn, rice, and wheat. All of those are loaded with
carbohydrates.
Like Patty also mentioned, Bob Church's chicken gravy is a good food
for them, especially for an insulinomic ferret. It's high in protein,
fat, and other nutrients they need, but very low in carbs. Chicken
baby food is good for them, but it's not complete, so it's not good on
its own for the long term. It's fine the way you're feeding it,
though. Bob's Gravy on the other hand is complete and could easily be
her only food.
Here's a link for more info on Bob's Gravy:
http://www.trifl.org/gravy.shtml. It's a pain to make, but it's worth
it, and I haven't seen a ferret yet who won't eat it once you convince
them that it's food.
roger & the wolverine wannabees
missing bear and lancelot