Gerbil

Most veterinarians, unless they've kept ferrets themselves or have actually done their own research will tell you not to feed your ferret raw and will tell you to feed them kibble. Thankfully our vet used to have ferrets and they were fed a mix of raw and kibble. Our vet understands we have done our research and fully supports the diet switch to 100% raw.

Its not that ferrets are aggressive. It is their natural instinct to hunt and eat meat. Dogs and cats benefit from raw diets as well and I will be switching my 3 cats and dachshund over to a raw diet. On the ferret's dinner plate tonight was chicken gizzards and hearts. MmmMmm, good. Haha. Well they like it. I know Twitch will enjoy a gerbil once I get the breeding group going.

I'll have to take a video of Twitch hunting live mice. She's quite quick on dispatching them, so they don't suffer. I was planning on building a indoor "outdoor" area that I could set the mouse loose in and have her hunt in the "great outdoors" (kiddie pool with dirt and live plants)

[QUOTE=modestosnakeman;921978]wow I had no idea that a ferret was that aggresive of an eater to take out a gerbil. They are so cute and playful I would have never thought they had a killer instinct.
LOL, THEY ARE PREDATORS WHAT DO YOU THINK THEY WOULD DO,EAT A SALAD;).BUT ITS UNNECASARY TO FEED LIVE PREY TO MAMALS,BUT SEROUSLY THATS A LITTLE OVER THE TOP WHEN CATS CAN LIVE TO 18 OR 19 YEARS ON CAT FOOD,ALSO THEY CAN GET PARASITES FROM LIVE PREY ALSO.IF MY PYTHONS WOULD EAT PELLET FOOD I WOULD FEED THEM THAT:D
FERRETS ARE COOL BUT THEY CRAP & SMELL TOO MUCH FOR ME!:D DANG CORNER POOPERS.

Its not over the top at all. Its natural for them and good for their health. Do you know what is in ferret kibble (and kibble for cats and dogs too)? Nothing but fillers and by-products. In the wild, ferrets would catch and eat a variety of small mammals, reptiles, and frogs. If I can provide the best diet for my ferrets, then why not. They have already shown massive improvement with their diet switch. They have more energy and their poop doesn't near as bad as it was before.

Cats live that long DESPITE their diet, not because of it. Cats and ferrets are obligate carnivores and kibble foods are FULL of plant material. Why would you feed an animal something it cannot digest or use? When you feed a raw diet EVERYTHING gets digested and used. The only thing that does not is fur and bones. (though some bones are digested too). When a ferret eats kibble, their teeth are not designed to grind the kibble. Their teeth do not get cleaned and they end up swallowing huge chunks instead of a finely ground mix that we would be able to make with our teeth. When the food passes through, the body absorbs any nutrients it can find, normally just enough to keep the ferret going (kind of like us eating bread and water) and passes everything else. The poop ends up resembling the food almost exactly.

On the other hand, when a ferret eats raw meat or whole prey, the meat is easily digested and used, letting the ferret absorb more nutrients from the same amount of food (2-3 oz per feeding). When a ferret eats a mouse, the only thing the ferret poops out is bones and fur. They absorbed EVERYTHING else. Don't you think they are getting more out of eating meat if they don't even poop out the remains of meat, organ and skin? It is not found in their poop so they have absorbed every bit of digestable food. And no, ferrets cannot get parasites from raw meat. The meat passes through their digestive system too fast for any kind of bacteria or parasites to settle in. Their digestive systems are only 3 hours long. The time it would take bacteria to make themselves at home in their digestive system is longer than that. I've talked to people that have been feeding raw for years and none of them have ever once had an issue with illness or parasites due to raw feeding.

Anyway, I've done my research and my ferrets' health are improving because of it. Stick to kibble if that's what you want to feed your animals. I'll feed mine as I see fit. I've actually done my research instead of listening to the people at the pet store who know nothing of animal nutrition and kibble companies who are only trying to make a profit.

I think the gerbil is due any day now. Does anyone know how long it takes a gerbil to reach breeding age? If I'm going to be holding a female or two back I'll need to know how long to wait till I start breeding hold backs.

If I remember correctly gerbils reach sexual maturity between 9-12 weeks of age.

Hope that helps ;)

Good luck with the ferrets and new gerbil babies :D

Thanks. So much like a mouse then. I know female mice should not be bred before 12 weeks. Rats are 16 weeks.

Kinda like a mouse... ;) I think mice are able to start breeding a bit earlier than gerbils...6 weeks of age (approx)?

Since it does vary - If it were me I would wait til the 12 week mark, but that's me :D

I will definitely wait for the 12 week mark. I went and checked on Mama. She is even bigger than she was yesterday. She must be getting close. She's sticking to a single corner of the cage and is making a little nest. I need to find my camera so I can take pictures of the babies when they arrive! Also my male and female gerbil need names. All breeders in the house have names. The male is a gray and white and the female is a black and white.

:rage: FIND YOUR CAMERA :rage:

:rofl:

I want PICTURES!!! :rolleyes:

I will. Don't worry. This is my first gerbil litter so I'm excited. :P

i want to see a ferret eat a gerbil !!!!! and give it a live quail lol and guinea pig post videos lol also set it free to chase and kill a deer i want to see that to. good luck with the ferrets...