Gerbil

I've also been doing some reading on raw ferret diets. A ferret shelter near me feeds raw and if you adopt from them you have to promise to continue feeding raw. Anyway, I really like the idea of feeding them a more "natural" diet without all the fillers and stuff in kibble; however, I'm just not sure I can stomach having them tear into a rat or mouse. I mean my snakes eat rats whole so there's no blood....but the ferrets....I just don't know. Do they eat the whole thing or are there scraps of stuff left? Also, do they get like bloody? Do you think they would eat frozen/ thawed ones? Or just frozen ones without being thawed? (not as much blood?) Sorry of all the questions about non hamsters stuff, I'm just curious :-)

I don't mind them eating whole prey. It's natural for them and has everything they need (organ meat, muscle meat, bones, connective tissues, ect) all in one neat and tidy package. There is very little blood but on occasion the ferret doesn't like to eat the whole thing and wants to save some for later. Twitch is known to eat the head and top torso but leave the bottom half for later. You can feed them frozen/thawed no problem. Ours get f/t all the time, especially when I'm out of live (which is often). They won't be so keen to eat a frozen feeder animal, but you could always try. No harm in trying. In the wild, they will bury their leftovers in the winter so those would freeze and they would come back and eat the frozen meat so it wouldn't hurt to try. (I'll give it a go and let you know)

And you don't have to feed whole prey at all. You can stick to raw meat, meaty bones, and organ meats. Many people do this, but its all about variety. Mine get several different types of meat along with chicken legs, turkey necks, and chicken wings. <- They love bones. (Just don't cook them).

We just got our fourth little ferret tonight. So now we have two girls and two boys. :) We are so excited. And it looks like the gerbil should be popping soon.

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

Actually, my ferrets are fed strictly raw meat, meaty bones, and whole prey items. I cannot stress this enough. Kibble diets are HORRIBLE for ferrets. The only reason no studies have been conducted is because the only people who would do the study would end up losing, the kibble companies. Ferret kibbles are terrible for ferrets. There are a few that are "acceptable" but the majority are nothing but crap. It causes digestive issues, teeth problems, adrenal disease, ect.

I've done my research and talked to my vet as well as people studying ferret nutrition. Raw/whole prey diets are the best diet out there for them. My ferrets don't even touch kibble. When they ate kibble, one of my ferrets was underweight, dirty teeth, and digestive issues. After starting them on raw, their teeth are white, Twitch is gaining weight, and the loose stools have stopped.

Raw diets and whole prey items do not make them more aggressive. Twitch is a sweetheart but she loves chasing down mice. My ferrets will never touch kibble again. Raw/whole prey is the way for them. They love it and I love them being so happy because of it.

Also a variety is the best way to go. With raw meat and whole prey items you don't have to worry about their digestive system not agreeing with a switch in meat like you do with kibble. Because the make up of kibble varies so much, they have a hard time switching, but with meat, the makeup of meat is essentially the same and their digestive system can handle it no problem. Actually mine STOPPED being sick when they went raw. And the poop doesn't smell nearly as bad. Variety in the whole prey and meat allow them to get all the nutrients they need, the more variety, the more vitamins and minerals they are getting. My ferrets eat the following...

Boneless Meat:
Beef
Chicken
Turkey
Pork
Fish

Meaty bones:
Chicken wings
Chicken legs
Turkey necks

Whole Prey:
Rats
Mice

And soon I will be adding the following whole prey items to their diet:
Rabbit
Gerbil
Quail
Chicks
Guinea Pig
ASF
Hamster

They will also be trying deer soon. :) I am actually in the process of writing up a ferret care sheet to post on this forum. It will have a huge section on ferret nutrition and diet. :) I used to think kibble was good for my babies, until I did my research.

But back to the gerbil. She is huge and I hope she'll pop this week. :)

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I strongly disagree because everyone knows that all ferrets eat pellets in their natural habitat. lol. I find this thread to be a joke lol. Just keep doin what your doin as long as your animals are happy and healthy who gives a hoot what they eat. I am gonna start feeding my snakes pellets because its better for them :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

Wow looking back on this thread i just realized how much of an A hole i come off as. lol.

Well the thread started off just being about my gerbil breeders but then people started telling me what to feed my ferrets and I just had to say something. You wouldn't believe how many people think that ferrets eat rabbit food. :confused::confused::confused:

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

Well the thread started off just being about my gerbil breeders but then people started telling me what to feed my ferrets and I just had to say something. You wouldn't believe how many people think that ferrets eat rabbit food. :confused::confused::confused:

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i meant to come off as sarcastic i completely agree with you what better diet could you give your animal besides the one that thousands of years of evolution have found best. Just keep on keepin on. :gj::gj:

I shall. I'll take a video of Twitch's next "hunt" and post it up. I'll also post pictures of the baby gerbils. :)

And the gerbil pops! I've counted five babies. I don't want to disturb her so I quickly counted and left, but they are such cute little pink jelly beans!

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

but they are such cute little pink jelly beans!

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Until they get ripped to bits. Yeah can't wait to see the vids. Feeding meat to the ferrets, not got a problem with it, can't you stun the whole rodents before you give to the ferrets. People who have cats don't go to the pet shop , get live budgies and let the cat loose on them, "because thats what they do in the wild, they kill birds" i get pretty sick of "because thats what they do in the wild" defence.

Most of our pets have nice little beds, little cute water dishes, nice little cages with locks on, then we say, we need to feed live for the hunt , we need to create what they do in the wild. i don't know you Jay Bunny, you might be a very responsible animal owner,but i can only guess from this post alone that you get a bit of a kick out of watching your ferrets devour live animals.Not me for I'm afraid, but each to thier own

Sorry, missed the post where you said you feed F/t. Would it be kinder to all the ferrets' prey animals to be f/t?

I do not get a kick out of watching my ferrets hunt. I watch to make sure the ferret is safe while hunting. Once I know the feeder is not going to harm my ferret, I go do something else while the ferret eats. It is the same for watching a snake strike prey when you feed live. I just want to make sure my animal is safe, then I let them eat in peace.

Also, I feed a raw/whole prey diet, not just because it is natural for them, but because it is good for them. The raw meat makes up the bulk of their diet for now. I also do not feed whole prey items to all my ferrets. Only one of my girls gets whole prey and that is because she can easily dispatch a rodent in less than 2-3 seconds. She doesn't let the rodent suffer.

Also, I make sure the ferrets are safe. The prey items are properly sized before I give them to my ferret. Twitch does not get anything larger than a 20g mouse as live prey. Anything larger is f/t. This is for the safety of my fur kids as well as the feeder animals. (If they cannot be dispatched quickly, they suffer)

Once again, this thread was not meant to be a "lets attack the ferret keeper about her feeding practices thread". This was supposed to be a "my gerbils gonna pop" thread. So let us get back to the main purpose of this thread and leave my ferret husbandry alone.

So there are five little jelly beans. I still need to find my camera so I can snap a few pictures of them.