Quote Originally Posted by MuzeBallPythons View Post
I'm curious to know if the diet you are planning for your ferrets will have any effect on their lifespans. I used to have ferrets, and they all lived very short lives (all fed expensive ferret kibble). They all seemed to develop some disease or another (I had them vaccinated, etc., and very well taken care of. But all my care was according to what I was told by vets & other 'experts'). Keep us posted.

And that is probably why they lived short lives. Kibble is a horrible diet for ferrets, no matter how "good" the bag says it is. Ferrets are obligate carnivores, meaning they only digest and use meat based nutrients. A diet high in plants, such as kibble (grains and veggies are used to make it a kibble) can possibly lead to adrenal disease and several other health problems. This has not been proven scientifically but only because the only people who would do the study are the people that would end up losing money because of it. Feeding your ferret a meat only or whole prey diet allows them to eat the closest thing to a natural diet. This helps with weight management, teeth and gum problems, nutrient deficiencies, ect.

In short, as long as I'm feeding a wide variety of prey items or if I'm feeding raw, and feed a wide variety of that, and I monitor my ferrets' food intake, they should all live long happy lives. Switching them to a raw diet has already cleared up some issues they had while on a expensive "good" kibble.

I will look at those links. Thanks! I know it would probably be expensive to breed reptiles or frogs for feeders, but the raw diet is already expensive, so I wouldn't be adding on too much. If breeding them proves to be too difficult, then I will just buy the feeders I need.