Can Ferrets Eat Dog Food or Is It Dangerous?

What Foods Can Ferrets Eat?

After deciding to have a ferret as a pet are you wondering can ferrets eat dog food? Your concerns are understandable because it would be easier for you to buy dog food than look for ferret food. Moreover, you may even have dogs as pets as well as a supply of dog food in your home. The ferret will certainly attempt to eat dog food if it is allowed an opportunity to do so.

What Are The Types of Foods Ferrets Can Have?

 

However, you are advised to keep it away from dog food for the reasons mentioned below.

Firstly, it must be understood ferrets are carnivores and have a unique structure which lacks many of the enzymes needed to enable the consumption of carbohydrates. Their unique structure makes it difficult for them to have foods of all types. A diet which is rich in meat as a source of nutrition is one of the best diets ferrets can have. They find it easier to digest meat as compared to food products of other types.

 

Therefore suggestions are provided that they are given a diet of meat right from the time you pick up the baby ferrets you have chosen for your home.

When Can Ferrets Eat Dog Food?

Our answer to the above question would be Never. Ferrets have a digestion system which is different from dogs who are usually able to have a wide variety of foods and even stay healthy. Compared to ferrets, dogs are omnivores and the foods they have are different from the diet prescribed for ferrets.

Therefore it is strongly suggested on attempts be made to keep ferrets away from dog food by using every method possible.

How to Manage Ferrets With Dogs At Home?

If you already have dogs at home and then decided to have ferrets as well you will not have a big problem on your hands because ferrets are choosy about the kind of food they have. Being true carnivores and unable to digest fiber they can be brought up on a diet of meat, fat, and protein with meat being the primary ingredient.

If you are unable to provide the ferret a balanced diet we recommend using kitten food as a replacement.

 

Ferrets are naughty animals that like to steal and hide things. If you have ferrets and dogs at home at the same time you can rest assured the ferret will try to steal some of the dog’s food and hide it for consumption after some time. You will not have any problems with such habits if you purchased baby ferrets and trained them properly from the initial stages. The problem of stealing food from a dog’s bowl will only become a problem if you decide to bring in an adult ferret that may not have received the training it needed.

 

What Kind of Food Should Ferrets Be Fed?

Your ferrets will be happy if you can provide them with ferret food which can be picked up at pet stores. Being choosy with their food habits ferrets are unlikely to begin stealing food from other pets in your home and will, therefore, be satisfied with the food they receive.

 

Having difficulties finding ferret food in the pet store in your locality?

You may on occasion not find the ferret food needed in your neighborhood pet store.

However, you don’t need to panic because a tiny amount of scrambled eggs or raw meat will be a perfect treat for your pet to keep it satisfied.

You can even consider purchasing organs from the local meat shop and feed them to the ferret after cooking them. Therefore there is no reason for you to worry about the type of food you should be feeding to the ferret but should just be making an attempt to learn how to keep it satisfied without going through a lot of difficulties.

 

Types of Foods Your Ferrets Should Not Be Having

Ferrets love treats and you may be tempted to feed the ferret bread, biscuits as well as dairy products such as ice cream and cheese. You should get over your temptation and make an attempt never to take these foods anywhere close to sniffing distance of the ferret.

Their digestive tract is not designed to process these foods and could leave them potentially facing the risk of illnesses which you wouldn’t want.

Having understood that ferrets have a sensitive digestive tract which can only process certain types of foods, I hope that I have now answered your questions can ferrets eat dog food?