On average, a ferret will eat about 5-7% of their bodyweight in food every day. However, this ratio can be varied depend on different period of their lifetime. During growth, pregnancy, lactation or periods of high exercise they will need to eat more with higher protein level in diet.
On the other hands, older ferrets may well need less than this. So, you should monitor your ferret’s weight and the best diet for ferrets should be changed accordingly is important throughout their life.
#1 What do I do if I have to change my ferret’s food?
Quickly changing your ferret’s diet can easily upset his stomach, so you want to make any changes as slowly as possible. You can get start with the mixture of the new food into your ferret’s old food at a ratio of 1 part new food to 9 parts old food.
This is because if they don’t identify a food type as edible early on, it can be difficult to get them to take to it. You just should add a little more of the new food item, and take away a little more of anything you want to replace, every day. Gradually increase the part of new food and decrease the ration of old food in their diet. This slow transition can take several weeks, but do not hurry as your ferrets can be very stubborn.
#2 When should I change my ferret’s diet?
As your ferret gets older, he might become less active and his metabolism may start to slow down as well. This is when you should change their diet. Too much protein level in diet can make them gaining an unhealthy amount of weight.
So you should change to the recipes, which are lower in protein and fat which means they are also lower in calories. Some younger ferrets, who have healthy problems such as kidney issues, also should be offered these reciepts. Always talk to your veterinarian before switching your ferret’s diet.
#3 Tips for changing
In the case a brand either changes its ingredient makeup or goes out of business, you should offer your pets with a variety diet from a young age will make your ferret much more open to a range of foods. Starting an older ferret on a new food can be difficult, if not impossible.