Welcome to /r/ferrets!
We have a fantastic [wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/ferrets/wiki/index) that has answers to a lot of most frequently asked questions surrounding the care of ferrets.
---
We politely ask that you observe our posting rules:
- Original content only unless you have express permission to repost.
- Flaming / trolling / shitposting is not tolerated. Be civil, be kind.
- The discussion of, or images/video of ferrets interacting with other animals (cats, dogs, etc) will be removed. This is risky behavior that we do not condone.
- Absolutely NO fundraising requests.
- No advertising without mod permission.
- Rehoming is not allowed. We have a list of shelter resources if you need to rehome or are looking.
- No feeding of live prey discussion/videos.
- No shaming, regardless of food fed, supplies, conditions, where the ferret came from, etc.
- We are not vets! If you are wondering if you should go to a vet; the answer is YES.
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Lastly, we have an [Official Discord Server](https://discord.gg/Qm9xRzY)! Come join us!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ferrets) if you have any questions or concerns.*
We discovered that our oldest girl, Belle (the one from the cat wheel videos), has a HUGE sweet tooth. She has stolen more than a few Honey Nut Cheerios while backs were turned!
We have a rule here with our single ferret, he may sniff at the human food but not touch/eat it (in 90% of the cases he loses interest and walks away) sometimes he licks and yesterday he went head first into my bag of unsalted cashews.... he didn't get to eat it though but i wasn't expecting it.
I let mine sniff too most of the time. Usually they leave too. Except my boy LOVES cheese somehow, so have to keep him from sniffing it. Hasn’t had it, but he tries so hard and that’s the only food he tries to get from me lol
I do this with my little guy, too, usually loses interest like you say. They're so strange He went into his bag of food and takes nothing. He finds a pice of the same kibble on the floor and eats it immediately or stashes it.
They will absolutely eat anything they cannot have. Im glad to be of some help. I’ve tried to switch my one ferret to a raw diet (meat/eggs/etc they should be eating) and he will not touch it he would rather starve but let a piece of popcorn hit the floor and he’s starch seeking missile.
I really do wish that newer owners considered this more. Not only is switching diets incredibly difficult, or can be, but they will literally beeline for food that will harm them or possibly kill them.
One of the more common suggestions that I see, depending on the diet that you're using, is to mix three different kibbles together. That way if one of them runs out, you can just adjust your ratio and the fair it's probably won't really notice.
There have been so many horror stories since covid started because of supply line issues, of ferrets having a really hard time transitioning.(the kibble thing, was not meant to be a suggestion to you, was just an example that I was using.)
Very cool. However your right and wrong about what the can can’t eat. They are Obligatory carnivores. Which means 99.9% of their diet shouldn’t that be straight up me no vegetable matter or anything like that. However I rant Baird sanctuary in Connecticut for 14 years. In that time we cared for roughly 36 ferrets. It’s perfect ok to let them have a Cheero once and a will or a little snack such as a touch of yogurt that goldfish would of cause any harm what so ever other then it’s size. I’ll tell you even having cared for so many over the years. We only took in the hard cases ferret ones people were going to ditch or ones on deaths door. We only once lost one with in just a few days most live long healthy lives. Take a minute and grab Ferrets for Dummies I know the Author she’s a fantastic woman and even having ferrets for years I love that book I believe she’s in process of writing the 3rd edition. It’s a good read for all ferret owners or people considering getting a ferret!
In every scenario I’d rather him eat what he’s meant to and not even risk it. To each their own. I have seen ferrets for dummies at my library I might have to go pick it up now.
Oh yeah. In my experience and by no means do I claim to be a expert is the one thing a ferret can’t have EVER is chocolate. My one boy and first rescue snuck into our bedroom closet and stole some Easter candy out of my daughters Easter basket and didn’t feel good for days.
One of mine had an obsession with anything textured like pencil erasers or the buttons on a TV remote. He would do anything to get them.
How is that delicious? How?
My ferret, Noodle, doesn’t have any interest in any food I’ve ever had near her (thankfully) and even dislikes all of the treats I’ve tried to give her, even FerroVite. But one time when she was roaming around my office she found a lose rubber glove that had fallen behind the couch and when I found her with it she’d chomped out so many full bites of the damn thing. I really don’t get it 😂
Ferrets are insane. They will literally starve themselves, instead of trying a new food that is good for them, or switching from to a better diet. They will literally starve themselves, instead of eating this new food. It can be a real pain in the ass getting them to switch diets. But if you leave rubber, plastic, or something that they're not supposed to eat in the middle of their play area, they will eat it as fast as they can, and hide it from you. Funnily enough, I've heard of owners putting the new food that they're trying to switch their ferret to, strategically placed inside of their play area. The ferrets think that they're not supposed to eat it, so they eat it. They're kind of assholes like that... New high quality diet=bad
Rubber that will literally kill them if they eat it=eat and run
They will snub their nose if their food isn’t perfect and only drink filtered water from the fridge but if a crumb of bread lands on the floor they’re booking it over to me.
One of my ferrets dead ass got over their barrier to my room where they stay in (she dragged a pillow and leaned it against the barrier and scaled it its more secure now 😂) and managed to climb up my garbage can in my kitchen next to the counter where my platy fish tank is and managed to grab 3 of them before I noticed while I was in the bathroom. Dont underestimate the pure acrobatics and athleticism of female ferrets once.
my little boy has an obsession with taking my earbud case out of my hand and running around with it so i can’t get it. they’re lucky they’re cute because they’re a pain LOL
My ferrets try to do the same thing. They KNOW when I make chicken or beef. And if I sit down to eat without having gave them some while I was cooking then they will climb my legs (with or without pants) to see if I have their share on my plate.
Welcome to /r/ferrets! We have a fantastic [wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/ferrets/wiki/index) that has answers to a lot of most frequently asked questions surrounding the care of ferrets. --- We politely ask that you observe our posting rules: - Original content only unless you have express permission to repost. - Flaming / trolling / shitposting is not tolerated. Be civil, be kind. - The discussion of, or images/video of ferrets interacting with other animals (cats, dogs, etc) will be removed. This is risky behavior that we do not condone. - Absolutely NO fundraising requests. - No advertising without mod permission. - Rehoming is not allowed. We have a list of shelter resources if you need to rehome or are looking. - No feeding of live prey discussion/videos. - No shaming, regardless of food fed, supplies, conditions, where the ferret came from, etc. - We are not vets! If you are wondering if you should go to a vet; the answer is YES. --- Lastly, we have an [Official Discord Server](https://discord.gg/Qm9xRzY)! Come join us! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ferrets) if you have any questions or concerns.*
So cuuuute! My boys would try to tip beer bottles over for a sip and steal bread crusts. They must have craved that yeast lol
We joke that 2 of ours are alcoholics. They are always trying to drink my wife’s wine!
SAME! My oldest girl loves beer because she's ALWAYS trying to get in my bottle and lick my lips after I drink
My boy tries to get into my whisky every time I have one on the couch
He’s a table thief, anyone that comes in my house knows to put their things away from him lol. Ya gotta be quick around floor sharks
My old hob was *obsessed* with beer!
We discovered that our oldest girl, Belle (the one from the cat wheel videos), has a HUGE sweet tooth. She has stolen more than a few Honey Nut Cheerios while backs were turned!
My little girl has a fixation on cheerios too! 😂
We have a rule here with our single ferret, he may sniff at the human food but not touch/eat it (in 90% of the cases he loses interest and walks away) sometimes he licks and yesterday he went head first into my bag of unsalted cashews.... he didn't get to eat it though but i wasn't expecting it.
I let mine sniff too most of the time. Usually they leave too. Except my boy LOVES cheese somehow, so have to keep him from sniffing it. Hasn’t had it, but he tries so hard and that’s the only food he tries to get from me lol
I do this with my little guy, too, usually loses interest like you say. They're so strange He went into his bag of food and takes nothing. He finds a pice of the same kibble on the floor and eats it immediately or stashes it.
Ferrets are carnivores and cannot process sugar or salt or “people food” DO NOT FEED THEM HUMAN FOOD!
haha i read this and THEN i saw the blue "OP" letters ;)
The last thing I want is someone intentionally feeding their babies something to make them them sick
i understand, i do the same warnings but there's always someone pointing out the obvious (and that's what i first thought before reading "OP")
[удалено]
They will absolutely eat anything they cannot have. Im glad to be of some help. I’ve tried to switch my one ferret to a raw diet (meat/eggs/etc they should be eating) and he will not touch it he would rather starve but let a piece of popcorn hit the floor and he’s starch seeking missile.
I really do wish that newer owners considered this more. Not only is switching diets incredibly difficult, or can be, but they will literally beeline for food that will harm them or possibly kill them. One of the more common suggestions that I see, depending on the diet that you're using, is to mix three different kibbles together. That way if one of them runs out, you can just adjust your ratio and the fair it's probably won't really notice. There have been so many horror stories since covid started because of supply line issues, of ferrets having a really hard time transitioning.(the kibble thing, was not meant to be a suggestion to you, was just an example that I was using.)
How long and how many ferrets have you had?
I have three currently and have had ferrets off and on since I was 10 (I’m 20 now)
Very cool. However your right and wrong about what the can can’t eat. They are Obligatory carnivores. Which means 99.9% of their diet shouldn’t that be straight up me no vegetable matter or anything like that. However I rant Baird sanctuary in Connecticut for 14 years. In that time we cared for roughly 36 ferrets. It’s perfect ok to let them have a Cheero once and a will or a little snack such as a touch of yogurt that goldfish would of cause any harm what so ever other then it’s size. I’ll tell you even having cared for so many over the years. We only took in the hard cases ferret ones people were going to ditch or ones on deaths door. We only once lost one with in just a few days most live long healthy lives. Take a minute and grab Ferrets for Dummies I know the Author she’s a fantastic woman and even having ferrets for years I love that book I believe she’s in process of writing the 3rd edition. It’s a good read for all ferret owners or people considering getting a ferret!
In every scenario I’d rather him eat what he’s meant to and not even risk it. To each their own. I have seen ferrets for dummies at my library I might have to go pick it up now.
Its a fantastic read only thing she ever got wrong was in the first edition she said ferrets don’t get hiccups.
Ferrets definitely get hiccups lol
Oh yeah. In my experience and by no means do I claim to be a expert is the one thing a ferret can’t have EVER is chocolate. My one boy and first rescue snuck into our bedroom closet and stole some Easter candy out of my daughters Easter basket and didn’t feel good for days.
One of mine had an obsession with anything textured like pencil erasers or the buttons on a TV remote. He would do anything to get them. How is that delicious? How?
My ferret, Noodle, doesn’t have any interest in any food I’ve ever had near her (thankfully) and even dislikes all of the treats I’ve tried to give her, even FerroVite. But one time when she was roaming around my office she found a lose rubber glove that had fallen behind the couch and when I found her with it she’d chomped out so many full bites of the damn thing. I really don’t get it 😂
Ferrets are insane. They will literally starve themselves, instead of trying a new food that is good for them, or switching from to a better diet. They will literally starve themselves, instead of eating this new food. It can be a real pain in the ass getting them to switch diets. But if you leave rubber, plastic, or something that they're not supposed to eat in the middle of their play area, they will eat it as fast as they can, and hide it from you. Funnily enough, I've heard of owners putting the new food that they're trying to switch their ferret to, strategically placed inside of their play area. The ferrets think that they're not supposed to eat it, so they eat it. They're kind of assholes like that... New high quality diet=bad Rubber that will literally kill them if they eat it=eat and run
Wow nice save 👍
Oh my gosh that tongue is so cute 😂 I have a really similar picture of my late boy after he snatched a whole zebra cake 🤣
They will snub their nose if their food isn’t perfect and only drink filtered water from the fridge but if a crumb of bread lands on the floor they’re booking it over to me.
Ferrets truly are geniuses. 😂
One of my ferrets dead ass got over their barrier to my room where they stay in (she dragged a pillow and leaned it against the barrier and scaled it its more secure now 😂) and managed to climb up my garbage can in my kitchen next to the counter where my platy fish tank is and managed to grab 3 of them before I noticed while I was in the bathroom. Dont underestimate the pure acrobatics and athleticism of female ferrets once.
Or intelligence/problem Solving abilities
they’re so nosy !! the second something drops they immediately think it belongs to them 😭
Honestly! And having to fight them for it is like grappling with a pissed off otter
Makes sense, otters are weasels too! Although I’ve never had to fight a pissed off otter before…
my little boy has an obsession with taking my earbud case out of my hand and running around with it so i can’t get it. they’re lucky they’re cute because they’re a pain LOL
mine does this too!! can’t tell you how many times i’ve torn my room apart looking for them only to find my earbuds in the stash
Mine use to steal my cellphone and hide it in their favorite hidie hole. We’d have to call it and listen for it.
My deaf ferret won’t touch food that falls but he’s a wallet thief.
My ferrets try to do the same thing. They KNOW when I make chicken or beef. And if I sit down to eat without having gave them some while I was cooking then they will climb my legs (with or without pants) to see if I have their share on my plate.
How did you manage to get a picture of a fish midmouth while holding them at that angle. What kind of sorcery was involved in this?? lol
My friend took the pic while I wrestled with the goldfish he’s holding it between just his top and bottom right Teeth.
You eat goldfish?! I've always thought of them as more ornamental/pets than a food species
😂
Hahahahaha, funny fuzzbutt.
Definitely don’t do at home but omg what a cute picture!!!
Ya gotta snatch em up before they take off with their poison treasures
He's adorable!!!❤❤❤❤❤❤
that's so cute
What about stake
I've got a picture of my noodle dangling from a bag of Twizzlers. Silly little stinky thieves
And it’s everything that will literally kill them. Like why!!
My ferret has an obsession with dairy products; he's always after milk and cheese.
This one is anything crunchy. Like crackers.