# Ferret Food?



## Fluffy=) (Mar 25, 2009)

I just bought my first hedgie from a petstore (i dont live reasonably close to anyy findable breeders =/ ) and the store i got her from had her on Marshall Farms Ferret Food. They sent me home w/ an unlabeled bag of it to get her started telling me it was better than cat food and people who buy cat food are just cheaping out on their hedgehogs. When i got home and looked up the ingredients list it contains one of the preservatives thats listed as toxic. How toxic is it? Should i be switching her off it completley? I've already started slowly mixing in cat food, but should i dilute the ferret food out completley as i switch her or is it ok in a mix despite the BHA?


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

No, you do not want the ferret food in the mix at all. Continue switching it out with a high quality cat food until it's gone from the bowl. Not only does it have BHA, it also has too high of protein and fat contents for hedgehogs. That's why people are so leery of pet stores, they often have and give out incorrect information to new owners, sometimes even harmful information. The ferret food won't hurt her as you slowly switch it it out, but it's not something you want to keep in the mix. 
Btw, BHA has been proved to link to cancer, I believe. So it wouldn't kill her straight off, but could increase her risk of cancer if you fed something including it for an extended period of time.


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## Fluffy=) (Mar 25, 2009)

ok i will switch it out completly then. Thanks for the quick response =) i was pretty skeptical of what they were telling me seeing as i hadnt in any of my long nights of researching hedgies seen anything regaurding feeding ferret food.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Yeah, most ferret food has a protein content that's way too high for hedgies. Out of curiosity, what cat food are you mixing in?


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## Fluffy=) (Mar 25, 2009)

To start im switching her to Purina naturals salmon and brown rice. I doubt its the best food to start but it was the only food i could find locally that was on the dry cat food list i found on here. I live 2 hours from the nearest pet store (with exception of the one ive been permanently kicked out of for asking one simple question regaurding their fishkeeping >.> and i dont think they sell cat food anyway) so i do plan to find some higher quality foods to start a mix when i go into town next. Any recomendations for whats really best or is anything off the list ok? there dosnt seem to be much in the way of explaination that ive seen regaurding what the categories on the list mean as far as whats best aside from i'd assume the more real meat involved the better?


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Yeah, anything on the list is recommended, they're all good. As far as I know, I guess more meat is better, but I'm in no way a nutrition expert here, that's Reaper. That's just my guess. I know that Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul is one that many people include in their mix, and Reaper has said he thinks that the Wellness types are the best. He says why in that cat food post, a couple of posts down the first page. I have Wellness Indoor in my mix, and Lily loves it. I also have Natural Balance Green Pea and Duck, which is at the very end of the list due to not having a meat as the first ingredient, but many hedgies love it, and it is still healthy for them. I've heard that Solid Gold is another good one. But if you get foods that are on that list, you should be pretty well off.


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

First, welcome and congrats on your hedgie! I'm glad you found HHC, there is so much information here. 

Yes, I'd get her off the ferret food quickly. That particular brand is very low quality, and the amount of protein and fat of ferret food in general is nearly the opposite of what hedgies need.

The Purina One Naturals are a fine food to start with. Any of the foods on Reaper's recommended list are great to add to that as well. Just don't do anything too fast, you don't want to upset her stomach.

Let us know how she takes to the new food!


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## Fluffy=) (Mar 25, 2009)

lol so far shes been picking the purina food out and eating it before shell eat the ferret food which i think upset her stomach last night because she had some bad diahrea tonight =/ she only had like 5 peices of purina to a small handfull of ferret food though. should i consider this normal for the first couple days of food switching or should i be concerned?


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## George30 (Aug 26, 2010)

hi everyone..
anyone can give some info about Ferret Food..
btw im new in this site and i want to join in your discussion..
thanks a lot and God Bless...

Make Money Online


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Hey George,

This thread is over a year and a half old, so it's best to start your own. When you are looking at the list of thread titles, there is a button that says "start a new topic". You can make your own to ask questions in, and people will answer you there!

You can go ahead and make one on ferret food and we can help you out there.


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## naturalbirdslove (Sep 6, 2018)

I think you should give them only ferret food. Don't mix with cat food. I also have a pet ferret, but I am feeding alternative ferret food like ZuPreem Ferret Diet and Marshall Premium Ferret Diet. Because ferret needs meat-based protein, egg-based protein, nutritious and minerals amount of which they need or require. They need treats for making them healthy and happy.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Please don't post on old threads, this one is 9 years old.

Ferret food is way to high in protein for hedgehogs and cause them to go into renal failure.


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