Last week I was searching for advice on how to help a ferret to gain some weight and realized that many ferret owners have the opposite problem. Their pets have more weight then they should or they are even obese. So the question is how to help your ferret to lose some weight?
As with all living creatures to make your ferret lose weight you have to track calories, prepare a special diet and encourage it to exercise more.
First of all we have to learn what is normal weight and how the metabolic system of one ferret work so you can prepare the best meal and exercise for your pet. Everything mentioned you can discover in this article.
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What would be the normal weight of an adult ferret
Adult ferret should weigh 1-4 lbs depends on the gender. Of course, females are smaller and they weigh around 1-2,5lbs pounds , males are bigger and their average weight is about 2-4 lbs
If you think that your ferret is out of this proportions then you anxious to know how to help it to gain some weight.
How to help my ferret lose weight ?
- First of all limit the number of portions or the amount of food in those portions
- Track the calories and make sure that the ratio of proteins and fat is 2:1
- Make sure that your ferret eats animal proteins and avoid plant proteins.Do not feed your ferret with vegetables nor fruits, they are not good for your pet. For example carrots and avocado are very dangerous as they can block ferret’s digestive system . Fruits are too sweet for your pet and can cause diabetes. Grapes /raisins or chocolate are literally toxic to ferrets!
- Stimulate physical activity. That can be tricky as it would be easier to cut the food than to make your ferret do exercise, but I found some great advice from the American Ferret Association on how to do that
Ferret’s metabolic system
Ferrets have very high metabolic rates and therefore very short digestive tract. They are very active animals so they need to eat often. What does it mean in practice -Infants should have 4 meals per day and adult ferrets around 8 meals per day.
It is said that adult ferret should eat 5-8% of its body mass, which means that if ferret’s weight Is about 2lbs, your ferret should take about 2-2,5 oz of food every day.
It is quite normal for a ferret to gain little weight during winter time and of course pregnant or nursing ferrets also can weigh bit above standard numbers.
In case if its weight is significantly higher then what we said here then obviously you have to take some steps and help your ferret to become fit again.
Perfect food for my ferret
As ferrets being 100% carnivores, meat is a MUST. If you give your pet a packed food for ferrets, do check nutrition value numbers on the pack. Ferrets diet must consist of at least 40-50% proteins ( animal source only, plant proteins are not good for ferrets )
Then food should be rich in fat ( around 20-25% ) and a maximum 7% of carbs. This should be a guideline for your pet balanced and high-quality diet.Maybe here is the problem .
If you give packed food to your ferret ( ferret pellets or kibble ) you must carefully read the nutritious elements on-pack label. It might happen that this food has a higher percentage of carbs or does not have % of carbs written at all.
In that case you can easily conclude how much carbs is in pet food. Take all percentages shown on the label ( protein, fat, fibers…) and subtract that sum from 100%. The difference would be the amount of carbs in pet food. It should not be higher than 7%.
If the carb percentage is higher, you and your pet have a problem. The body is digesting carb much faster than animal proteins, giving it to ferret a vast amount of energy. Ferret can use some of that energy but an excess of it will stay in the ferret’s system transforming to a fat.
On the other hand as carbs are digested fast, ferret will be hungry again very soon and will take another portion of food which is not supposed to do …. This can result in overweight but also can lead to some health issues such as diabetes or pancreatitis.
Another problem with packed food content could be that some producers are using plant proteins as these are less expensive then meat . The truth is that plant proteins are not best option for your ferret .
Be careful with fat as well. The normal ratio of proteins and fat should be 2:1. And if this ratio is disrupted and for example your ferret takes the same amount of proteins and fats ( 1:1 )then it will end up obese for sure.
How to make my ferret do the exercise ?
Simulating your ferret to be active is a crucial element to help it to lose some weight. Remember that ferret is an animal and it can be tricky to make it do something that it does not want to do. Fortunately the American Ferret Association has great advice on this one. I put my favorites here but I recommend you to explore more options on their web site as there is a great article about ferrets fitness :
- It is said that ferrets love toilet paper, so why not make some interesting play with it. You can put toilet paper ( still in package ) in some big plastic tub, making a T-shape of the packages. Let your ferret explore and find the way how to get rid of the package and get to toilet paper. After a while, it might happen that he falls asleep in toilet paper pieces and let him do that and get some rest. This exercise is very good for all muscles and also very amusement for your ferret. Remember only to buy unscented toilet paper!
- You can buy some no color PVC tube and let your pet play. They adore to explore tunnels and you will make the play even more interesting if you put some small treat at the end of it. They love this game.
- Put rice in one bin/box and let your ferret in. Ferrets like to dig and chase one another, in and out of the box. This play should be supervised, although ferrets should not be interested in tasting the rice. You should buy uncooked rice, avoid ‘minute rice ‘ options. Your pet will enjoy and added value will be a fresh smell, as rice is good in absorbing the oils which are the source of ferrets bad smell. As an alternative you can use uncooked beans.
