Potential ferret, potential problem.

[Deleted]

Aye, a friend is moving across the country and she texts me, "You have a zoo, want a ferret?"

So I am potentially getting a ferret. I will be meeting the hob this weekend to judge whether or not I will really enjoy him. I'm a scales-and-fins type of guy, but I'm not opposed to adopting a ferret to add to my collection.

As with any animal, I did a lot of research before even considering saying yes. I take pride in good husbandry, so when she told me he solely eats kitty pellets and nothing else, I cringed a bit. She was very adamant he won't go for much else, which leads me to believe he's heavily imprinted on kitty pellets.

Now, if I do obtain this 3 year old hob (who is said to be very gentle and sweet), I plan on immediately beginning to transition him from pellets to raw. My question is, can I start by making soups of the mice I feed my BP, or is there something specific I should start with?

I read each ferret is different of course, but is there a good way to temp the creature off pellets?  I plan to eventually have him on full F/T prey, was wondering what a good mix of prey is? I read one red meal a week is beneficial, but what do you mix together for a good salad?

And I subscribe to the hit-and-miss belief that rats are more beneficial for snakes than mice, when I switch my BP to rats would it be a good idea to do so for the ferret?

Thanks ahead of time for information and links.

[Heather]

Interesting (giggle)
To feed whole prey requires the same basic rules as to feed frankenprey....3 different types of proteins. You could feed mice, rats and rabbits...that would cover your 3 different proteins. I don't know if rats vs ASF rats is biologically different but I believe it is and you could feed that instead or including. My prey animals for my ferrets are mice, rats, ASF rats, chicks (treats), rabbits and hopefully quail. I also feed frankenprey but prey is by far the easiest and the best possible diet (entirely balanced and species appropriate). Switching a kibble addict to real food is very dependent on the ferret you get. Some never blink an eye. I've got a pair of 7 yrs old kibblers (fed dog food garbage) and had them switched to soupy in 48 hrs, whole meats in the month and prey the following month. Some are definitely not that easy. You can toss the rodents into the blender and turn them into mush (soupy. Watch your blender the fur can gum up things. If you use whole rodents, gut them first. It seems their insides once they become mushy altogether, stink enough to turn off even the most hardened ferret. Ferrets will eat whole mice without making a mess. I do gut full sized rats as the ferrets once they figure out how to eat a whole rat will give it a death shake to remove the gut and intestines. This particular move results in the offending insides being used as cage decorations or worse.
I would suggest you read through some of the threads in the mentoring section or even the newbie files and see what others have done and see how various people have dealt with their little kibblers.
Good luck and don't forget to post pics of your wee fuzzums
ciao

[Corvidophile]

Since you already have whole prey normally in your house, go ahead and try offering him a mouse out of nowhere! He might take it.