Someone sent me this message

[fuzzymom]

I was asking about the legalities of having african soft furred rats in Virginia since I want to breed them as feeders for my ferrets. Someone sent me this message.

I hope you deworm your ferrets on a very regular basis. Even feeding them f/t prey(even though they need to be eating a high quality kitten food and not live prey, they don't descend from wild animals, they are a strictly captive-bred and raised species) does not ensure that they won't get parasites such as tapeworms.

Deworm with Drontal every 4-6 months if you don't want them in pain from migrating roundworms, anemic from hookworms, or losing weight from tapeworms.

A vet tech friend of mine had a PEW ferret female who ate good quality kitten chow for her entire life and lived to be over 12 years old. She ended up getting cancer, but she was very healthy

I told her that kibble is in fact a bad diet for ferrets and that they thrive on raw meat/bone/whole prey diet. I told her that I've discussed my ferrets' diet with my vet as well as many people online who also feed raw/whole prey. I told her that I would ask my vet about worms. Is there any risk of worms from raw/whole prey diet? My ferrets have had their shots but that is about it. They will get a yearly checkup and vet care if the need arises.

[Forum Administrator]

I hope you deworm your ferrets on a very regular basis. Even feeding them f/t prey(even though they need to be eating a high quality kitten food and not live prey, they don't descend from wild animals, they are a strictly captive-bred and raised species) does not ensure that they won't get parasites such as tapeworms.

Is there any risk of worms from raw/whole prey diet? My ferrets have had their shots but that is about it. They will get a yearly checkup and vet care if the need arises.

Um.....ferrets DID descend from wild animals. Its called the european polecat . I guess this person is trying to say ferrets are domesticated? If so then yes, they are correct.

As for if they can get parasites, yes, they can get parasites from prey, that is correct. HOWEVER depending on WHERE you get your prey and whether or not it was frozen, that will affect the risk of your ferret getting parasites. Prey from a reputable provider that has been frozen has a much lower risk of transmitting parasites to the ferret then say, a dead wild chimpmumk.

Deworm with Drontal every 4-6 months if you don't want them in pain from migrating roundworms, anemic from hookworms, or losing weight from tapeworms.

I am personally against de-worming. Why give your ferret a chemical (de-wormer) when they don't even have worms? If you are really concearned, send a fecal sample to your vet every six months and have it tested for worms. I have raw/whole prey fed ferrets and a cat. They have never had a SINGLE worm. Does that mean it couldnt happen? No, but since I feed frozen-thawed prey from a reputable company the risk of parasites is very small.

A vet tech friend of mine had a PEW ferret female who ate good quality kitten chow for her entire life and lived to be over 12 years old. She ended up getting cancer, but she was very healthy

Okay first of all I love this part: "She ended up getting cancer, but she was very healthy." Hmmm..... I don't know about you but I don't think getting cancer makes you very health!

It really annoys me when people say "well my dog/cat/ferret lived to by x,y,z years old and we fed them:

Ol'Roy
Dog Chow
Walmart Brand Ferret Food

I don't care what others say, that ferret lived to be 12 years old (if that is even true) IN SPITE of its diet, not BECAUSE of its diet.

I don't mind people not having all the facts about natural diets, but I DO mind when people THINK they know and they spout off incorrect info as if they have sat and thoroughly researched the topic.

[Heather]

Hi
I've been feeding a raw diet to various carnivores for over 10 yrs. During those 10 yrs, I've had a number of occasions to send in stool samples for testing. Never, in the years that I've been feeding have I had to treat my guys for worms of any sort. I even sent stool samples for every one of the ferrets in my business 2 yrs ago as I had the unfortunate circumstance of rescuing 2 little furbabies who were severely covered in fleas. This is the most likely time for them to get worms as they can become infested after ingesting fleas.
If you're going to feed prey (note I didn't say raw....hopefully your human whole food doesn't have worms ) then by all means make a stool sample part of your annual exam. It's cheap and it will definitely reveal any problems. As far as more often...I wouldn't, unless you have a particular reason for doing so. I find that the worm factor is similar to other fear tactics that are used to discourage raw/prey feeding. Just my opinion and my experience
ciao

[lorelei0922]

actually here in the UK we have found
giving Whole prey ie.. fur and feather... is a great help in preventing worms and other intestinal parasites.. they sorta... flush the system out .. dragging any nasties with them when they are passed...

we dont tend to worm our ferrets here either... just find it VERY un neccessary...

[weloveourweasels]

Wow I hope the person didn't send you that message on this forum.

[sherrylynne]

Nov 7, 2008 1:11:03 GMT -5 weloveourweasels said:

Wow I hope the person didn't send you that message on this forum.

I second that!

[fuzzymom]

No the person is on a reptile forum I frequent. Many people on that forum have no idea that ferrets are supposed to eat meat. *bangs head on keyboard.* I think I'm going to ask them if I can put up a ferret care sheet in the small animal section of the forum.....Hey! That would be a great idea.

Mind if I start a thread in order to collect information about the natural ferret diet and care? Then I can compile all the information and put together a huge care sheet on ferrets! Include pictures and everything! Now I have a new project!

[Forum Administrator]

No, I don't mind at all. If you like I can review the thread for you and have my mentors look over it as well to make sure all your info is correct and what not.