|
Post by sk1tzo on Jul 19, 2010 19:10:34 GMT -5
I'm getting my ferret in a month. I was wondering how many mice/rats/chicks a day does an adult ferret eat? How many would a kit (4-5 months old) eat? Is RodentPro a good place to purchase these or is there a better place? Maybe organically fed ones? lol. I'm willing to pay more for better quality feeders. Thanks
|
|
|
Post by sherrylynne on Jul 19, 2010 22:13:57 GMT -5
As to appetite, it really does vary. My adult males will eat 2-3 mice per sitting, as an average, sometimes more, some less. My females 1-2. For chicks, I really think they'd eat as many as I let them Those are like candy to them, which is why they don't get them nearly as often. Not enough nutrition for a main part of the diet. I'd say no more than once a week for chicks. Mine also refuse adult rats, so no ideas there If you are going to order from RodentPro(never heard any complaints, other than shipping price), you'd be better off to split an order with someone else if you can. Or simply order in bulk.
|
|
|
Post by Forum Administrator on Jul 20, 2010 2:43:48 GMT -5
I'm getting my ferret in a month. I was wondering how many mice/rats/chicks a day does an adult ferret eat?That depends. Depends on if you have a male or female ferret. It depends on how much they weigh. It depends on what time of year it is. My 2.5 year old, male ferrets will each eat 3 large adult mice per day in the winter but that isn't enough for them, they also need to eat a couple pinky mice and a few fuzzy mice. In the spring/summer though 3 adult mice per day is plenty. They will split a large rat or each eat a small-medium rat once a day in the spring or winter. As for chicks, like Sherrylynne's ferrets, mine would eat as many as they could. They ARE like candy so like Sherry, I limit my boys to chicks only once per week. As she said they are not high enough in calcium and other nutrients to comprise a main part of the diet. How many would a kit (4-5 months old) eat?As many as they will eat. Keep offering mice and see how much your little one consumes. Make sure the sneaky little devil isn't taking them and hiding them though. Blech. Baby ferrets can put away a suprising number of mice and you should by and large allow them to eat as much as they want. Ferrets already have a "fast" metabolism and they eat alot for their size. Baby ferrets eat even more. Is RodentPro a good place to purchase these or is there a better place? Maybe organically fed ones? lol. I'm willing to pay more for better quality feeders.This is who I have always purchased my mice from and I have been very pleased with their services. The shipping is expensive, but IMO its worth it. You can split an order with someone and split the cost of shipping, as suggested above. If you are looking for mice raised on a natural, organic diet, I don't know of any commercial suppliers that do this, but in that case raising your own feeder mice (so you can control what they eat and how they are cared for) is definitely an option. We do have a section here in the nutrition forums that addresses this topic if you are interested. Hope this helps!
|
|
|
Post by sk1tzo on Jul 20, 2010 11:42:13 GMT -5
Thanks!
I'm probably getting a female, when you say one sitting.. does that mean multiple meals or one meal. Like, 2-3 mice once a day or 1 or 2 in the morning 1 or 2 in the afternoon/evening?
I just looked at the shipping, sheesh! XD I'll try to order in bulk, I figured I would need around 100 mice per month, so two bags of adult mice per month. Sadly, I don't have anyone with a ferret and haven't seen anyone on any forums around me. I'm thinking I will try and order 2 months of food at a time.
I would breed, I breed roaches for my bearded dragon, but I love mice/rats, and I could never have the heart to look into those lil beady eyes while their being eaten alive, so I'll just stick with frozen, lol.
|
|
|
Post by goingpostal on Jul 20, 2010 17:40:28 GMT -5
For feeders you might also want to look around and see if there are any reptile shows near you as there will be frozen prey there, or put an ad on craigslist looking for either a breeder of mice/rats or someone else looking to order and split costs. My ferrets vary 1-3 mice per feeding, depends on the size too though, often I feed weanlings around 20 grams which they can down more than a 30+ gram retired breeder.
|
|