As most of you know I have sworn by feeding Mazuri to ferrets for quite a while now... however I have just found out that there are actually some very bad ingredients in it! Don't get me wrong it is not an entirely bad food, in fact it is better than most out there... but once I was informed of the bad ingredients in Mazuri I decided to look further into the ingredients of different foods. (I do still honestly think cat food is NOT good for ferrets)

The absolute most important ingredient for ferrets is high protein... the higher the better! But the key is to look at where the protein comes from. Is it natural products or by-products?

The preservative used is also VERY important! Ethoxyquin, BHA & BHT are all preservative that you should avoid.

If you go to The Ferret Store you can check out a chart which list comparisons of different foods... there are cat foods listed on there too but I would advise to ignore those!

My top 3 choices are:

Superior Choice Original
Superior Choice Natural
8 In 1 Ultimate

These foods are all natural and safe for your ferrets.
Granted they are a little more exspensive but more than worth it!

All of these foods can be bought online at the ferret store... (I was told by the lady that works at the feed store I get my corn cob litter from that she may be able to get it for me for a cheaper price than ordering it online! so there is another option for you too)

Glad you were able to do some searching and find a food!! I was really ASTOUNDED when I started learning and gathering info - hope I helped you and your fuzzies out!!

You were a great help Jade!! Thanks so much for the heads up and all the info!! I & my furbabies really appreciate it!

Thanks for posting that Fsty, and thanks again Jade for the heads up. If my memory serves me right you can get the 8 in 1 ferret diet at petsmart, and petco but I would need to double check that is is the 8 in 1 ultimate, Thanks again for the info

You're very welcome

And yes I do know for a fact you can buy the 8 in 1 ultimate at Petco (it is a shite bag that says ultimate on the side)... it is what I used to feed (kinda spendy 17.99 for a 4.4 pound bag -- and I think that is the only way you can get it?) I guess I didn't realize that it was actually BETTER than Mazuri! lol.

I think I am gonna switch to the Superior choice original. I realize you have to order it online... but I do believe that the ferret store quite often gives you free shipping on orders over 25.00 and a 20# bag (that is how I would buy it) is 37.00. SO that would be a good deal!

Thanks again Jade... for giving us the crash course on the ingredients!

I was just wondering when I had my first ferret everyone told me to feed Tottaly ferret. It seems latley no one feeds this kind. Ummm may I ask why?

Totally Ferret is STILL a good food, in fact is is 4th or 5th on the comparison list of best foods... I don't like the fact that the very first ingredient listed is chicken by-product. That is my preference though. If you didn't want to switch foods and you are currently feeding Totally Ferret that is way better than a lot of other foods out there (including Mazuri). www.theferretstore.com has quite a bit of information with the ingredients listed for the various foods. I actually used the comparison chart (link to that is in the first post of this thread) and then chose the 3 best all natural ingredient foods then printed them out so I could actually do side by side comparisons.

I am in no way endorsing/bashing any one company ... these are just my personal opinions.

The brand I'm using is Innova Adult Cat food - it was also mentioned on theferretstore.com website's list, and it seems to have a pretty good ingredient list. I like it because, although pretty spendy for cat food, its pretty cheap as ferret food. I have 3 ferrets, and a 4 or 5 lb bag goes pretty quickly! I can get a 20 lb bag of Innova for around $30.00... However, I didn't hear anyone else mention that this was a good brand. Does anyone have a particular reason that I maybe shouldn't be feeding this kind to my babies, or a reason why another brand might be better? I always have room for improvement if there's something better out there! I'm still in the process of trying to switch them over from 8 in 1 ultrablend (it's not the best kind of ferret food)
I also used this chart http://www.ohioferret.org/INFO/nutri_prn.asp in order to make my final decisions on what the best ferret food would be. It gives ratings based on 6 factors; the amount of protein, fat and fiber, no corn in 1st three ingredients, no meat by-products, and no fish. (Innova received a 6 out of 6!)
Let me know what you guys think-

I was told by the ferret shelter it is not good to switch your ferrets food,have any of you herd this also?

It's not that switching food is inherently bad for them, it's just that their bodies are so small that any change made suddenly can possibly be a big tummy upset. So, when switching food, it should be done gradually by adding more and more of the food you are switching to, in order to slowly get their systems accustomed to the new food. Also, ferrets can be rather picky in what they eat, so if they are used to one brand, they may refuse to eat any other if switched suddenly. I've heard of several people who mix 2-3 foods together so their ferrets never become dependent on just one brand, in case that brand ever gets discontinued and they need to switch to another.

I have to agree with Kemasa 100% on this one!

I started with Marshals and recently bought some 8in1 Ultimate. I mixed them at first, and still have one dish with the first and another with the second to give them a choice. They didn't have any upsets, but they are still young.

this is the most comprehensive food comparison chart I have come across! Just wanted to share

http://www.mdferretpaws.org/care/food_treats.html

Neat, Kay. I think We're going with the 8-in-1 ultimate. Awesome info!!