Vegetarian ferret?

Question

is it healthy for a ferret to be vegetarian? i'm getting one soon, and i'm a vegetarian, so i want to know if it's healthy?

Answer 1

uh no.ferrets are carnivores. listen to sarah. i think its ok to give a little fruit but not alot. they need meat.

Answer 2

Thanks for turning into vegetarian because of you more and more animals will save teir lives

Proteins: Body's protein needs can be provided by either animal or plant sources. Mixed protein diet obtained from various plant sources is better than animal protein and is recommended in diabetes, renal diseases and liver diseases. Mixed protein diet from different plant sources has been the pattern of diet in India for all vegetarians.

Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates are mainly found in plant foods; like cereals, grains, fresh and dry fruits, legumes, vegetable, greens, nuts etc. plant carbohydrates include' large amounts of starches, sugar and fibers which are important for gut functions. The body is better suited to a high carbohydrate diet than a low carbohydrate diet. In fact 55% of the food intake should be carbohydrate. All animal products do not contain carbohydrate which is essential for body.

Fat: Plant fats differ from animal fats in two different ways 1) they are cholesterol free 2) they generally contain more polyunsaturated fat and less saturated fats. Plant fats usually have higher polyunsaturated fat value than animal fats.

A diet which is low in cholesterol and which contains fat of a high PIS value is associated with a lower incident of coronary health disease.

Vitamins and Minerals: plant foods are rich in many vitamins and minerals.

Vitamin D: Vitamin D is obtained by exposure of skin to sun light and this is not a problem in India.

Calcium: The vegetarians can meet their needs for calcium from dairy products. Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) Dark green vegetables are good sources of Riboflavin as are legumes and whole grain cereal.

Iron: The problem of iron deficiency is relatively common but vitamin C significantly enhances absorption of iron hence it is advisable for vegetarians to include with each meal a food high in vitamin C which as lime, citrus fruits or juices.

Zinc: Zinc is found in large number of plant foods.

Fiber: Fiber is found only in vegetarian food like whole grain cereals, legumes, greens, fruits, vegetable etc.

Thus in vegetarian foods all requirement of nutrition for body growth and maintenance is fulfilled. One can have a complete and balanced diet provided we take enough food which is as close to nature as possible in maintaining sturdy and disease free body. It is equally helpful in curing many diseases.

ADVANTAGES OF VEGETARIAN DIET:

More & more evidence is surfacing that directly links a prolonged non- vegetarian diet to diseases as cancers, heart diseases, diabetes, asthma just to name a few.

1. LOGEVITY: Vegetarian can expect to live 4-10 years longer then the non-vegetarians.

" Source: Seventh day Adventists study

2. LESS HEART DISEASE: Because of low fat, saturated fat and cholesterol content of the vegetarian diet the risk of heart disease is lowered. High blood cholesterol levels are associated with increased risk of heart disease.

3. LESS CANCER: Up to 40% of all cancers are diet related. Cancer death rates have been associated with obesity and high fat / low fiber diet. Vitamin A & C are thought to be protective against colon cancer. Low fat diets protect against prostrate and breast cancer. Indoles, lignans, isoflavones, protease inhibitors which are present in plant foods and shown to be potent anti carcinogens.

4. LESS BOWEL DISEASE: Diverticular disease and appendicitis occur more frequently with low fiber intake as in meat diet.

Answer 3

It isn't a good idea for you to make a ferret vegetarian, because this would be going against the free will of the animal, and then, in a way you'd be contradicting vegetarianism by being somewhat cruel to the ferret.

Maybe you should consider  different type of pet that does not eat meat in the wild.

Answer 4

Not at all.Ferrets are carnivores. They really need to eat mice and rabbits and raw meat that is what they are designed to eat. But a meat based kibble like EVO ferret food is the best thing out there. it has a few fruits and vegetables in it BUT it is only 5% the diet is 95% meat. The purpose of the fruits and vegetables is for fiber only. If a ferret does not eat meat it will die. This woman I know she runs a ferret resuce and met this couple who said they had a ferret and really loved it and missed it blach blah. It had died at only 18 weeks old. The woman preced to feed her ferret raw meat as she was talking to the couple(this was at a ferret show) and the coupple was horrified and disgusted. They were vegan and fed their ferret a vegan diet. THEY MURDERED THEIR FERRET! Ferrets lack a cecum with is a part in their intestines to digest plant and vegetables matter. Now if I were you I would get a rabbit since they are herbavoirs and cannot eat meat. That would be a more suitable pet for you. Not trying to be mean just trying to save another ferrets life.

Answer 5

Sorry, but ferrets are carnivorous by nature. I have friends that have ferrets and believe me, the ferrets LOVE veggies and fruits, but unfortunately, it is very unhealthy for them. It is best to feed them a meaty diet otherwise they can have digestive problems and even develop diabetes.

Answer 6

That would be animal cruelty.