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Ferret off its food?
Worried your ferret isn't feeding properly? Simon Whitehead has some practical suggestions
One of my ferrets seems to be losing weight and I am concerned she might not be feeding properly as she is much smaller than the rest of my ferrets. Can you suggest the cause of the problem?
Though it alarms many owners as their ferrets change in appearance in spring/summer, in the majority of cases it is due to the seasonal lifestyle, hormonal change and impending moult. Ferrets eat less food in the summer, as they are not as active as they are in the winter. In summer they spend a lot more time asleep or basking in warm weather, so need less food to sustain this change in lifestyle. You should monitor how much food your ferret has been eating, its general condition and energy levels. If you are alarmed, separate the animal and ensure that it is eating, otherwise seek the advice of a vet.
About the author
Simon Whitehead
A Suffolk-based professional ferreter and rabbit controller, author and Shooting Times contributor, Simon is known widely as The Ferret Man and acknowledged as the last full-time warrener operating in Britain. Born in Middlesbrough in 1968, he moved with his parents to Suffolk in 1984 after the collapse of Cleveland's steel industry, and turned a boyhood fascination into a business in 2001, demonstrating ferreting at country shows nationwide through the summer and controlling rabbits in rural and urban East Anglia through the winter. Simon has become ferreting's premier demonstrator in the UK, sits on the Shooting Times expert panel and writes regularly for the magazine. He is the author of four books, including Ferreting: An Essential Guide, published by Crowood, and Ahead of the Game, celebrating wild rabbit as food, and has appeared in television programmes on rabbit management.
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