Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My ferret Belle has been with my family for about five or six months now. lately my mom has discovered that belle loves green peppers. so of course my mom gives her LOTS of little bite size pieces of pepper and the ferret loves em. but is this ok for her? ive heard that some ferrets have problems digesting uncooked vegies but mine seems to be fine. her stools are healthy and she is not having any problems at all, and her coat is double as soft and compfy as it was a month ago even before it started getting cold. i don't see a problem but i wanted to check with you guys in case i am making a big mistake. also she eats her ferret food fine and steals dog food from the dog's dish when he isnt looking. she isnt overweight either.
another question i have is last time i cut her nails they splintered a little what can i do to minimize this?

I know some veggies that are high in fiber can cause problems. But I don't know about green peppers. I'm sure someone can help you out on that. I also know that some fruits, or too much of some, can cause a runny poop.
As for cutting the nails, what do you use? I use the scissors kind that have a round hole between the blades. They work better than regular nail clippers for humans. Also, when I cut my girls' nails, I cut sideways, not straight down on them. They seem to cut better that way. If you have a hard time cutting Belle's nails, try putting Ferretone on her belly. That way she's distracted and you can cut her nails without a problem.
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Kat
Ferret mom to Jasmine and Daffy
A Cheesehead from Wisconsin

Ferrets don't have the ability to digest fruits & veggies. An occasional bite here and there probably won't hurt but I wouldn't give a lot. Much better to give her pieces of meat as treats.

As far as nail cutting, good clippers really make a huge difference. I have some great ones I got at Petsmart. They have a good grip and a safety guard so you don't short clip accidentally. Damn if I can remember the brand and the site is down right now.
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I've learned that I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy it.

I've noticed one of my guys loves green peppers, onions, and brocoli. I don't actually give him any but he is always around when I'm working in the kitchen and gets some of whatever falls. He especially loves the raw onions (weird little weasal). He loves them so much he scratches at my legs begging for more.

For my guys' nails, I just put Ferretone on their belly. While they're distracted, I just snip them with a normal, human fingernail clippers. Make sure it's fairly sharp and watch that you don't cut too low. You can see a (vein/some kind of line?) running down the middle of each nail. Don't cut above that.