Wysong Ferret food is the most popular ferret kibble next to Marshalls. It boasts optimal digestion benefits though many ferret owners insist on the opposite... Whenever I touch on Wysong ferret products I receive a surge of emails and direct messages yelling at me to just "drop it". This food has been fed to ferrets for many years with success. If I continue to be critical of a "high quality brand" people are going to be more likely to stick with low tier, inappropriate foods. For the people who read my analysis of Wysong and decide to stick to their Meow Mix- you're missing my point entirely. Yes, I'm going to continue to critique the largest pet food brand for ferrets. Is it better than Meow Mix? Certainly. In fact, if you want to see how it compares to other popular ferret foods, check out my kibble chart. It's within my right to discuss a popular product if I deem it unsafe for ferret consumption. And no- I don't feel this way simply because it's a dry food. It's my duty as an animal care educator to express my opinions, especially when I believe it can save many pet parents some trouble. With this article- I am not accusing Wysong of causing any sort of medical problem in ferrets. I will be evaluating some reviews, and discussing feeding high quantities of bacteria, what affect it could have on the naturally occurring bacteria in the gut, so on. Probiotics- what are they? All animals (including us!) have the same 6 bacteria phyla in the gut. Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Spirochaetes, and Fusobacteria. They make up 99% of all gut bacteria. The microbiome, also called "the forgotten organ" is responsible for creating an impenetrable immune system. If the bacteria in the gut are compromised, the entire immune system will follow suit. To keep the good bacteria alive, they must eat exactly what the ferret eats (prebiotics). Probiotics= Good bacteria. Prebiotics= Food for the good bacteria. Some examples of prebiotics include fibers and starches. For more information on the purpose of probiotics/prebiotics check it out here. Probiotics have been used in various species with success. What does this have to do with Wysong? Wysong's most popular ferret foods are the Wysong Epigen 90, and Wysong Epigen 90 Digestive Support. Today, we'll be looking at the more recent Digestive Support formula. The description on the website states: "Ferret Epigen 90™ Digestive Support contains ingredients that contribute soluble fiber, and an enhanced prebiotic effect that helps to support digestive health and stool consistency. Ferret Epigen 90™ Digestive Support ferret food is a slightly less concentrated and nutrient dense diet as compared to our standard Ferret Epigen 90™. Still unparalleled meat content, 62% protein, and 16% fat." The probiotics listed in the food are as follows:
Studies have shown that including several strains have a higher chance of a positive outcome. But could it be too much for a ferret to handle? Is there such thing as too much of a good thing with bacteria? Small Intestinal Bacteria Overgrowth (SIBO) This overgrowth occurs when excessive amounts of bacteria flood the small intestine, interfering with digestion and nutrient absorption. It's believed that 80% of chronic bowel issues in humans are linked to SIBO, (ref) the numbers in pets could be just as high too. Some symptoms of SIBO:
I want you to remember these symptoms of SIBO. Is it any correlation that most complaints with Wysong ferret food have to do with uncontrollable diarrhea among other symptoms? The bulk of bacteria living in the small intestine affected by SIBO would be of the Lactobacillus variety. Wysong Digestive Support contains 4 different strains of this. Personally, when I had my ferrets on this food they experienced chronic diarrhea, seedy stools (sign of poor absorption of nutrients), and loads of gas. Their stools also had a very strong metal scent, but no blood was present from what I could tell. They immediately went back to normal 1-2 days after removing it from their diet. When looking at reviews for a pet food, don't go based off reviews on the brand website. They have the ability to remove any negative reviews so you only see the positive. Instead, compare based off 3rd party sites like Amazon and Chewy. I began my search on Amazon. I sifted through the 97 critical reviews to see how many customers experienced similar symptoms to SIBO with their ferrets. I counted at least 50 reviews claiming explosive diarrhea with their ferrets. Many requiring vet visits due to dehydration. A handful mentioned weight loss, vomiting, and blood in the stool. This doesn't even include the positive reviews; many of which also claiming diarrhea, but the pet parents continue to feed the food for one reason or another, an example: Numerous people are continuing to feed Wysong thinking chronic diarrhea is part of the "cost of feeding a premium diet." This should definitely not be the case. It's also worth mentioning not everyone is inclined to write reviews. Many people who I've spoken with experienced the same things but chose not to talk about them online. The real number of affected ferrets will be much higher than what reviews suggest.
What we know Ferrets can fall victim to many types of gastrointestinal distress. So some of the ferrets mentioned could be suffering from an underlying issue and the food may be triggering it. Or, stress in the environment. It may not entirely be the fault of the food. Although, for cats diagnosed with IBD, many respond well to dietary therapy alone, which poses the question of food sensitivity rather than IBD. (ref) While ferrets are an entirely different species, I strongly doubt IBD or similar diseases to be the culprit in these ferrets. Most of the reviews mentioned success after removing it from the ferret's diet. Which leads me to believe this is more likely to be an issue with the formula itself, not underlying problems. Of course, we do know certain proteins can trigger IBD flareups in animals, most of them said they changed to another chicken food with similar ingredients. Could variation of quality in the chicken trigger flareups? Sure. But the major difference between Digestive Support and other foods people choose to switch to is the amount of added probiotics. There aren't many known side effects to administering probiotics to pets- this is all speculation, so do what you will with this information. I personally just find it interesting that a food could cause so much digestive upset in many ferrets. If you want to continue feeding this brand, that's your prerogative, and I will continue to report on the popular brands in the ferret community if I notice something alarming.
3 Comments
Sophia
6/22/2020 12:19:02 pm
Hi I am Sophia and I love this info I fed Wysong when I first got ferrets, but now I feed Ziwi peak dry food and they love it. Keep up the good work!
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Ari
10/1/2020 11:24:15 am
i wish i saw this before i got my first boy. it promotes so many good things until we went to the vet and they told us all about how it causes bacteria buildup. but i now feed ziwipeak and he absolutely loves it!!
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Sophia
11/1/2020 08:03:42 pm
I am switching my ferrets to stella and chewy
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