Weight?

[razzlette]

It's been a long time sense I have had ferrets and my last one was over weight. Zuko seems to be so skinny so I weighed him today and he is about 355grams or 12 1/2 ounces (he would not sit still lol). The store told me he was 7-8 weeks. Yea he is a Marshall ferret. I did change his diet, Saturday when I got him they were out of the 8 in 1 so I picked up nutriphase. Monday I went back and picked up the 8 in 1. I put some water in it to make it soft and he seems to eat it OK. Is this a normal weight for this age or do I need to fatten him up? As of right now I'm not quite ready for the raw diet and I won't do live.

Thanks

[theslave]

There is no "set" weight for ferts, everyone is different. My jill is fully grown and only weighs 10 ounces, my hobs weigh from 1.5lb - 3.6lb and they are fully grown. If you put him on a flat surface and feel down his spine, if its quite sharp then he needs to be fattened up a bit, if you can feel it but it dosent feel sharp then he is fine.

Hope this helps!

[pear2apple]

I have no idea about normal weights, but please return the Nutriphase. That is the Petsmart brand of ferret food. It is not appropriate, there are much better choices out there. Plus it has pieces of banana chips that you need to pick out. So if you don't mind picking out each and every piece, which I did with 2 bags btw, then it would be better. I no longer have the original bag because I gave it to a shelter he was feeding generic cat food, and I knew this was at least better than that. But I picked out all the pieces before handing it over. That is work!

If you really think your ferrets are skinny, give them some kitten replacer milk or add some heavy whipping cream to their soups. However, if you can't feel the rib cage obviously, they probably aren't skinny. But it wouldn't hurt to give them a little cream in their soups. Also, I wouldn't recommend this on a daily basis, maybe once a week, twice at the max.

[razzlette]

Thanks for the info! I can't feel his back bone but I do feel his ribs. Yea I do pick out the banana of the nutraphase seeing that I did open it. Right now I am mixing it with 8 in 1 one part to two. We are going to make some soup this week so I will add some cream to it.

[josiesmom]

If you aren't ready to do fresh raw yet, at least look into some of the prepared "natural diets". One of the primary reasons for this forum is to get ferret caretakers to move away from kibble completely and to offer a more appropriate nutrient source which is of course animals and meaty bones from animals.

There are better kibble choices available which will offer better nutrients for your ferrets. 8in1 is NOT one of them. 8in1 Ultra Blend Select is anything BUT select- with ground corn, corn gluten meal, molasses, raisin juice, and rice. 8in1 Ultimate dry has raisin juice and banana puree in it. Raisins are known to be toxic to carnivores and bananas have no place in a ferret's diet. 8in1's binder base is rice, which is also indigestible to ferrets.

8 in 1 Ultimate soft moist uses high amounts of corn products, gluten, syrup, glycerin and gelatin which are ALL detrimental to the ferret's digestive system. Your ferrets will become healthier if you avoid kibbles with corn products, gluten, wheat, rice, syrups, sweeteners and gelatin.

WYsong Archetype, Innova Ferret, even Totally ferret Baby formula or their Turkey Venison Lamb formula are kibbles offering more bioavailable and appropriate protein sources than 8 in 1.

I no longer feed any kibbles but when I did the research and discovered the problems associated with various ingredients, the 8 in 1 products were the first to get dropped from my kibble mix when I was feeding kibble.

Other members on the forum have been using the Nature's variety formulated foods and can offer insight into those products.

Another alternative to offering fresh raw but still better than kibble is to offer your ferrets dehydrated meats and freeze dried items. There are many products available on the internet and in better pet stores, and you can always freeze dry your own from fresh raw.

There is NO better diet for your ferret than to offer it a whole prey and fresh raw diet. But you can always offer them improved nutrition by upgrading to better kibbles as a stepping stone to the natural diet.

Offering plain lard, unseasoned meat grease drippings is also a great way to get calories and omega-6 fatty acids into your ferret. These grease drippings can be mixed into the kibble. A lard lick can be offered free choice in a dish.

AS noted weight will vary from ferret to ferret. Hands on is the best way to determine if they are properly fleshed out. With that said it is quite common for kibble fed ferrets to weigh more, but not have proper body fleshing. this is due to the fact that in order for a ferret's digestive tract to attempt to glean appropriate nutrients from the foreign substances in kibble the ferret has to ingest practically three times as much quantity and at more frequent intervals. Typically this will distend their intestinal tract and keep it full of indigestible substances, thereby adding to their weight, but not nourishing their bodies. Because they aren't nourished properly, their activity level declines and with this decline comes obesity. Because they are literally "heavy with food" they don't move around as much and this adds to their obesity. Their muscle tone is flaccid. A fat ferret is NOT a healthy ferret.

You can just about always pinpoint a kibble fed ferret as opposed to a natural fed ferret because the kibble fed ferret will have a decidedly bottom heavy appearance, or a potbellied appearance; even if they aren't in a sitting position. The natural fed ferret's digestive tract makes quick use of the meaty items and the digestive tract doesn't need to distend to accommodate huge amounts of food so the ferret's figure stays streamlined. Their muscles are well fleshed out and they rarely carry any extra ounces. Their activity level is amazing, especially when compared to a kibble fed ferret. They are exceptionally strong and well toned.

Hope this helps!
Cheers,
Kim

[weloveourweasels]

I agree with what everyone else said. Plus he is only about 8-9 weeks old now and babies are small. Mr. Bean looked tiny when I got him too. He still needs tp fatten up some around the hip area I will copy and paste an answer I won best answer on yahoo answers.


Where can I buy 8 in 1 ultimate crunchy ferret diet? EASY 10 PTS!
I would like to buy it at a pet store(so I don't have to pay for S&H,) but whereever I go, I can't find it. I know this is the best possible ferret diet for my fuzzies, so please help me out. THIS IS AN EASY 10 POINT QUESTION TO ANSWER!

by WeLoveOurweasels
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Best Answer - Chosen by Asker
That is NOT the best diet it has raisin juice and banana puree in it! Also it does not have enough fat. It only has 19% when they need at LEAST 20% The best diet is raw food or whole prey. The best kibble you can feed is Innova EVO for Ferrets home.att.net/~ferretfriendsofpgh/foodchart.htm

One food that is better than 8 in 1 is Zupreem and you can buy it at petsmart. You cannot buy EVO for Ferrets at petsmart.

www.mdferretpaws.org/care/food_treats.html

www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754165

NOTE BOTH LISTS ARE IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER NOT ON HOW GOOD THE FOOD IS!

The Zupreem is 23.99 for an 8 lb bag BUT the 8 in 1 is 12.99 for a 4 pound bag. Do the math 12.99 is 25.98 SO You get more food for your money when you buy the Zupreem. PLUS The Zupreem is the better food anyways since it doesn't have raisin juice or banana puree (two things that can cause insulinoma (ferret diabetes) So In your situation I would recommend getting the Zupreem.




Another decent kibble to feed is theferretstore foods. They don't have corn in them. www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=17342+17351+17212&pcatid=17212

If you decide to feed Zupreem until you are ready to feed raw it is about $4.00 cheaper to order it on-line shipping included. Price is $13.49 plus $6.99 shipping total cost is $20.48

Also a lot of people on here who feed whole prey don't feed live they feed frozen thawed which is easier to feed than raw. So don't let that scare you away from feeding whole prey.


I personally don't like the totally ferret because it has by products which I don't trust. They also have corn in it on top of the rice flour and wheat flour. The totally ferret baby does not have corn but it has the rice and wheat flour.

[pear2apple]

Aug 6, 2008 0:03:36 GMT -5 josiesmom said:

Other members on the forum have been using the Nature's variety formulated foods and can offer insight into those products.

You can just about always pinpoint a kibble fed ferret as opposed to a natural fed ferret because the kibble fed ferret will have a decidedly bottom heavy appearance, or a potbellied appearance; even if they aren't in a sitting position. The natural fed ferret's digestive tract makes quick use of the meaty items and the digestive tract doesn't need to distend to accommodate huge amounts of food so the ferret's figure stays streamlined. Their muscles are well fleshed out and they rarely carry any extra ounces. Their activity level is amazing, especially when compared to a kibble fed ferret. They are exceptionally strong and well toned.

I feed Nature's Variety Raw Frozen diets. They are great and there's no touching of raw meats. It is raw meat, but it doesn't look like it. They come in a bag of almost 40 medallions for $17. I buy this at a petstore because I don't want to ship frozen foods to my house. These are great diets. However, the NV Freeze-Dried is NOT an appropriate diet because it contains whole pumpkin seeds which can cause blockages. NV is a great alternative to having chunks of raw meat sitting out. However, if I can find it, I'm going to start feeding the raw meats soon.

I also feed Evo Small Red Meat bites, this does not have corn or grain in it, its a great choice for kibbles. As is Evo Ferret/Feline. The Evo is Kiwi's food until she starts on the NV. Apple eats the NV and some kibble, but mostly NV.

Unlike what Kim said, because of a poor diet as a kit Apple is now very bottom-heavy even though he is on the raw. However, when I got him he had almost NO muscle whatsoever, he couldn't jump or even get up the couch. Now he can sprint up stairs and climb over the couch and everything. He has great muscle tone even though I don't think his tummy will ever shrink much, he is just leaner than before. That said, its important to start the best diet possible at a young age. Not only will your ferret develop great muscle tone, but their overall health will be much better.

Please heavily consider starting him on a commercial raw, NV or freeze-dried diet like Archetypal 1 or Ziwipeak Cat even. There are lots of choices out there. You don't need to do live or whole prey to give a good diet to your ferret, but please upgrade your kibbles. Try buying online at Stinkweasels.com for the high quality kibbles at a good price. Not to mention healthy treats as well.

[razzlette]

oy getting bashed all over the place I thought I was doing ok at least getting him off of Marshall's. As for kibble I could only do as good as what the stores had. When I went to the store I was not expecting to find Zuko but when I saw him I fell in love. I had to get what they had for food (nutraphase or Marshall's). I thought I read some place else that 8 in 1 was not bad but I guess I was wrong.

I didn't even know about the "All Natural" diet so it is all a bit over welming... I still have a lot to look into. I'm sure not all of you started out on it so you know it takes time.

Thanks for all your help and info. I will try to do better for him.

[pear2apple]

Aug 6, 2008 9:54:37 GMT -5 @razzlette said:

oy getting bashed all over the place I thought I was doing ok at least getting him off of Marshall's. As for kibble I could only do as good as what the stores had. When I went to the store I was not expecting to find Zuko but when I saw him I fell in love. I had to get what they had for food (nutraphase or Marshall's). I thought I read some place else that 8 in 1 was not bad but I guess I was wrong.

I didn't even know about the "All Natural" diet so it is all a bit over welming... I still have a lot to look into. I'm sure not all of you started out on it so you know it takes time.

Thanks for all your help and info. I will try to do better for him.

We are NOT bashing you! Please do not think that. We want whats best for your ferrets and you. These are just observations from our experiences and you asked us, so we're telling you what could help!

It is WAY better to pick Nutriphase over the Marshalls, so yes that was a good choice. Please consider buying online. Ferret.com or Stinkweasels.com (my favorite choice), or even www.onlynaturalpet.com/ which is where I am searching for freeze-dried options.

You can check out my Newbie threads about Apple and Kiwi and changing their diet. Apple can't eat chicken so I am looking for alternative options. My choices might also work well for you since you don't want to go totally raw right now.

EDIT I added the Only Natural Pet website that I am finding freeze-dried options. I don't know how good their shipping is though. I hope you found some good stuff at your local stores. I wish I had more to choose from around me.

[razzlette]

Sorry if I came across as you all are bashing, I asked another forum and was harshed on for feeding what I am too. After reading the post I did do some looking on line and calling some places here. I found out that there is a store called the Healthy alternative that sells the Evo & I think she said that they have some raw-frozen & dried foods also. Another; Best friend pet salon does sell the NV raw-frozen. I was so happy to hear that I could get some local. Tomorrow I am going to go out window shopping to see what they DO have and compare to what I can get on line.

Again I do thank you for all the info! Its just hard to hear from Everyone that you are doing horrible feeding your new baby.

[Lynna]

aww your not doing horrible. You picked what you knew was best out of what they had and your still learning just like all of us. I understand that everyone is throwing info out from all directions and it can be over whelming but they're really just trying to help. You'll have to share how your baby takes to the new foods.
;D

[josiesmom]

Razzlette,
Don't feel beat up and don't beat yourself up - except for a very few of us here that have "inherited" natural ferret keeping we ALL have gone through the same revelations and surprise that you are going through.

We have ALL been victimized by the advertiser's claims of "premium", "select", "Beneficial", "completely balanced", blah blah blah. We have ALL been told by the pet shop personnel, or the breeder, or the adoption center to feed brand "X" kibble because it is the best. And we did do what we were told.

Many first time ferret owners or those sold young ferrets are told to maintain the ferret on "brand X" for their first year in order to implement the breeder's health guarantee. I don't know about you, but if I have soent a year with an animal and it develops health problems, I certainly am NOT about to relinquish it to the pet shop for a "replacement"! My animals are my family - not some commodity. So these breeder guarantees are moot.

My first ferret I was instructed to keep her on Marshall's premium. But within a week of bringing the tiny kit home and doing some online research, I began offering her fresh raw ground meat and raw salmon. She immediately took to this and voila here I am! The next two ferrets I got were adopted as elderly ferrets (5 years old) and they switched to the better diet. The next crew I adopted were of various ages from three and under and all four of them have switched. My last adoptee another fairly young ferret, switched himself happily the first night here. So even when a ferret has been on kibble for years when they switch they still show remarkable improvement.

We've all heard the boos and hisses from the peanut galleries as well as being talked down their noses by vets. But the ferrets on natural diets speak the loudest and with the happiest voices!

I'm happy you found a local source for the better kibble and the NV diet. Remember when comparing prices that your ferret has to eat three times the amount (if not more) than the low quality kibble to gain half as much nutrients as they do the high quality kibble or the raw diet. So the raw program ends up being less expensive with many more benefits!

Keep your chin up! There are several alternatives to create a healthy diet for your ferrets while leaving the crud behind! We've all been there and done that!

Cheers,
Kim

[nwheather]

Aug 6, 2008 12:25:22 GMT -5 @razzlette said:

Sorry if I came across as you all are bashing, I asked another forum and was harshed on for feeding what I am too. After reading the post I did do some looking on line and calling some places here. I found out that there is a store called the Healthy alternative that sells the Evo & I think she said that they have some raw-frozen & dried foods also. Another; Best friend pet salon does sell the NV raw-frozen. I was so happy to hear that I could get some local. Tomorrow I am going to go out window shopping to see what they DO have and compare to what I can get on line.

Again I do thank you for all the info! Its just hard to hear from Everyone that you are doing horrible feeding your new baby.

You are looking into what is best for your ferrets, & THAT's what is important! You are doing fine, there are just many better foods out there for them. It is awesome that you recognized that you needed to get them off of Marshall's!
I feed Evo kibble, & had to mix in some Evo canine formula to tone down the really high protein. High protein is good, but it can make their poo looser. Mine also get the NV Raw medallions, raw/frozen chicken & turkey necks, & some of mine get mice (frozen/thawed).
The first time I had ferrets, about 15yrs ago, I did everything wrong! I have learned SO MUCH the second time around! You are on the right path! Keep up the good work! Feel free to ask questions & I am sure that people will be more than happy to offer assistance! =)

[suds]

Hi.
it can be over whelming at first ,
Hang in there The great thing about this site is that there are many people here who are passionate about there furry baby's and always ready and willing to help you with what ever problems you have. You will get many different opinions here as well not everyone is the same or ferret is the same so its great to have so many different things to look at and decide what's best for You and your ferret .

So don't ever be afraid to ask anything . also look here holisticferret.proboards80.com/index.cgi?board=newbie and read about how others have or started to switched and the different choices they have made . you will see there are many options that you can use to decide what's best for you .

here is the newbies nutrition questions thread too holisticferret.proboards80.com/index.cgi?board=newbquest

I am very new to ferrets as well and have learned allot just from reading these threads and learn more almost every day about ferret nutrition, behavior, and health .

[weloveourweasels]

We are not bashing in anyways. I'm sorry If I may have came off as harsh but keep in mind that WAS a copy and pasted answer from yahoo answers. At least you knew yo take the banana pieces out of the nutri phase that was very good. Many people especially on yahoo answers think it is so cute to feed their ferrets bananas and raisins and everything that will kill them in the long run and any time I try to tell them something different they give me thumbs down and someone else who also feeds bananas and raisin and cereal and chips wins best answer. I wish I could stay away from that site but I feel like it is my duty to try to help one fuzzy at a time. I mean look at the answer I copy and pasted the girl who was dead set that 8 in 1 was THE BEST food agreed that it wasn't and is going to switch to zupreem. Which isn't the BEST food but IMO it is better than 8 in 1; since she doesn't want to order off the Internet. All we want to do it be here to help you not bash you. I'm sorry if any of us (here or other places) may have made you feel like we were bashing you we just get alarmed at what some people think is good. I hope the information I gave you helped.