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Post by razzlette on Aug 11, 2008 10:09:55 GMT -5
1. How many ferrets do you currently have? What are their names, ages, genders, and do they have any health problems?1 Male named Prince Zuko (just Zuko for short) about 9 weeks old. 2. What are your ferrets currently eating? What Kind of diet do you want to switch to?He is on 8 in 1 switching to Evo. I would like to go some what raw. 3. Please list the current weight for your ferret(s). Do they appear overweight? Underweight? How is there muscle tone?A week ago (8/5) he was 355g or 12 1/2 oz. He seems a bit more now but he is awake right now so I will check it in a bit. As for muscle tone not much at all. 4. What is the condition of your ferret's teeth/gums? (can you get a picture?)They look fine to me. I will work for a pic later. 5. Describe the texture/color of your ferrets coat.Soft, White undercoat with a bit of silver on his back. 6. How often does your ferret go to the bathroom?Um... not for sure I will keep an eye out. 7. Does your ferret's feces and/or urine smell?Yes, his poo smells quite bad. He was on Marchall's food when I got him. 8. Smell your ferret. How strong is their odor?Better now that he has been with me. He was bad when I first got him. He is going to get a bath today so I hope that helps a bit more. 9. On a scale of 1-10, 1 being completely lethargic and 10 being "through the roof!" what is your ferret's energy level?I would say an easy 8. He is a wild man. 10. How excited is your ferret about meal time (when fed kibble)? Quite a bit. I think hes happy he gets his food to him self for once in his life. 11. What other information about your ferret(s) would you like to share? He is a quick learner! He was litter trained in 2 days. If he has to go when he is out of the cage he runs to the cage to go. When he is awake and not eating he is out of the cage playing with the dog and kids. He has never bit he just licks. When he plays he will put his teeth on you but not bite.  Stacy
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Post by suds on Aug 11, 2008 11:17:29 GMT -5
Hi Stacy after reading your other post's  I am glad to see you made the choice to going to some raw , I and sure many others will envy you becuase your kit is so young he should be easy to switch to raw. after you see how easy and cheaper it is to feed raw it would not surprise me that you will decide to not use kibble at all. I wish you goodluck and hope you have lots of fun with the journey of finding the the best diet for you and Zuko . It can be frustraiting at times but also can be alot of fun aswell as a great bonding experince. |
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Post by razzlette on Aug 11, 2008 19:16:38 GMT -5
Thank you for the encouragement! Tonight at 8:00 est Zuko was getting tired after playing so I put him in his cage and he went up to eat. So I figured well hes hungry so I may as well see if he will eat the free sample of NV Chicken. So I took it out of the fridge cut it in half and put it in his bowl. I let him smell it and he just walked off. So I put some on my finger and he ate it off my finger! Did it 2 more times ate it with out a problem. So I put the bowl back in and he gobbled it up! After he was done he was pratley sitting in his bowl looking for more! I gave him the other half and he ate that even faster! After he was done he when to bed. I have another sample I pulled out of the freezer. Should I give him kibble tonight and the NV tomorrow? First try of raw!   |
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Post by josiesmom on Aug 11, 2008 19:36:19 GMT -5
Nope! Don't give him ANY more kibble- he's done switched!
TADA! Now wasn't that easy?
Congratulations!
Cheers,
Kim
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Post by razzlette on Aug 11, 2008 19:48:03 GMT -5
Wow! That was easy... Ok so next question how much do I give him tomorrow? Each medallion is about 1oz. I went out today to get more of the NV but they didn't have 2 chicken. Should I try another flavor or should I wait till I know hes hooked? Guess I will be going back out tomorrow to get a bag or 2!
Thanks!
Stacy
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Post by josiesmom on Aug 11, 2008 20:59:57 GMT -5
Being as he is young, let him tell YOU how much to feed. Give him as much as he wants at least three times a day. Yup, try a different flavor! Introduce him to variety now and there won't be any stopping him when you bring home groceries! DOn't LET him get "hooked" on any one flavor. Offer him one flavor for dinner, another for breakfast, add some ground beef or chicken or turkey or veal or lamb to the mix for lunch.
In short order you can move him onto actual pieces of meat and also meaty bones to keep his teeth healthy.
When you are out and about tomorrow, pick up some chicken necks- he's at a perfect age to want to chew and gnaw on things. These are superb for keeping teeth clean and also offer him nutrients to keep his joints healthy.
You've got a teeny carnivore there- nurtutre and grow that and you'll be absolutely amazed at how he'll glow!
Donate your kibble to a shelter so there is no going back!
Cheers!
Kim
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Post by velvetfuzzbutt on Aug 11, 2008 21:18:40 GMT -5
I love seeing raw feeding photos, Zuko looks like a smart and HAPPY little guy. =)  |
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Post by Forum Administrator on Aug 12, 2008 1:42:06 GMT -5
Gotta love the babies  Wasnt it nice to only take 2 seconds to get him switched? Even though he's technically switched, keep posting updates here and asking questions. I have a feeling that once you see how well he does on the NV you might want to get him to go all natural  You wouldnt be the first person to decide to go "all the way" and if not, that is fine too. Either way we are here to help |
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Post by razzlette on Aug 12, 2008 7:44:16 GMT -5
Yea I was shocked when he just gobbled it up! I figured it would take at least a month lol. So this morning I only had one medallion left from the sample and gave that to him and again gone in 60 sec. So I cut up some chicken breast that I had in the freezer. At first he wasn't sure about it then I made him try it and he was hooked! I went to pick him up to see how he was doing and he was like a dog protecting his food lol. He would not put it down for anything breakfast!   |
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Post by pear2apple on Aug 12, 2008 10:10:13 GMT -5
That is fantastic!! I'm so happy he liked the NV, and even better he's eating the raw chicken!!!
I would definitely try a few more kinds of NV. The rabbit and lamb is what I feed, but the beef and venison are up next! Did you get your coupon?? Definitely hook yourself up with a few kinds, if you feed raw chicken, why not try 2 other kinds of NV instead of the chicken NV? The more different kinds, the better! Especially if you can get him eating many different types of raw (supposing they are available to you) that would be great!
Good luck! I am happy it was such an easy switch for you!
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Post by razzlette on Aug 12, 2008 13:53:46 GMT -5
Yes I did get my coupon and used it today! I got the venison and rabbit. With tax and all it was only 13.99 weee! I'm not to sure where I can get chicken necks... I've never had to look for them before. I'm going to check Kroger tonight and see what all they have.
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Post by razzlette on Aug 12, 2008 13:55:31 GMT -5
Oh and I am planing on going to the Buckeye bash in Columbus on the 23 so I hope I can find some goodies for him there!
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Post by pear2apple on Aug 12, 2008 14:28:33 GMT -5
Oh and I am planing on going to the Buckeye bash in Columbus on the 23 so I hope I can find some goodies for him there! I'll see you there then! |
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Post by josiesmom on Aug 12, 2008 21:24:27 GMT -5
I am soooo tickled! Those pix and your comments actually brought tears of joy to my eyes! I absolutely LOVE it when ferrets, especially youngsters get such a great start to a healthy life! You are to be congratulated to for offering actual meat! Besides chicken necks, get some cornish game hens- watch that they don't have "broth" added, and section these up for him. If he is already showing possessiveness he'll happily tuck into the cornish hen, and whole prey may not be so far out of his picture either!
I am VERY proud of you for giving him this wonderful gift and stepping outside of your own "safety zone"!
Kudos to you!
Cheers,
Kim
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Post by razzlette on Aug 13, 2008 9:21:34 GMT -5
I could not have done it with out all of you! I found this forum just looking for some people to talk to about ferrets. Now that I have had a chance to talk with some of you I know this is the place for me!  Feeding has been going great! He had 3 different flavors of meat and liked them all! Question: Yesterday and today Zukor's stools have been looser and kinda funky looking. It is not diarrhea it still has form. Is this normal? Or is it because it is such a drastic change in his diet? Also yesterday and today hes not going consistently in his litter box. He is still going on the same level of the cage. I tried just moving the box but he went on the other side. Two boxes won't fit on that floor so anyone have any suggestions? Up until now he has been good at going in the box. |
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