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Post by razzlette on Sept 3, 2008 6:53:27 GMT -5
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Post by Forum Administrator on Sept 3, 2008 14:12:29 GMT -5
Bugs:
Mealworms
Waxworms
Crickets
Silkworms
Red Wigglers
Night Crawlers
Fish:
Whole, raw (not canned) sardines
Whole, raw (not canned) anchovies
Whole, raw mullies
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Post by buzzonesbirdie on Sept 5, 2008 6:43:55 GMT -5
Hi, Giuli let me know that she gave me to you as your offical mentor.
From what i see you are almost there and just have a few little problems..like bone with your little one...
So a little about me
I am a 28 year sahm to 5 and 6 year old girls.
When i meet my husband he had one ferret Freedom and within 10 months(maybe less) we were at 10 ferrets. We just got 4 more which i am switching right now so we are 13 ferrets right now.
We switched Freedom, Snowy, Fatty,Tootsie and Tigger. We got everyone switch but Fatty. He was feed seperatly 4 times a day with Kibble(not any fun let me tell you).
Then we added Riely who was swtiched within days as he was a baby.
Then came Crash, who within of being with us for 2 hours was eating chicken.
Durring this time we managed to get Fatty eating soup but never got him to chunks.
We then added Zues and Xena--at this time we put Zues, Xena and Fatty in one cage and got Zues and Xena on the soup that Fatty was on and within a month all three were on raw (Something finally clicked with Fatty--we dont know how what or why but were glad that it did).
Then our last two added were Hydra and Odin and they came from a private breeder who feed them raw so no switching was needed.
Now i am working on the new ones
I feed raw and whole prey. The whole prey that I feed is from rodenpro and we do mice, baby chicks, quail, and rabbits. For some reason i cannot feed rats (i dont know please dont ask ) about once a month or so hubby will go buy live hoppers and then the fuzzies go nuts. Even Fatty who is blind manges to get a few(but Hydra kills some and brings them to him its cute)
Ok thats about it -enough about me back to you....
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Post by buzzonesbirdie on Sept 5, 2008 6:46:34 GMT -5
As far as meats that I feed that i find in the store that mine like too one is lamb--i can find it in my store, they eat it like its going out of style. I also feed salmon, it is my fav fish so when i have it i cut up some for them and they like that too. (i know not a whole fish but i do not feed alot of fish to them) I noticed that with my babies Crash and Riely it took them a while before they were eating bone, to me its good that you found one with teeth marks on it and broken. Did you notice if the bone was missing marrow out of were it was broken?? IF not thats ok just check the next one and let me know  |
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Post by razzlette on Sept 6, 2008 8:24:15 GMT -5
He ate the top grissel off of the leg bone but yesterday. As for the broken bone the other day I'm not sure. When I was at the store yesterday I did see some lamb but I didn't pick it up. TBH I didn't look at it to much to even see what part is was I just saw LAMB on the label.
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Post by razzlette on Sept 6, 2008 8:59:10 GMT -5
I figured that I would fill out a new one seeing we now have Katara. 1. How many ferrets do you currently have? What are their names, ages, genders, and do they have any health problems?2 Zuko (13 weeks) and Katara New baby Katara female 6-8 weeks old (thats what they told me) No health problems that I know of. 2. What are your ferrets currently eating? What Kind of diet do you want to switch to? Katara was eating kibble at the pet store. When I brought her home she is now eating chicken and a little bit of NV. She eats about 1/2 and oz 4 + times a day. She is not on a feeding schedule yet.
3. Please list the current weight for your ferret(s). Do they appear overweight? Underweight? How is there muscle tone? I will have to get back to you on this one (I am at work) 4. What is the condition of your ferret's teeth/gums? (can you get a picture?)Zuko's are beautiful white. Katara has tiny white baby teeth. 5. Describe the texture/color of your ferrets coat.Zuko's is soft thin white with a bit of pepper coloring on his back. Katara has Soft thick dark gray under coat. Kind of dark gray/black top coat. On her head she has a stripe from her nose to the back of her head then a white spot the size of you thumb on the back of her neck. she does have some yellow staining under her neck. 6. How often does your ferret go to the bathroom?Zuko every 4 hrs or so. Katara I'm not to sure yet. 7. Does your ferret's feces and/or urine smell? Zuko's not so much any more. Katara YES. Hers stinks bad. 8. Smell your ferret. How strong is their odor?Zuko does have that small ferret smell but right now is mixed with dog drool  so he kinda stinks lol. Katara smelled bad when I brought her home. After I gave her a bath she didn't smell quite as bad but still smells. 9. On a scale of 1-10, 1 being completely lethargic and 10 being "through the roof!" what is your ferret's energy level?Zuko hands down is a 9 if not a 10. Katara I would have to give her a 4. She like to run around but she like to lay on me and just take it all in. she sleeps more than Zuko but that may be because she is a lot younger. 10. How excited is your ferret about meal time (when fed kibble)?They don't get any kibble. But on raw: Zuko tries to jump out of my hands and he will run to his tote if he sees his bowl even if it isn't feeding time. He is a chow hound. Katara she is getting better. About 6 hours after we got her I gave her some chicken in small chunks and hes was swallowing them whole. So I had to give her bigger chunk so she would chew it. She love the chicken but not the NV so much. 11. Have you attempted to switch from kibble to a natural diet in the past? If so, what methods have you tried. Be specific.Zuko I just gave him chicken and he was hooked. 12. What other information about your ferret(s) would you like to share? They are so loved. My 4 kids think the world of them and take care of them as much as they can. My hubby calls Katara his and Zuko mine but I take care of them both. Katara is a bitter but we are working on that. I still think Zuko is def but that doesn't change anything. They seem to be getting along great! Hubby and I just finished the new cage so they will be moving in tonight! ~Stacy |
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Post by Forum Administrator on Sept 6, 2008 21:15:40 GMT -5
Just wanted to check in. Who is eating what right now?
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Post by razzlette on Sept 8, 2008 7:20:07 GMT -5
Sorry for not getting back earlier. This weekend has been crazy.
Yesterday Zuko had Chicken for breakfast 2 NVs fro lunch. As for supper he didn't want to eat. He did nibble on a bit but not much at all. This morning he didn't want to eat much. We offered him NV and Chicken. He wouldn't eat ether out of the bowl. I hand fed him a few pinches of the NV then he was done. He got me kinda worried.
Katara yesterday morning she had Chicken breast about 1/2 oz. Lunch more chicken about 1/2 oz. Supper was offered at 8 they didn't want to eat. So at 11 I gave her some chicken and she did eat it.
Zuko is acting like normal. He had some what of a big lunch so I hope that's all it is. Or maybe he is just slowing down on eating? I guess we will keep an eye on him and see what happens.
Add: Lunch time was at 2:00. Katara ate about 1/2 Oz of NV. Zuko chowed down on 2 NV's. Yesterday they didn't get much play time so today they have been out quite a bit. Katara seems to be getting the hick-ups after she eats some times. She may just be eating to quick.
~Stacy
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Post by buzzonesbirdie on Sept 8, 2008 20:41:30 GMT -5
My Hydra used to get the hickups all the time and after a while she just stopped getting them not really sure why or what started or stoped them.
Zuko should still be eating everything in sight, but if he has one or two slow days i woulndt be worried about it
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Post by Forum Administrator on Sept 9, 2008 1:27:20 GMT -5
Ferrets occasionally will eat a little less. Jasmine (and Jaycee) are familiar with the "self imposed ferret fast" some days ferrets just wont eat much (or even anything!) and then the next day they are right back to normal. I find that if they only do this occasionally (and they are health, of sound weight, and non insulinomic) its okay to let them fast themselves for a day(but do keep food available in case they change their minds  ) If the refusal to eat persists for a couple of days, try offering a new food. Sometimes a kick of variety is just what they need to get them eating again (suprising because we are so used to our ferrets eating the same food day in and day out. Once they "go natural" they tend to demand variety. Its funny). |
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Post by razzlette on Sept 9, 2008 6:49:54 GMT -5
I offered some supper last night at 8:00 and Zuko didn't want it. Katara ate another 1/2 Oz. At about 11:30 I offered Zuko some food and he ate about an oz. This morning I gave him what he didn't finish last night and he turned his nose up at it. So I offered him some NV and he ate about 1/2 oz. Katara decided she wanted Zukos breakfast and started munching on the bone. She did good on in. Then she ate some chicken and went back to some NV. She is still eating so I'm not sure how much she has had yet.
Zuko is still eating but it seems he is slowing down. In all yesterday he had about 3 oz of food. There for a bit he was eating 2 oz every meal. He is still active, his poo looks normal, he is drinking normal. He didn't start this until we got Katara.
I get so worried when things like this happen. I know I over react but I can't help it. I am trying to my best for my fur babies.
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Post by Forum Administrator on Sept 9, 2008 13:20:41 GMT -5
How old is Zuko right now? 3oz per day sounds right on target for a ferret that has just finished growing  I'm way proud of Katara! Way to go! Got any pics of her munching on the bone?  |
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Post by razzlette on Sept 9, 2008 20:25:57 GMT -5
Well I got him at the start of Aug. and they said he was 8 weeks. So he is about 14 weeks. I went back to get his paper on his b-day and they didn't know what one to give me. Yea not the best pet store. The paper they gave me was May 20. That would make him 16 weeks today.
For supper I offered him a chicken leg and he didn't want it so I gave it to Katara. She did pretty good on it. I offered Zuko some ground meat ball mix and he almost a 1/2 oz. He did eat some meat off of Katara's leg. I am going to offer him some thing before bed about 11:00. I bought a 10lb bag of Chicken wings today from Sam's so that is what they are getting tomorrow. Thursday is going to be liver day.
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Post by Forum Administrator on Sept 9, 2008 20:59:50 GMT -5
Well at around 14 weeks he should still have a bigger appetite then 3 oz a day (because he is still growing). I wouldnt worry though. See how he does over the next week. Like I mentioned earlier, try him on a different meat, or a meat you've fed before but havent fed much off. Let me know how liver day goes |
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Post by buzzonesbirdie on Sept 9, 2008 21:09:17 GMT -5
Hydra, Crash, Riely, and Odin all of whom were babies when i got them had their on and off days most days they ate like they had never seen food before. Other days they looked at it like ok and... I would do what Giuli said and give something that they eat but do not get often. Let me know how it goes
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so he kinda stinks lol.