Hello from Tourist Central

[musickoala]

Hello my name is Becca and I have 4 little ones. I got them this past August after the passing of my guinea pig Punky. Punky had been a valentines day present to me from my boyfriend back in 2003 so that I would have someone to talk to when he had to go home and visit his family on breaks. After she died I found that I really enjoyed animals and after looking at different types of animals I decided on getting a ferret. After more research I decided to get 2 so they would not be lonely when my bf and I are at work.

We got Diego and Frida and within a few days I felt bad for leaving one of the ones we looked at back at the store so I returned to buy Aiko. I returned to the same store to pick up some more bedding on the way home from work and saw that there was only 1 little one left. I asked the person working if I could hold the little one and he opened the cage for me. From the moment I picked him up I knew Beau had to come home with me. He felt just like skin and bones and looked so small compared to the ones we had at home.

When I took them all to the vet and they saw how tiny and sluggish Beau was they were worried that he might be very sick. We had to keep him in quarantine for a bit. The vet wanted to do a bunch of tests however I wanted to wait because I had a feeling that he had just been depressed for being left alone. I started hand feeding him duk soup and by the next vet visit they were very pleased with the results.

I want to try to switch them to a raw diet because of what I have learned on this site and on others.

[Heather]

Hi and welcome Becca and Diego, Frida, Aiko and Beau.
It's wonderful that you went back and got the other little furbabies, that in itself is as much a rescue as anyone rescueing from a bad home. Petstore people are all about the bottom line, they never think about the bonds that form between furbabies while they're in their care, this can be devastating to young kits. Thank you
Raw or natural feeding does indeed give your furbabies advantages and because they're young they shouldn't have much trouble switching. I strongly suggest you read the various threads in the diet section of the forum. Please feel free to ask questions, no matter how silly they may seem to you, the only silly question is the one not asked Check out the mentoring section for some ideas about different methods to switch your furbabies, or maybe look into getting a mentor to help you make the switch. It sometimes helps to have a shoulder to cry on :'(when the furkids are being difficult about switching ) Each switch is different, so collaberation is sometimes a necessary evil but you can also get a lot of your answers by simply posting your question (sometimes it's just difficult trying to decide what to do when you have a huge diversity of answers .
Good luck, I hope I will see you around
ciao

[musickoala]

Thank you for the response. I got them at a different pet store than the normal Petco or Petsmart. When we originally got Diego and Frida we found that one of the people at the store has ferrets and he gave us some tips on them. One nice thing about the place was the fact he worked there and he actually nip trains all of the kits by putting them in his shirt pocket an carrying them around with him. My bf and I had gone back to the store multiple times before we got to take them home and there had been a sign that said they were not able to be taken out or be sold. As we were bringing the little ones out I asked him about it and he said that he noticed that a couple of them had a cold and wanted to make sure they got better before they went home.


Part of the reason I had gone back for little Aiko was the fact that after doing my researched I saw that there was a good possibility she was deaf. Within a couple days guilt got to me and I thought about her all day at work because not only did I feel like I did not give her a fair chance but I separated her from Diego (they were both curled up together when we went to pick out the little ones).

I have made a post on the mentoring section as I have a feeling that I will have trouble with the girls especially Frida. My bf gave her a nickname a couple days ago of Ferris Hilton because she does not eat as much as the other 3.

[suds]

welome to the forum

I see the little guys stole your heart quickly ferret math sneaks up on you . here are a few links to start out with . I always suggest you read a few threads in the mentor section to get a ideal of how the mentor program works and you can see some of the differnt ways others are trying during there switch then when you are ready just simply start your own thread and someone will be glad to help you .
ask any questions you mite have I promis no one will bite you for them . we all understand and are glad to help .

goodluck with you switch and hope you enjoy it here

Mentor thread
holisticferret.proboards80.com/index.cgi?board=newbie

Preliminary Questions. All newbies MUST fill out
holisticferret.proboards80.com/index.cgi?board=newbie&action=display&thread=822

Newbie Questions
holisticferret.proboards80.com/index.cgi?board=newbquest

[sherrylynne]

Hi, Becka! Welcome to Holistic Ferret. Oh, my, but 4 at once is a handful . Kudos to you for rescuing all of them! Like Heather and Suds said, browse around, check things out, ask questions, after all, that's what we're here for!

And since you are new to natural feeding, here are some links to help you navigate the site:

Post all questions about natural ferret diet here:
holisticferret.proboards80.com/index.cgi?board=newbquest

When you are ready to make the switch to a natural diet, fill out one of these forms:
holisticferret.proboards80.com/index.cgi?board=newbie&action=display&thread=822

and start a thread in this section (copy/paste the filled out form into your first post):
holisticferret.proboards80.com/index.cgi?board=newbie

Post all questions/updates on the progress of your ferret's diet switch in that one thread.

After making your initial post we will help you start the switch and we will assign you a "Holistic Ferret Mentor" to assist you and monitor your progress.

[nwheather]

Welcome Becca! My name is Heather. Looks like ferret math hit you right away! I'm up to 9 weasels, (two being fosters).
It's great to have you here!

[amymelissa]

Hi Becca
I have 3 furbabies. Taz is about 1 1/2, Damien is about 9 weeks and Bandit is under 9 weeks about.

I'm currently in the mentor program and it's been a great thing! It so nice to have someone to bounce idea's off of, pat your back and or just have that assurance that they will come around!