chew-hater

[mustelidmusk]

If she likes the dried meat treats (very chewy), then try a drop of water on them. the tpe of dried meats this works on is the stuff that will absorb water (Wysong Archetypal I, Stella & Chewie's, whloe life, AFS). Once she eats the dried meats with a drop of water, add 2 drops. Increase the moisture content over time.ome ferts seem to hate wet food.

Also what type of meat are you feeding. Chicken breast meat is not a favorite of my brats - it's BLAND. They prefer dark meat, which is better for them due to the higher fat and taurine contents.

Stick with it....she'll come through for you
Also, if you don't have a mentor, you can request one. A mentor can help with all sorts of ideas. The neat part is tht even if the mentor can't even accelerate the acceptance of what you want to feed (ya never really know for sure why ferts decide something's OK to eat one day!), you at least have someone to share the frustration with - it becomes fun rather than fustrating!!! I'm working with someone who has a little girl who's been holding out for months - she FINALLY eats the freeze-dried raw while her numerous brothers and sisters have been eating raw meaty bones for quite some time now. We have a lot of fun laughing about the antics of the little "Princess" ( and she IS making good progress toward a healthier diet!

Hang in there...every fert has his/her own schedule.

-jennifer

[spiritualtramp]

I second Jennifer's suggestion - there's nothing like battling the switch with someone to help you along!

[Kerit]

I think we're on the verge, actually. She's beginning to take two or three fingernail-sized bits at almost every feeding! She's more discriminating than the boys, so it's mostly nice warm giblet chunks. She doesn't seem overly impressed by plain chicken meat, like Jennifer said. And I just got my order of frozen pinkies, so I'm going to try quartering those up. Maybe she'll like tiny mouse heads

[Kerit]

I forgot to come back and share!

Sometime last week I was watching Trouble attack a dried lung piece that was bigger than her head, and then the light bulb came on. I grabbed a large-ish chicken leg piece from the boys' dish and held it out to her... and she tore right into it. I had to sit and play tug of war while she worked bites off, but I was so proud. Maybe she was insulted by all the tiny bits I was giving her? She acts more like it's a game than mealtime.

It does take her forever to chew through the muscle. There really is a neck/jaw difference between her and the boys. Plus I'm sure her teeth are not all that sharp!

So far her obvious favorites are pieces with fat and tendon... the interesting bits. She's still not thrilled with plain meat pieces.

[sherrylynne]

Congratulations!!! It seems the "Princess" has finally seen the light, as it were, and thinks it's good

[josiesmom]

While her teeth may be strong still, its quite likely they are sensitive. The cool meats can make a ferret with sensitive teeth back off. Also if their gums are tender they'll prefer to lick, rather than chew. THat's the drawbaack to soft, ground diets - no gum stimulation. Try freeze drying your ground meats and offering these to her for chewing. Freeze dry some pieces of meat and offer these to her - see if she chews these up. If she does, then you know her teeth are sensitive and her gums are tender.

Basically you could offer her reconstituted freeze dried and then move into actual raw, but the raw will need to already be at room temp, or warmer to encourage her to eat it.

Cheers,
Kim