|
|
Post by mleigh86 on Dec 7, 2008 23:30:26 GMT -5
1. How many ferrets do you currently have? What are their names, ages, genders, and do they have any health problems (this is VERY important)?I have one boy about 8 weeks no health problems so far. not named yet. was considering Sid Viscous since he bites so much. it fits him. before I even got him I was considering Ruger. 2. What are your ferrets currently eating? Include their main diet, plus any treats or supplements (such as duk soup).I got him thursday since then hes been on kibble. tonight he had one chicken liver mixed with the rest of his kibble that was left in the bowl from this morning. friday he got 2 pinkies. 3. What kind of diet do you want to switch to?kibble with raw and live every other day or so. 4. Why do you want to switch to this more natural diet? its what they eat naturally in the wild which is less processed with additives and fake stuff. 5. Where/what/who got you interested in natural diets?ferret village forum sent me here when i was asking questions on live feeding and raw. 6. Please list the current weight for your ferret(s). Do they appear overweight? Underweight? How is there muscle tone? not alot of muscle tone hes still so young and clumsy he seems average weight. ill have to weigh him and get back to you. 7. What is the condition of your ferret's teeth/gums? (can you get a picture?) good. ill try to get a picture. 8. Describe the texture/color of your ferrets coat.hes a cinnamon panda. dark reddish markings on the legs. rest is champagne. hes pretty soft but wirey/coarse at the same time.
9. How often does your ferret go to the bathroom?1-2? times a day 10. Does your ferret's feces and/or urine smell? starting to a little but it needs to be changed. 11. Smell your ferret. How strong is their odor?pretty faint. 12. On a scale of 1-10, 1 being completely lethargic and 10 being "through the roof!" what is your ferret's energy level?almost a 5. hes still a little wobbley and clumsy here and there. 13. How excited is your ferret about meal time (when fed kibble)?eager to eat but not like when i gave him raw the first time with the livers. 14. Have you attempted to switch from kibble to a natural diet in the past? If so, what methods have you tried. Be specific. only the 2 live pinkies 2 days ago and the chicken liver tonight. 15. What other information about your ferret(s) would you like to share? 16. If you can, please post a clear photograph of EACH of your ferrets directly below: 17. a.) Do you understand that by starting this thread you commit to posting updates on the progress of your ferret(s) diet switch atleast every other day?**yes b.) Do you understand that if you will be away from your computer for an extended period of time you will need to exchange phone numbers (or email addresses if you don't feel comfortable exchanging numbers)via private message with your assigned mentor, so that we can monitor your progress and ensure your ferret's saftey during the switch?yes c.) Do you understand that any threads that have not been updated in for more then a week (with no explaination as to why you are absent) will result in the deletion of the thread?***yes **Note 1: If you are unable to make it to a computer (such as on weekends) please indicate below so we know whether you just dont have computer access or if you have gone MIA. ***Note 2: If you would like to try the switch again and you are committed to making regular updates you ARE welcome to restart your thread. Failure to provide regular updates will result in the deletion of your thread.
|
|
|
|
Post by tsslilsis on Dec 8, 2008 13:19:32 GMT -5
Hi! I'm Katherine AKA Ketlin and I'll be mentoring you. I have three ferrets who are all rescued. First came Weezer who is about three, then came Lillian who is about two and then came Ravi who is grown but young. Weezer and Lillian came from homes with teenage boys who decided they had better things to do and Ravi was abandoned when his people moved. You'll be glad to know that since you are switching him to a raw diet so young, he will get bigger than a kibble fed baby.  How much liver did you give him? If he has only had pinkies and liver than that is a lot of organ. And I have to ask. New ferret owners commonly make the mistake of thinking their male ferrets are females. Both of my boys came to me as supposedly being girls. Are you sure he's a he? -~Ketlin |
|
|
|
Post by mleigh86 on Dec 8, 2008 22:43:53 GMT -5
Hi Katherine Im Meredith and first time ferret owner. I havent really named him for sure but it looks like Sid vicious, after the music artist, is going to stick. Hes a viscious biter, but making progress.
He had a whole liver and almost a half. It seemed like a lot for him but he ate it all. This morning I wet down about 1/3 cup of kibble by 10 pm there was much more than half left. probably was because he wasnt awake that long to eat more because he had playtime and about 1 teaspoon of turkey & turkey broth baby food through play time and a few mealworms then ate all but 1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons left of his kibble played some more then finished it off. He fell back asleep while I was moistening some more for him. when it was ready i woke him up and he ate a little more.
Im not sure if he is a boy I just got him and havent got to his 9 wk 2nd round of shots yet.
The lady i bought him from said he was a boy. I ordered him through a local pet store asking for specific coloring and stuff. The pet store owner told me she said if I wasnt happy with him I could switch him out. that same night i went and traded them. then the rest shipped out the next morning at 5am.
I wanted the cutest one and preferrably a certain color but still wasnt too keen on ordering him and not getting to see him before the purchase. but in the end it was in my favor for the invite to look at the other possible 2 left to pick from.
Will feeding live make him more likely to prey on any of my cats?
when you say the pinkies and liver is a lot of organ do you mean that like being on the verge of too much organ? Should I only give him organs every other day and meat the other days?
|
|
|
|
Post by tsslilsis on Dec 9, 2008 12:29:43 GMT -5
Are you wanting to do raw and kibble in rotation or just raw/whole prey?
Look at his belly.. If he is a boy, he will have what some people mistake for a belly button... If he's a girl, he will have nothing on his stomache.
Feeding him live prey will not make him likely to prey on your cats.. I've never heard of a ferret trying to eat a cat before.. Chances are the ferret will just view the cats as play buddies.
The minumum for organ is once a week. If your giving him whole prey every day or every other day than I would say that is enough organ.. There is no need to add extra in that case. Also, feeding him a meal of nothing but organ could cause smelly, loose stools.
-~Ketlin
|
|
|
|
Post by mleigh86 on Dec 10, 2008 0:08:46 GMT -5
He's definitely a boy.
I'm wanting to do kibble kind of in rotation to start. I gave him a chicken wind and he freaked out to the point where i was afraid to touch him. When i tried he went crazy jumping around and i thought he would bite me. I put a towel over him and picked him up and put him in his cage. I came back and he was sleeping. when he woke up he was calm and I gave him a gizzard and didnt seem very interested so I gave him kibble. Didnt look like he ate any of that.
How do you go abouting feeding. where and when? When I feed him raw meat should i not handle him? feed him in his cage? what do you feed your ferrets. how much do they eat and how often? how would you differ the variance with a kit rather than adult?
Do ferrets eat the whole wing, bone and all? Has you or anyone you know raised a ferret on raw and live from a young kit?
sorry so many questions.
|
|
|
|
Post by tsslilsis on Dec 10, 2008 0:32:50 GMT -5
Its not really a good idea to offer kibble and raw at the same time or one directly after the other (unless it is kibble powder sprinkled on raw food, which is sometimes used to switch stubborn ferrets) as the kibble and meat are digested at different rates and sometimes that can upset their stomaches.
He sounds like he may be food aggressive, which isn't surprising since he is a biter.. He may get over it as he spends more time with you and realizes that you are going to continue to supply him with food. I personally feed my ferrets once a day (After putting them up for the day), but the food will last them around 10 hours. They eat in the cage, but it doesn't really matter where you feed him as long as its kept sanitary. And I would probably pet him when he's eating.. I pet mine when they are eating, IMO it would probably help him realize you mean no harm.
Adult ferrets will eat whole chicken wings, but your baby is so young I don't think he'd be able to. I would probably stick with meat chunks for the time being.
There are many people who put baby ferrets on raw as soon as they can eat solids. It supplies them with more things they need nutritionally and it helps them grow bigger and to have more muscle tone.
My ferrets eat mostly a raw prey model diet but they also eat whole pre killed whole prey. I've not fed them live prey yet.
An adult ferret will eat about two ounces per day, but obviously for a two month old it will be a lot less.
-~Ketlin
|
|
|
|
Post by mleigh86 on Dec 10, 2008 22:48:25 GMT -5
today he had strictly kibble. So i wont feed him raw and kibble at the same time but would it be alright to give him one in the morning and the other at night? Or should i just do all kibble one day and all raw the next?
Ive heard the kits eat way more than the adults...i believe i read a post that said her babies ate 4-6 oz of meat a day.
His enregy level has picked up alot. I think thats because hes become more adjusted to his new home.
christmas eve my friend is bringing her ferret for me to babysit for a week. He is an older one maybe 5yrs+. My cage is 2 stories that you can close off into 2 seperate cages or open into one. After I introduce them if they get along can I let them be caged together unsupervised?
|
|
|
|
Post by tsslilsis on Dec 11, 2008 10:51:21 GMT -5
About a five hour wait would be good.. So after feeding raw, don't give kibble for five hours or vise versa.
That kit may have been private bred. Marshalls ferrets aren't bred well and are taken from their mothers very young, so they are much smaller than private bred ferrets which means they will eat less. I'm assuming that your ferret is Marshalls. If he is he will have two dots tattooed on the inside of his ear.. He is also still very young.
His energy level is probably partly the diet switch as well as his getting use to his new home.
If they get along then they should be fine together alone.. But be sure to monitor them for a while to make sure that they are 100% fine with each other. Also, do Not let them near each other (As in, they will need to be different ends or levels of the house) if the other ferret has not been to the vet regularly. He could have something contagious that has not been noticed. That is why when someone brings a new feret into their house they should be quarintined for at least two weeks. And no germs can be passed from the friends ferret to your ferret if thats the case.
-~Ketlin
|
|
|
|
Post by mleigh86 on Dec 11, 2008 19:17:26 GMT -5
when i feed raw should i offer organs muscle and meat at the same time or just one at a time per meal?
Also I'm still teaching him not to bite... he will bite but not like he used to. Its not hard does not hurt and hes not trying to rip flesh off. So should i not use my hands as a toy to play with him and should i not let him bite even if it does not hurt?
tonight i fed him chicken wing meat and a gizzard. he got the hicups after a few bites...then he seemed to be choking like a cat does when hacking a hairball like he swallowed too big of a piece.
he got over it and finished eating. I figured he was done eating when he took a piece and ran behind the cage and stashed it in a dark corner.
he is a marshall. He has 2 tatts on his ear and I recieved a health certificate and the mail in form for the birth cert.
|
|
|
|
Post by tsslilsis on Dec 12, 2008 14:37:37 GMT -5
It would be best to feed the meat and organ at the same time.. A meal of just organ can cause nasty poops so it would be more natural and balanced to feed both at the same time.
Are you sure its not play biting? Weezer is big on play biting and it doesn't hurt but if you continue to play with him he can get nasty quick. Lily bites sometimes a lot and we do not play with her with our hands. It would probably be best for you not to until he breaks his biting habit. I would suggest toys like cat teasers..
I am going to be out of town for the weekend, but I will try to get on here and be check in.
-~Ketlin
|
|
|
|
Post by mleigh86 on Dec 15, 2008 11:57:30 GMT -5
ive been feeding atleast one raw meal a day. When I feed him raw I will hold him in one hand and feed him with the other in my lap. hes still somewhat food aggressive but not as bad as he was. Ill continue doing this but I think he may stay a little that way forever.
still trying to potty train. He will go in his box in the cage but outside the cage hes used the box a couple times and once he went all the way back in his cage to do so. now hes back to going where he wants. this morning he looked like he was about to back it up so i put him in the box and he just went back to the same spot and peed!!!! so aggrivating but if he went all the way to his cage to use the box i believe theres still hope. I keep a box out on the floor but he went all the way inside his cage that time.
|
|
|
|
Post by mleigh86 on Dec 15, 2008 23:11:07 GMT -5
I'm a little worried tonight. I gave him chicken hearts and lamb neck. Now a few hours later I let him out to play and he keeps licking his behind, on his back before his tail starts, and on his belly. I was washing his lower half ealier today, because he stepped in poo. I saw one flea on him and got it. I havent seen anymore. I have let him in the front yard a few times and somteimes plays inside with the dog but I dont think the dogs has fleas, not that I can tell.
?
|
|
|
|
Post by tsslilsis on Dec 16, 2008 17:01:05 GMT -5
Fleas aren't a major problem.. But if they eat them they could get tape worms.. So here is a natural solution:
Natural Flea/Tick Preventative: 1tbsp apple cider vinegar per 16oz of water. IMPORTANT! If they stop drinking the water, you will need to add less vinegar! For a spray on flea/tick replellant you can use Neem Oil. You can use this for your dog, cat, and ferrets. Apple cider vinegar also helps to promote digestive health.
You can use the same for the dog as a just-in-case. You can also give them baths with vinegar in them, the fleas will drop off dead, but be sure not to get it in their eyes or it will burn.. Use alittle more than you would in the drinking water.. Raw, unpasterized vinegar has more benefits for the inside of the body, but for the baths you can just use the regular cheap ACV.
Does his butt look weird at all? It could possibly be a prolapse... If not, is he still licking at it? I think the problem might be that it was a little much bone.. The diet should be 80% meat, 10% bone and 10% organ. Neck has a lot of bone in it, but it is fine when given with more meat.
Sometimes what works for getting them to stop using the bathroom in the wrong place is to take just cheap tiles from home Depot or where ever and just lay them over the spot where they are going.. Or you could start putting newspaper down there and he will either get the idea or use the bathroom on it which is better than going on the floor.
I'm sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I was away longer than planned.
-~Ketlin
|
|
|
|
Post by mleigh86 on Dec 17, 2008 22:20:17 GMT -5
im going to make a vet appt tomorrow morning for whatever is soonest available. his butt hol is very puffy and inflamed. it looks like part of the inside came out. the only thing i can think is the raw food?
|
|
|
|
Post by tsslilsis on Dec 18, 2008 9:57:37 GMT -5
No. It is a prolapsed rectum and it has nothing to do with the raw food. It can happen when a ferret is put on kibble too young, or it could be caused by litter getting their butts when they poo. What type of litter are you using? Never, ever use clay or silica litters (Wether or not they are clumping) for a ferret!!! Also, the vet is probably going to say that raw is a bad diet and that he should be on Marshalls ferret kibble. Vets aren't trained for nutrition and the few that are are taught to believe that grain and veggie based diets are best. Just because you know how to heal an animal doesn't mean you know what its diet should be, so if they tell you to switch to a poor quality kibble, do not believe them. The kibble may be what has caused this in the first place.
-~Ketlin
|
|
