starting raw feeding

[mleigh86]

the next morning it was fine. I didnt think it was a prolapsed rectum since he wasnt clogged up and was still pooping... its fine now. i will be taking him to the vet for his 2nd round of distemper shots. thanks for your help and mentoring me.

[mleigh86]

for litter i was using guinea pig food. Its large pellets. I didnt like the way it smelled so I switched to swheat step. its made from wheat and is clumping.

[tsslilsis]

Your welcome.. I'm glad he is doing better!

The reason I asked about the litter is that sometimes if you use litter made of clay then when they use the bathroom in can get in there and cause problems... But Swheat Scoop wouldn't be a problem since tis made of wheat... The clay litter expands and I think that is the main problem.

Is there any progress on the diet?

-~Ketlin

[mleigh86]

He eats everything I give him as far as raw meat. The pinkys I had are now covered in fur with eyes open. He ate one of these when they had slight fur and eyes were closed. I gave him one last night and he killed it but didnt eat it. Im thinking maybe it was because he was to full already from the lamb I gave him. I hope the extra fur isnt throwing him off some how.

[tsslilsis]

Fur is actually good for them when it comes from whole prey.. It is basically a carnivores version of fiber.

Can you give me an idea of what your menu would be like for a week? You may be able to graduate now.

-~Ketlin

[mleigh86]

is there anything I can do to fix a prolapsed rectum?

his menu for a week is about the same. Usually He will eat kibble all day until I get home from work. Then He'll have a raw dinner consisting of lamb and a fuzzy, lamb and heart and gizzards... or pork chicken and sirloin. Sometimes He will have 2 meals a day raw and the others kibble.

[tsslilsis]

From www.ferretcentral.org/faq/part4.html#prolapse

What do I do for my ferret's prolapsed rectum?
Diarrhea, constipation, irritation from surgery (especially descenting), and other things can cause a ferret to strain more when defecating, which in turn can push a portion of the rectum out the ferret's anus. It's similar to hemorrhoids, but the particular tissue that leads to hemorrhoids in humans doesn't exist in ferrets. If only a small portion of tissue (1-3 mm) is protruding, a softened diet and creams such as Preparation H can help. If there are any other symptoms (constipation, pain, diarrhea, redness or swelling), or if more than 3 mm (about 1/8 inch) is showing, have a vet look at it.

So you can moisten his kibble and give him ground watered down meat until it is better, and use some cream on him as mentioned above. A prolapse is common in kits because of the fact that they were desented not too long ago.

Your goal was to get him onto all raw, correct? If so there is no reason to continue the kibble. I think his variety looks good so far. Has he eaten any bone in meat aside from fuzzies (chicken or such)?

-~Ketlin

[mleigh86]

no bone. Ive offered him a chicken wing and he chewed on it then gave up. didnt even eat any meat off of it. my goal was to feed him about 50/50 with kibble and raw. So if I dont have any raw and cant get to the store he wont starve because he will still eat kibble. I need to get some bone meal since he wont eat bone...I dont have a bone grinder. I will have to get the bone meal from a butcher or online if I cant find it at a butcher shop.

[tsslilsis]

If you ask for the bone powder from the butchers saw, it looks like ground meat and it is better to use because it is raw.. Bone meal is cooked.

For getting him to eat bone in meat you could try the following.. I've been telling all the people I'm mentoring to try it because it does usually work.

Take a wing cut it into three sections. Cut the tip into three sections, cut the flat in half length wise and then cut each half into three, then cut the drumette into three. Meat shears work great for that.

-~Ketlin

[mleigh86]

Merry Christmas!

Well I dont have any meat shears will a steak knife work? How much can I pick up a pair for? When He eats raw whether its organ or meat his poo smells sooooooooo bad. I guess theres no way around that one huh?

[tsslilsis]

You can probably get a steak knife to work. Depending on where you get them, kitchen shears will probably be $2-$5. If you have a Ross clothing store, they sell things for home as well (kitchen supplies, etc) so you can probably find a good pair there if you look. They have good brands and their stuff is usually about half of what it would cost at other stores. Grocery stores to sell them, though.

I would say that the smelly poo is part of the detox and switch, but there isn't really a way for him to detox since you feed a combination of raw and kibble.. So I think it might just be the combination of the two. What type of kibble are you feeding?

-~Ketlin

[mleigh86]

marshall ferret kibble. It didnt smell like that until raw feeding. sometimes his poops are very liquidy and pink in color. looks like raw meat in booger/snot form.

[tsslilsis]

I would suggest switching to a higher quality kibble such as Innova Evo.. He won't eat as much so even though it cost alittle more it will last longer. Marshalls is a very, very bad ferret food.

I would give him a couple more weeks to adjust to the food and if nasty poo continues then we will probably have to switch the diet around some. I would be on a strict plan when it comes to his diet.. Kibble for breakfast and raw for dinner or vise versa so that he has regularity in the diet there for he should have regularity in his poop instead of it being "soft serve" one time and normal the next.

-~Ketlin

[mleigh86]

where do i get the higher quality food from?

[tsslilsis]

That depends on where you are located.. If you can PM me with your location/zip code I will find a place for you.

-~Ketlin