Animalfarm2006's Switching Thread

[AnimalFarm2006]

Two day update!

Every night I make defrosted chicken soup, or I mix how much the soup has of each type of soup. Two cubes of chicken food, and one cube of raw mix. Or the other way around. My mice are growing so I don't have a lot of mice to feed off.

Monster ate & ate & ate chicken yesterday, and today he ate a decent amount of chicken + a tiny mouse hopper. He seems to be excelling over the others.

Lelloo & Jack are eating chicken chunks without much of a fuss. They are eating more than the other guys, but not as much as monster.

Ripply is chewing on meat and eating soup just under lelloo and jack. Today she even got herself a piece of mouse to eat off of lelloo's mouse.

Dakota is stubborn. She is licking the soup, but still only licks the chicken.

Pixie is really interested in mice to the point of trying to eat them, and also is finally licking up soup. I am trying to introduce chicken to her, but she is relay stubborn.

Dingo's name is still indecisive. He is also being stubborn about the soup. He likes it to an extent of licking it off your fingers. But he is a pain to try and get him to lick it up in the bowl.

He also went to the vet and was started on lupron and milk thistle.

[Heather]

What about convincing Dingo to eat off of a spoon. I find that sometimes I use the spoon as an interim feeding method especially if the ferret isn't showing any particular interest in actually eating it out of the bowl but has really gone beyond the finger feeding method. Sometimes they're much more receptive to eating it out of a spoon to start.
Sounds like your guys are eating quite well. This is fantastic, even your newbies for the most part are starting to tuck into their soupy. Good work
ciao

[AnimalFarm2006]

Drum Roll Please!

Pixie finished a plate of meat by herself. No soup...just straight big chicken chunks. YAY! She contuied to eat chunks for ever meal I served!

Jack also fed on chunks. He wasn't quite so into it as pixie, but he still ate them from my fingers. Don't worry. I still have all ten fingers.

Lelloo ate some chicken but she's too "busy" to have a sit down meal.

Ripply ate a few peices of chicken, and currently has even joined in on the mouse feast. She still is timid about keeping a hold of the chunk when I tug the body, but she is getting faster at taking a peice.

Dakota is a big question mark. I don't even know where to place her. She eats soup.. :Dlol

Monster eats chicken like a charm. He loves his soup. AND! He is fatter. My scale broke so no new measurements.

I did give them a chicken wing. They gnawed the end, and moved it + hid it every few minits.

[Heather]

Sounds to me that you and your merry band are doing very well. Awesome stuff ;D
ciao

[AnimalFarm2006]

I ran out of chicken, but I have been making soup for everyone.

Din is slowly getting into the food. I put my hand behind his but to keep him from moving away from the food bowl. He ate, hated me, but still chowed down on the realy liquid soupie.

What do you think of the name Cassonova for dingo? He is a ladies man. The vet girls fell in love for him and his bald but. He also sleeps with my girls 80% of the time. ^.^ Cass for short.

[Heather]

I like it
He sounds like a sweety. It's so difficult when you take them in and they're already sick. I've got 2 coming in at the end of the month (so much for me getting my numbers down ) The young woman was complaining that they've suddenly got really aggressive with each other and can't be kept together (sounds adrenal to me ) after living with each other for over 3 years. Both are marshals, the little female is 5 and the male is 7....poor wee things. I always feel particularly bad for the ones who have been living with someone for many years and then they're dumped. The confusion that they feel after being someone's beloved furchild, and then dumped into a rescue must be overwhelming. It's one of the unfortunate things of living near a university. The students who are in their final year are now dumping all their pets that they've kept for the last few years, because they're moving out of the area.
Give Cass a big hug and tell him he has to grow some fur on that naked butt of his
ciao

[AnimalFarm2006]

Update-

Pixie was given a chicken wing and she ate the tip of the wing off. It also disapeared for two days and only reapeared when I was cleaning to find it. It stunk.

Pixie, Ripply, and The new kid on the block all were sniffing into a pinkie last night. Rip & pix did get a peice, but lelloo ended up stealing it for herself. Greedy little bugger.

Lelloo, Jack, and Monster ate a haft grown mouse, jumper, and a pinkie.

Cass FINALY ate out of a bowl. I had to make him eat to jump start him, but he finaly ate a watered down soup with pedialite. His weight seems to be going down hill as his tail is bumpy, and he couldn't hold himself up while giving everyone a bath to get rid of fleas. I have a stash of soup in the frig to warm up and serve just for him.

He has ulcer meds + monster is on meds once a day again. I don't want him getting ulcers again.

Dakota is still being non interested.

[AnimalFarm2006]

I am going to give them a chicken wing clipped onto something tonight just so I don't loose the meat.

[Heather]

Sounds to me that you're making progress. I feel for poor Cass. I hope he starts feeling better soon. Keep it up
ciao

[AnimalFarm2006]

Cass is going to stay dingo. For some reason, That name gave me a headache.

He did eat soup tonight like a champ, but he is such a pansy when it comes to his meds. He gags, and acts like he is being poisoned. Monster just takes his meds like, " oh..okay. What's next?"

I made a plate of chopped up meat for everyone. YAY! Pixie ate lots of chicken. Lee ate some. The two young ones are sharing soup. Dakota ate soup. Ripply ate a piece of meat + soup. Lots of fun!

Question- What does bone do to a ferrets jaw and teeth vs kibble? Doesn't it make the jaw not only stronger, but their teeth are better in the future?

what if a ferret already has chipped teeth. Would it help those teeth to look better over time?

[Heather]

Bone in a ferrets' diet is rather like you and I popping a calcium tablet. Without it they will get very sick. What it does for teeth and jaws is; cleans the teeth and strengthens the jaws or at least the surrounding muscle tissue. With kibble they never really work their necks or jaw muscles. If a ferret already has a chipped tooth, you will have to be careful. Bone could chip it further. I've had it happen on a couple of occasions but I think that the tooth was more damaged that what I could see. I believe that the good that bone does far outweighs the risk that it might chip a tooth. Ferrets rarely take on a bone that their mouths cannot handle, they're a lazy eater. I've got a couple of fuzzies who will chew on a heavier bone but for the most part they just leave it.
ciao

[AnimalFarm2006]

Thanks a ton for the bone information.

I have some good news. ^.^ I got more chicken, and my mom got me a whole chicken for soup. I can't believe i go through a whole chicken of soup so fast!

I served everyone a plate of chicken chunks + a little bit of soup laddled into the plate. Dingo is now eating soup regarly.

I am worried for dingo as he looked like he was getting even more skinnier than I orignaly thought. I also did not see him eating as much. So, every couple hours, 2-3 when I'm home, and before and after work, I heat up some soup and give him a bowl to eat all by himself. Last night when I came in and started cleaning, I looked up to "dingo's home" aka the top of the cage to see dingo looking at me. I guess he was use to me getting him soup so I grabed the soup off my desk and gave him the bowl. He also was eating kibble last night. He was grinding his teeth alot, but atleast he is eating.

What can I add into his soup to fatten him up? When he stands you can see his hips and how sunken in he is on his sides. His tail also is boney now. I know that once he is fattened up, He will feel ALOT better. I already saw the difference when he greeted me for his food. I usualy have to wake him up, and hold him for his food.

[Heather]

To fatten up a ferret, you need to get food in, and make use of the fat and skin on your chicken. I don't usually add much more except maybe getting some Carnivore Care from the vet. Getting food in consistently is going to be your biggest concern especially considering his tummy is still upset or he's in some pain. I think once you start getting food into him on a regular basis and get him eating I think he will start puttin on weight. Having him wake up expecting you to feed him is a good start.
ciao

[AnimalFarm2006]

It's a feeding frenzy! Last night I was cleaning the mouse cage and ended up feeding off something like four blind hoppers, and one sub adult.

I was cracking up when pixie was hissing at lelloo everytime the buger tried to take the poor girls mouse. Usualy it's the other way around, but apperently pixie is growing a back bone when feeding.

Monster grabed a mouse and ran, oh excuse me, WALKED off to eat it. He takes his own time to do things.

Jack & Ripply were sharing two hoppers. Ripply acualy is enjoying eating mice now.

On raw chicken, Pixie LOVES to hide her chicken. I hate cleaning it up after her. I made them a chicken breast, bone and all, meal and the meat disapeared. I did catch pixie trying to hide a peice of meat, but hopefully she ate it all.

Dakota,Bear, Swiper, and Dingo are all sharing bowls of soup. I should be getting Bear and Swiper started on meat, but if i put them down with the other guys, They tear up the litter box's. SO! I have my meat eaters down in the first level of my 142, and my four in the top of the 142. They have a corner hooked on litter box, small bowl of food, and a hooked on water container.

Dingo is going a little better. He tends to wake up when it's soup time and will meet me at the door of the cage. But, he is still realy skinny, and grinds his teeth. Atleast he eats kibble still.

I also noticed that dakota is grinding her teeth. Or it may be just her eating food loudly, but it makes me worried. Do you think it is because she is upstairs to keep dingo company instead of with her bed buddy, Ripply? I may just put her back down, or brind ripply up. I just want to make sure dingo has a sleeping partner to make him feel loved.

I am tempted to get a pair of rats and start a mini colony for them, but I have to find a beter cage + wheel for rats.

[Heather]

Sounds like you've got the food thing going really well.
Is Dingo on meds? He is isn't he?
I wouldn't be breaking up fert partners. You could be creating problems for yourself by stressing them out.
Check out the threads in the prey breeding section. Rats are more difficult to raise than mice and I believe that you have to house couples in separate cages or you can't let the males stay with the females...I can't remember, it was a couple of years ago that I was researching prey animals to feed the furbrats. I know I decided that I would let someone else deal with the rats. I get mine frozen. Mice are easy to raise you basically toss a couple of them together and then they multiply
ciao