Weasel & Slinky's Diet Switch

[Forum Administrator]

Everytime it is all eaten OR if its not been completely eaten, every 4-6 hours (idealy) but it can go up to 8 hours and still be okay.

[Jen]

Ok. Thanks. Last night I gave him a whole, plain wing and today he was crunching on it. Looks like he ate the very tip of the wing.

I had another question; thought I read it somewhere else in here, but wondered what I can use for a safe (home-made) sanitizer since he's still dragging pieces of (now raw) chicken across the floor. hehe. The floor is plain wood ply-boards (whatever floors are made of under the linoleum, I guess)- you can see it in Weasel's pics (this and intro threads).

Thank you!

[Forum Administrator]

Hmmm, normally I recommend hydrogen peroxide and vinegar, but I dont know how that would do on the wood. Honestly, I'd recommend buying a plastic sterillite tub and setting it up where he normally eats. He will learn to run to the tub, try to get in, and/or look at you when he is hungry. its also really easy to clean the plastice tub. You can safely use the vinegar and hydrogen peroxide on the plastic. Not so sure about the wood, I worry it might hold the smell of the vinegar or change the color of the wood.

[charmantpapillon]

Looks like weasel is on his way i was just stopping by to check on your switch. i had the feeding issue too. behind the dryer is his stash spot. if hes eating hes locked in then i take the food away after an hour and a half and put it in a baggy back in the fridge so he cant stash it.

[Jen]

Thanks. That sounds like a good idea so I'm not leaving his food out too long. Also, keeping him locked in his cage while he eats. He does eat the tip of the chicken wings raw (plain this morning). Yesterday he ate some of the fat off of a plain raw chicken thigh. It was hard to tell how much he'd eaten though because the thigh was over half his size. lol. He's eating better on the plain raw now. I was worried a couple days ago that he wasn't eating enough so it was hard not to give him kibble (I ended up cutting his meat and making a soupy mix). Today and yesterday its been plain raw though and he eats some of it (yesterday drizzled a little FerretVite).

Also, couldn't get a good mouth/teeth pic, but got a short video of him yawning so you could see

Thank you girls

[Jaycee]

Sounds like you are doing a great job! As for the wood, have you tried baking soda? I use it for almost everything, and it works great.

[Forum Administrator]

So what raw foods has Weasel eaten? Can you give us a list, please?

[Jen]

Weasel has eaten:
- Raw chicken thigh
- Raw chicken wing

That's all so far. Yesterday was a good raw-eating day. I've been alternating days: one day- wing, one day- thigh. Yesterday he ate the entire wing tip section all the way to the joint (so he ate the smallest 1/3 of the wing). All I did was add 1/4" water and drizzle with FerretVite (about every other feeding, to renew his interest). This morning he's already moved on to another section (eating a meaty part now).

I'm not worried about the appearance of the floor, just sanitation-concerned. With the vinegar or baking soda, how would you clean the floor/eating area? I think I would dilute some vinegar and spray, then wipe.

Hey Guili, when will those HF tee shirts be available? Those so cute They would make cool Christmas presents. Stickers and patches would be cool too

[Forum Administrator]

I would spray the floor with vinegar. Wipe up. Then I would spray the floor with hydrogen peroxide. Wipe up. Or you can spray wash the floor with vinegar and baking soda (but this will react and fizz, so dont store this mixture in a container after you've used it).

I am still working out the legistics of the HF t-shirts. Funny you should mention it because I was just talking to my b/f today about how I need to get those ready for the Holiday season! . I will let you know as soon as I have it worked out. I would also like to make bumper stickers and patches, mouse pads, and mugs.

I like that you are alternating between the chicken wing and thigh. Good With the thighs you may have to cut off some of the meat, so that he doesnt fill up on just the meat and not eat the bone. I save all the meat that I cut off and I freeze it for later use. So before he was just eating the wingtips and now he is starting to eat the middle segment of the wing too?

A final suggestion, see if you can add in chicken legs (drumsticks) into your rotation. If you can alternate between wings, thighs, and drumsticks that would be great . If you like, you can also give cornish game hen a shot. Its alot smaller then a regular chicken and the bones are more edible (softer) so if he needs practice eating bone, cornish game hen might be a good thing to add into your rotation.

[charmantpapillon]

Hey Jena. I've been assigned as your mentor =D I am still in training so Giuliana will be monitoring me.

I have switched 1 and 1/2 ferrets. I say one and a half because my beasty boy is completely switched but i partially switched one of my friends ferrets by corrupting her with mice =P.

I've also switched a couple of kittens over when i rescued them.

I have a bad habit of resuing animals =P so i have a semi animal shelter of four cats and one ferret that are permanent members. =P

But i look forward to working with you and weasel and beasty does too =)

[Jen]

Thanks y'all. I'll need to buy some peroxide and chicken legs next time I go out. I wonder if they have cornish game hen..

Guili, thanks for the update bumper stickers, mouse pads, mugs... those all sound really good. I ought to start saving now Oh- I had an idea. What about a calender featuring members' ferrets (natural eating/playing pics would be cool)..

Charmant, is your real name Katie? Mine is Jen (jena is my first and last name shortened- Jennifer Ayala). What do the kittens eat- plain, raw meat too? Hmm. I'd like to see some pics of Beast (love seeing everyone's furkids). I think the world needs more people like you who are willing to give innocent animals "the good life". Sometimes I read sad stories about abandoned pets, so I'm grateful there's people like you helping some of these furries

Oh yeah.. yes, Weasel ate the middle section of the wing too (all the meat and fat and about 1/4" of that section of bone). I guess I should cut down those thighs to reduce on waste too. The thighs are about the size of his bowl

[charmantpapillon]

Hehe Yeah my real name is Kate/Katie it really doesnt matter which.
And here is your ferret mentor from the frigid north of the US Beasty!

He was keepin toasty in his personalized hoodie i made him im working on a beddin set right now wit his name across it. =P
Kittens eat about the same diet a ferret does. a basic carnivorous diet i suppose. i started the starving dears on raw hamburger then threw mice and chicken at them because thats what i had for beast. they nom'ed it right up then asked for more.

[Forum Administrator]

Oct 15, 2008 20:10:05 GMT -5 Jen said:

What about a calender featuring members' ferrets (natural eating/playing pics would be cool)..

LOL can you read my mind? I ask because I was thinking of doing that (still in the planning stages) so its funny you mentioned it! We will see what I can do, hopefully we can put together a nice calander for 2009, but my first priority is to get the Holistic Ferret WEBSITE up and the t-shirts made by the end of the year. Then we'll see about a calander. Feel free to start snapping pics of Weasel noming down on raw foods, or spending time outdoors in the leaves, grass, rain, or snow. I'm sure we'll be collecting pictures soon

[Jen]

Aww. Beasty looks cute.... I wonder if the fuzzboys would take a nap together or play-fight. Weasel's running wild now, so I'll show him Beast later Michigan? I bet it is cold up there. I went up there once and the lake water was chilly in July! The scenery up there is just beautiful- LOVE it. You gonna make him anything Halloween-related? I thought of making a cape or wings but haven't gotten to it yet.

Yes, the website!! I'm anxious to see and (and bet everyone else is too). That's gonna be awesome. I know; I need to make Weasel a thread in the picture section. Lots of outside is running in spurts; I need to catch him digging on camera. I don't like taking close-up pics inside because my house is "homey/modest" to put it nicely (i.e. my house is a mess of clutter and if I had the $$, there would definitely be some home improvements). We walked a new path the other day, so I can try to take some shots there next time.

[charmantpapillon]

What did weasel eat today?
And yes im in the process of making him a dracula costume me and my friend adrian are gonna go as his bats and im going to attach him to one of those dollar pumpkin candy holders and we're gonna go out trick-or-treaking (you are NEVER to old for a free bag of candy and if you cn get away with it GO FOR IT teeheeh =x) Im also in the process of making a hammock that has Beast across it. who knows if people like my crocheted bedding i'll see about donating some bedding that has the hf logo on it to giuli =P for her to sell for the site of course (or to keep who knows =P)