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Post by ccretarolo on Apr 12, 2009 13:29:05 GMT -5
I already have a vet visit scheduled for this Tuesday to verify his age and to discuss vaccines. I'm pretty sure that his problem was that he was only being given dry kibble at the store I got him from.
He is super playful! I only had him out for 45 minutes this morning but he was dooking and dancing almost the entire time. Then he started getting really nippy which is his way of telling me that he's hungry. We're falling into a nice routine here (even if it does leave me sleep deprived) and Ozzy seems to be happy. I just can't wait to see how big he gets!
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Post by Heather on Apr 12, 2009 16:51:49 GMT -5
Remember, raw fed babies appear to grow slower but they also seem to grow for a longer period of time. They put on weight differently to kibble fed furbabies too. It's harder, leaner more muscular. Their activity levels are also higher and for longer periods of times (more sleep deprivation  ) I will check in with you later. ciao |
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Post by ccretarolo on Apr 12, 2009 22:19:36 GMT -5
I don't mind the sleep deprivation too much. That's what espresso is for . I'm just happy that I have a hyper, bouncing baby who's learning quickly that Mommy's toes aren't little sausages . I gave him about an ounce of beef which should hold him over at least until I go to bed tonight. The next few days are going to be mostly pork so I want him to have as much dark meat as possible before then. I also decided to carry him outside with me to start getting him used to the noises and smells outside of the apartment. I want to let him play in real grass and dirt when he's big enough to fit into a harness. He was ok for a couple of minutes but he started whining so I took him back inside. It's kind of funny that he can go from being a little trouble maker to being a shy, timid little boy almost at the drop of a hat. I get the feeling that he's going to have a big personality. |
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Post by Heather on Apr 12, 2009 22:57:47 GMT -5
How's Ozzy at the whole bone eating dpt.? He's certainly chowing down the meat, which is great How's the kibble thing going, is he still getting some? You're in for a bit of an eye opener if you honestly think that he's going to just forget about your toes  Napoleon eventually stopped attacking my toes but he's since developed this habit that he will dig on the top of my foot if I'm busy. It's really annoying and quite painful, but...if I'm really distracted and just move my foot so that he can't dig at it anymore, he will bite the very top of my foot. This usually gets exactly what he wants, me picking him up   Try breaking that habit... It's funny watching them suddenly turn into a mommy's boy when they find themselves in a situation that they're unsure of. Make sure that you keep pushing the envelope if you want him to go outside with you. I know it's very easy to give in and let him inside when he whines but they can wrap you around those little furry paws so quickly and you will be sitting inside going when did I stop taking you outside? Wait until he realizes that he can dig in the gardens and let the grass tickle his belly if he goes outside. My guys realize that it means that they get special snuggles and chin skritches by other people and get to make faces at those little dogs on leashes who have to walk instead of being special and being carried in momma's pocket or on her shoulder. If you keep taking your boy out he will soon learn to love his outside excursions. ciao |
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Post by ccretarolo on Apr 13, 2009 0:08:47 GMT -5
I've found that Ozzy prefers bare feet so I just make sure I'm wearing socks when he's out. I'll just let him take his toe biting urges out on his Daddy . He's still figuring out the whole bone thing. That's the main reason I put eggshell in the chicken mix. I need to dig out some rib bones from my freezer to see if he'll crunch on those. He's great at stripping the meat off of the bones though. I would have stayed out longer but the weather is really crappy today. It's about 50 degrees and pouring rain so I wasn't enjoying being outside all that much either. I actually forgot to put kibble on his food plate for him (silly Mommy!). I'll put a few pieces out for him when I go to bed though. I also have to be very careful when I open the cage to give him more food and change out his water. He's found out that he can jump out of the cage and thinks it's a great game when I catch him. He'll then go back up on the shelf and do it all over again if I let him. |
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Post by Heather on Apr 13, 2009 0:31:58 GMT -5
They are little imps at times Yes, they can definitely keep you hopping I've got a little boy, Thor who has figured out that he can climb up a cat tower, jump across to the desk and then jump over the half door leading out of the ferret room. He then runs along the door sill (there's a bit of a shelf that's been placed on the top of this half door), slides over the edge grabs the doorknob and very gently drops himself on the other side of the door. He's then escaped the ferret room and is free to roam around the house when he's supposed to be in his room. See, if I put socks on my guys bite my toes...dinner in hiding So I run around barefoot all the time. If you don't these little furbrats try and bite those things wiggling around in the socks Ahhh, rain...yuck..we've been having gorgeous weather here, a bit cold but beautiful sunny days. The brats were all outside playing today, digging in the mud and such. Ok, that explains the egg shell, I wondered when I saw that and thought that he probably wasn't eating enough bone to get by. Have you tried taking a hammer to the bones and making them a bit smaller and easier to manage? He might be more inclined to eating them then. I will see how Ozzy is doing tomorrow. Catch you then ciao |
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Post by ccretarolo on Apr 13, 2009 0:50:24 GMT -5
I would take a hammer to the bones if I had a hammer. The BF is the kind of guy that thinks that his Swiss Army knife contains all the tools he'll ever need. Yet another thing I need to get from my dad.
Luckily, the weather will be lovely in about another month and will stay sunny and warm until (hopefully) late October.
I really need to talk the BF into saving up for a decent entertainment center with cord management. The mess of cords in the living room are all that's really stopping me from allowing Ozzy have free run when he's finally big enough to deal with Hermes. I'm going to get a baby gate and some playpen panels as soon as I can afford it. This way, I'll be able to block off the washer and dryer and Ozzy will have half of the apartment to wander around in when he's out of the cage. I'm hoping that I'll be getting a job next month so I'll actually be able to buy all the stuff I want for him.
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Post by Heather on Apr 13, 2009 11:15:32 GMT -5
I'm sure that Ozzy would enjoy even more space to roam  . I totally understand about the cables I found that getting some of those protectors that you can put all the cables in helps keep some of the mess confined a bit (it's also a lot cheaper than buying a whole new entertainment center ). The only thing is some of those plastic protectors are made of soft plastic, which actually attracts ferrets  We have used masking tape to confine some of the cable mess but it's horrible if you ever have to change up those cables and it makes them all sticky. I've found (for the most part) that the guys basically leave the cables alone. They do have a passion for the large cable in the back of the computer but usually it's the accidental disconnection that creates the biggest problems . I've found that I can't use baby gates or playpen pieces to keep my guys confined. You might actually have more success. My guys are masters of the "get out and go" You also have to remember that because they're out 24/7 they have a lot of time to put their devious plans into action. Also you only have Ozzy, I have 15 little minds to work out escape plans. I don't care what people say...they do work together to hatch out their devious little plans I've watched Mad Max (head instigator and brains of the outfit) push one of their food boxes around until he can get up onto the bookshelves. I've also watched Thor (the mentally challenged one) actually climb the 9ft cat tower, jump across to the desk, run along the desk, jump across to the half door of the ferret room, run along the shelf of the half door, slide down using the doorknob and drop to the floor on the otherside. Of course I've also seen him miscalculate and jump on the door with enough momentum that it carries him over the door and lands him right in the dog's water bowl You have to love the little bums but some times their enginuity drives me nuts I will check in with you later tonight and see how Ozzy has done with his new diet and what he had ciao |
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Post by ccretarolo on Apr 13, 2009 12:03:59 GMT -5
Right now, all of the cables are such a huge mess that putting on protectors just doesn't seem possible. And my big concern about that area is that Ozzy will decide to either poop or fall asleep back there (everything's too heavy for me to move and I'm not exactly a waif). I gave The OZ (really hoping someone gets the reference ) another 1 1/2 ounces of chicken mix last night since he only ate a couple of pieces of kibble before giving up. There's still some left in his cage so I need to drag his chubby butt out to play so he can work up an appetite. He sure does have an impressive belly! The bf is officially in love with Ozzy! I brought him out to play on our bed last night. Both of us humans got to have fun tormenting the little boy but Ozzy had a blast. My bf's weakness with animals is when they start playing (he thinks the war dance is the most adorable thing ever). So, while ferret math can't hit in the near future, the pathway is open for when we can get a larger place... |
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Post by Heather on Apr 13, 2009 17:39:33 GMT -5
I think that you're going to find the Ozman is going to give up that kibble stuff shortly. I think you should start training the boyfriend Hmmm, the sound of pitterpatter of many little feet...ferret math sounds entirely familiar I know that there are a couple of people on board who have managed to limit their fuzzy family to one but you know they're a true minority... one of them fell to ferret math this past week It's truly difficult to stay with just one ciao |
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Post by ccretarolo on Apr 13, 2009 18:29:10 GMT -5
It's going to take a while for me to succumb to ferret math. I'm one of those people who takes an absurdly long time to get a new pet. I have to calculate weekly, monthly, and yearly expenses. Then I have to be sure that my other animals will be alright with the new addition. Then I have to make sure that I have all of the new pet's needs met before bringing him/her home.
As an example, I was ready to get a ferret close to a month ago but I took the extra time to be sure that everything was going to be perfect for him. My sister thinks I'm neurotic because of that but I've never had animal control called on me...
The boyfriend will be getting trained here pretty soon. Ozzy is so fond of chewing that it's a bit of a struggle to get him to eat ground anymore. I know I have a few sandwich bags full of RMB's in my freezer that I need to pull out. At least that will make having the bf feed him much easier. The cats refuse to chew on bones no matter how hard I try so I've given up on them. Plus Calypso doesn't chew her food so she's the reason that I even have ground meats.
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Post by ccretarolo on Apr 13, 2009 21:23:21 GMT -5
Quick update: I caught Ozzy when he was sleepy enough to weigh on my food scale. It's not the best thing ever but according to it, he weighs 15.5 ounces! Not even a week home and he's almost reached a pound! I'm so proud of my little dude.
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Post by Heather on Apr 13, 2009 23:12:15 GMT -5
Awesome, he's going to be a big boy Keep up the good work ciao |
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Post by ccretarolo on Apr 13, 2009 23:48:11 GMT -5
So, I managed to find a bag filled with a wing, half of a neck, and a leg so that should be enough until wednesday morning (I hope). I'll still be giving him some ground pork to snack on if he wants it but I want to try and get him eating as many RMB's as possible. I was able to crush the bone in the bottom segment of a wing with a really heavy coffee cup (desperation is the mother of all invention ) so I'm hoping that tasting some marrow will get him more motivated to eat bone. I'm also really tempted to just go and get a fuzzy from the Petco around the corner... I really want to get Ozzy eating some whole prey ASAP but I'm also worried about what pet stores feed their feeder mice. Sadly, I'm having problems finding a local whole prey provider that can get back to me in a timely manner. I'll try a Craigslist post asking for whole prey before going to the store though. I just can't wait to see my little boy chomping down on a mouse! |
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Post by ccretarolo on Apr 14, 2009 10:30:29 GMT -5
So, Ozzy didn't like the food I left out for him last night. I gave him an ounce of beef chunks and he gobbled some of them up like he had been starving. I'm just going to stick to smaller bones like necks and wing tips for the time being.
Also, I looked in his box this morning and noticed that he now has light green (yellowish really), almost slimy poop. I know that ferrets go through a lot of poop changes while they're switching to raw but this is a little worrying to me. His vet visit is this afternoon so unless Heather tells me not to worry, I'll bring it up then.
Other than not wanting crushed bone and the poop, he's doing as well as ever.
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