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Post by bindiferret89 on Jun 9, 2009 2:57:20 GMT -5
I convinced my boyfriend that he and my ferrets both needed an adventure tonight, so we took their kibble away for about 4 1/2 hours and then decided to make a whole prey ferret feast, just to see what they would do. They've never even seen whole prey before, so I wasn't sure how it was going to go. We served up a yummy combo of frozen-thawed pinkie mice (3...1 for each ferret), a few mealworms (live), and some crickets (dead to start...I think the live ones might freak them out!). We drizzled Ferretone on one of the mice to try to entice them to eat it. Moki was the most interested. She repeatedly came back over a half hour period to sniff and lick ferretone off one of the mice. She even ventured far enough to lick one of the un-ferretoned mice! Ginny was also fairly interested and licked one of the regular mice. Lucinda sniffed and then went on her merry way, but she turns her nose up at almost everything, so I wasn't suprised. I think it's awesome that this stuff even got their attention the first time! The bugs weren't a big hit, but they got some sniffs too. I'm more excited about the mice. The uneaten mice went to my corn snake, by the way, minus the one we dressed with Ferretone. Has anyone here successfully switched their ferrets from kibble to whole prey without raw in-between. I HATE handling raw, butchered meat, though somehow whole dead rodents don't bother me a bit. I know, it's weird.
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Post by ccretarolo on Jun 9, 2009 4:38:21 GMT -5
For the next time you try mice, cut a small slit in the belly of one of them. This is the best way to get a carnivore interested in a prey animal since it exposes the "good stuff" and lets the food odors reach the ferret a lot easier. It seems gross but it increases the chances of a ferret deciding to actually take at least a few bites off of the prey.
While I feed mostly raw with a couple of prey meals every week, I don't doubt that you could go straight to whole prey. Most people feed raw and prey to decrease the cost of feeding a prey only diet. After all, an adult ferret eats 3-4 adult mice a day so can cost up to $1 a day to feed. On the other hand, 3-5 ounces of chicken or other cheap raw meat costs $.50 a day at most. I actually save more money by buying my poultry whole and splitting it into portions myself.
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Post by suds on Jun 9, 2009 6:27:44 GMT -5
congrats on your first try . You never know how they will react you could try a live hopper to get there prey instinks going . Sometime it works better then slowly introducing frozen /thawed prey. live crickets can also have the same affect
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Post by bindiferret89 on Jun 9, 2009 7:52:29 GMT -5
Thank you! Yeah, I wanted to cut the mouse's head off or try squeezing it through a big feeding syringe I have so all the guts came out (I read somewhere years ago that pinkie mice will do this if the syringe isn't too small) but my boyfriend thought it was gross. I like the stomach idea though! I'll try it next time and maybe some live crickets. Just curious...I have one of those cat teaser toys with the long feathery thing on it. My girls love to attack and "kill" it. They shake it around and drag it and claw it up. It's actually rather violent, which is why I don't buy them the expensive cat toys...they don't last too long. I was wondering if this meant that yes, they do have the desire to catch and kill things, or if they're just playful, normal ferrets, and that won't affect feeding time at all.
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Post by sherrylynne on Jun 9, 2009 8:57:47 GMT -5
I'm willing to bet if they are presented with a live hopper in a place like the bathtub, they will kill it, but probably won't eat it right now . While the prey drive will kick in(killing it), they still won't recognize it as food just yet! But then for some, the act of biting it, and in the process, tasting it...who knows until you try!
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Post by suds on Jun 9, 2009 17:32:59 GMT -5
The only way I could get mine to try mice was with live hoppers ,I tried differnt temps , cut it open . cut them in quaters put lots of differnt things on ethm and was not interested in them at all . I tried there first Hopper and Hershy wanted nothing to do with it But JD went directly for the kill he proudly carried it aroung for a few hours then ate the head off it . I tried it again a second time and this time Hershy wasnt letting JD have all the fun and went for the kill quickly and she dragged it around for a little while untill JD wanted it and they had a tug a war with it for a while next thing I know they both are in there feeding dens eating the mouse . I think at first it was mostly so the other diddnt get it but it worked to my advantage now they chow down on mice and rats like no tomorrow. frozen/ thawed or live . So be prepared at first for stashing and a little fighting over there prized kill. They mite not ea the first 1 so dont be disapointed let them have it for a few hours ( i recomend keep them in the cage with it ) if they dont eat it just freeze it and save it for later.
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Post by sherrylynne on Jun 9, 2009 18:27:09 GMT -5
Yeah- you definitely don't want to find an old mouse carcass by the smell . Not pleasant at all!
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Post by bindiferret89 on Jun 9, 2009 19:37:49 GMT -5
My babies are natural born killers!!!
Well, at least, Ginny and Moki are. We tried a live mouse tonight, a very small adult in the bathtub...no interest at all really, just some sniffing, though Ginny did pick it up and shake it by the neck a few times before losing interest.
I also bought a live rat pup and a live pinkie. Must have done the trick! I let them have them on my floor in my bedroom. Moki grabbed the rat pup by the neck and tried to stash it, then she and Ginny fought over it, more stashing. Finally, Moki took it under the bed, killed it, and licked up its blood. When I put the girls back in their cage, I let them have that and the pinkie, which Ginny killed in the cage. Both rodents are now stashed in opposite corners. Shame Lucinda is such a picky eater, but maybe the other two will teach her their wild ways. :-P I'll let you know in the next few hours or so if they eat them.
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