Post by ferretfreke on Apr 30, 2009 22:43:40 GMT -5
1. How many ferrets do you currently have? What are their names, ages, genders, and do they have any health problems (this is VERY important)?
Alitasha, 4 yo., female
BillyBob, 4 1/2 yo., male, adrenal disease
TrichBezoar (AKA Bezoar), 2 1/2 yo., male, angora, already had an adrenalectomy last June and his tail hair is kind of thin again
Unagi, 4yo., male, adrenal disease
2. What are your ferrets currently eating? Include their main diet, plus any treats or supplements (such as duck soup).
Most are already completely on raw. I've had a set back with BillyBob. He just quit eating one day and was refusing anything. So to cut a long story short, I'm kind of starting over with him. He did eat some chicken wing today
. I started by completely taking away their kibble and first offering them Evo canned duck and mixing in ground turkey and increasing the amount of ground turkey. I was also sprinkling Wysong's Dream Treats on the mix. Then I started adding finely chopped chicken wings and increasing the size of the chunks. I kept decreasing the amounts of Evo canned duck and toward the end of the phase out I was only needing to pour some over the meat as a gravy until they didn't need it at all to encourage them to eat. They took awhile to start eating the bones but they finally did and now they love them. I can now offer them a whole chicken wing and such and they eat it all up! They've also been eating liver, chicken hearts, and gizzards well.
I'm really wanting a mentor to help me with balancing their diets and for help on the whole prey switch.
Before going raw I was feeding Evo and Wysong's Arch. I
They still get N-bones occasionally cus Billy absolutely loves them, Wysong's Dream Treats, and a half capsule pharmaceutical grade fish oil/day.
3. What kind of diet do you want to switch to?
I would prefer a mainly whole prey, but because of cost will probably have to do raw/whole
4. Why do you want to switch to this more natural diet?
I'm sick of losing my babies to insulinoma and after losing my last one to complications due to IBS, I've had enough.
5. Where/what/who got you interested in natural diets?
"Ferrets for Dummies" (first edition) first peaked my interest years ago and I'm always keeping up on things in the ferret world and I read an article theorizing that excessive carbs may be the cause to insulinomas and it made a lot of sense to me.
6. Please list the current weight for your ferret(s). Do they appear overweight? Underweight? How is there muscle tone?
Alitasha - 1 lbs. 7 oz. Good weight, good muscle tone
BillyBob - 2 lbs 13 oz. (in his winter wt he almost weighs 4 lbs!) good wt/mt
TrichoBezoar - 3 lbs 6 oz. good wt/mt
Unagi - 2 lbs 3oz. He's the biggest he's ever been. For the first time in the 3 years I've owned him he reached 2 lbs. (He normally weighed a mere 1 lb 12 oz) The year before I got him he was fed Western Family dog food (yuk!) and has always been a tiny boy probably because of that. He looks absolutely beautiful right now!
7. What is the condition of your ferret's teeth/gums? (can you get a picture?)
BillyBob's teeth are beautiful! He's always been a big chewer. Bezoar has had problems with gingivitis. Alitasha and Unagi have mild tartar build-up.
8. Describe the texture/color of your ferrets coat.
All their coats are very shiny and soft.
9. How often does your ferret go to the bathroom?
They've already been on raw for around 6 weeks and I've already noticed a dramatic decrease of stool in their boxes.
10. Does your ferret's feces and/or urine smell?
Who's doesn't? I don't know if I've noticed a decrease in smell of their stools yet.
11. Smell your ferret. How strong is their odor?
I actually get compliments on how my ferrets don't smell very strong.
12. On a scale of 1-10, 1 being completely lethargic and 10 being "through the roof!" what is your ferret's energy level?
My group has days where they're very active and days where they just want to chill. On their active days they're probably an 8. On their low key days, I'd say a 5.
13. How excited is your ferret about meal time (when fed kibble)?
They were excited occasionally. Nothing like when I feed them now.
14. Have you attempted to switch from kibble to a natural diet in the past? If so, what methods have you tried. Be specific.
Yes. I mainly tried with whole prey. I tried fasting them and then only offering a pinkie or an adult mouse. I tried cutting open the mouse, putting some kibble sprinkles and fish oil on the mouse. Tried playing with them with the mouse. I blended up some pinkies and syringe fed it to them.
15. What other information about your ferret(s) would you like to share?
They are my world!
16. If you can, please post a clear photograph of EACH of your ferrets directly below:
Alitasha
BillyBob
TrichoBezoar
Unagi
17.
a.) Do you understand that by starting this thread you commit to posting updates on the progress of your ferret(s) diet switch at least every other day?** Yes
b.) Do you understand that if you will be away from your computer for an extended period of time you will need to exchange phone numbers (or email addresses if you don't feel comfortable exchanging numbers)via private message with your assigned mentor, so that we can monitor your progress and ensure your ferret's safety during the switch? Yes
c.) Do you understand that any threads that have not been updated in for more than a week (with no explanation as to why you are absent) will result in the deletion of the thread?*** Yes
**Note 1: If you are unable to make it to a computer (such as on weekends) please indicate below so we know whether you just don't have computer access or if you have gone MIA.
***Note 2: If you would like to try the switch again and you are committed to making regular updates you ARE welcome to restart your thread. Failure to provide regular updates will result in the deletion of your thread.
Alitasha, 4 yo., female
BillyBob, 4 1/2 yo., male, adrenal disease
TrichBezoar (AKA Bezoar), 2 1/2 yo., male, angora, already had an adrenalectomy last June and his tail hair is kind of thin again
Unagi, 4yo., male, adrenal disease
2. What are your ferrets currently eating? Include their main diet, plus any treats or supplements (such as duck soup).
Most are already completely on raw. I've had a set back with BillyBob. He just quit eating one day and was refusing anything. So to cut a long story short, I'm kind of starting over with him. He did eat some chicken wing today
. I started by completely taking away their kibble and first offering them Evo canned duck and mixing in ground turkey and increasing the amount of ground turkey. I was also sprinkling Wysong's Dream Treats on the mix. Then I started adding finely chopped chicken wings and increasing the size of the chunks. I kept decreasing the amounts of Evo canned duck and toward the end of the phase out I was only needing to pour some over the meat as a gravy until they didn't need it at all to encourage them to eat. They took awhile to start eating the bones but they finally did and now they love them. I can now offer them a whole chicken wing and such and they eat it all up! They've also been eating liver, chicken hearts, and gizzards well.I'm really wanting a mentor to help me with balancing their diets and for help on the whole prey switch.
Before going raw I was feeding Evo and Wysong's Arch. I
They still get N-bones occasionally cus Billy absolutely loves them, Wysong's Dream Treats, and a half capsule pharmaceutical grade fish oil/day.
3. What kind of diet do you want to switch to?
I would prefer a mainly whole prey, but because of cost will probably have to do raw/whole
4. Why do you want to switch to this more natural diet?
I'm sick of losing my babies to insulinoma and after losing my last one to complications due to IBS, I've had enough.
5. Where/what/who got you interested in natural diets?
"Ferrets for Dummies" (first edition) first peaked my interest years ago and I'm always keeping up on things in the ferret world and I read an article theorizing that excessive carbs may be the cause to insulinomas and it made a lot of sense to me.
6. Please list the current weight for your ferret(s). Do they appear overweight? Underweight? How is there muscle tone?
Alitasha - 1 lbs. 7 oz. Good weight, good muscle tone
BillyBob - 2 lbs 13 oz. (in his winter wt he almost weighs 4 lbs!) good wt/mt
TrichoBezoar - 3 lbs 6 oz. good wt/mt
Unagi - 2 lbs 3oz. He's the biggest he's ever been. For the first time in the 3 years I've owned him he reached 2 lbs. (He normally weighed a mere 1 lb 12 oz) The year before I got him he was fed Western Family dog food (yuk!) and has always been a tiny boy probably because of that. He looks absolutely beautiful right now!
7. What is the condition of your ferret's teeth/gums? (can you get a picture?)
BillyBob's teeth are beautiful! He's always been a big chewer. Bezoar has had problems with gingivitis. Alitasha and Unagi have mild tartar build-up.
8. Describe the texture/color of your ferrets coat.
All their coats are very shiny and soft.
9. How often does your ferret go to the bathroom?
They've already been on raw for around 6 weeks and I've already noticed a dramatic decrease of stool in their boxes.
10. Does your ferret's feces and/or urine smell?
Who's doesn't? I don't know if I've noticed a decrease in smell of their stools yet.
11. Smell your ferret. How strong is their odor?
I actually get compliments on how my ferrets don't smell very strong.
12. On a scale of 1-10, 1 being completely lethargic and 10 being "through the roof!" what is your ferret's energy level?
My group has days where they're very active and days where they just want to chill. On their active days they're probably an 8. On their low key days, I'd say a 5.
13. How excited is your ferret about meal time (when fed kibble)?
They were excited occasionally. Nothing like when I feed them now.
14. Have you attempted to switch from kibble to a natural diet in the past? If so, what methods have you tried. Be specific.
Yes. I mainly tried with whole prey. I tried fasting them and then only offering a pinkie or an adult mouse. I tried cutting open the mouse, putting some kibble sprinkles and fish oil on the mouse. Tried playing with them with the mouse. I blended up some pinkies and syringe fed it to them.
15. What other information about your ferret(s) would you like to share?
They are my world!
16. If you can, please post a clear photograph of EACH of your ferrets directly below:
Alitasha
BillyBob
TrichoBezoar
Unagi
17.
a.) Do you understand that by starting this thread you commit to posting updates on the progress of your ferret(s) diet switch at least every other day?** Yes
b.) Do you understand that if you will be away from your computer for an extended period of time you will need to exchange phone numbers (or email addresses if you don't feel comfortable exchanging numbers)via private message with your assigned mentor, so that we can monitor your progress and ensure your ferret's safety during the switch? Yes
c.) Do you understand that any threads that have not been updated in for more than a week (with no explanation as to why you are absent) will result in the deletion of the thread?*** Yes
**Note 1: If you are unable to make it to a computer (such as on weekends) please indicate below so we know whether you just don't have computer access or if you have gone MIA.
***Note 2: If you would like to try the switch again and you are committed to making regular updates you ARE welcome to restart your thread. Failure to provide regular updates will result in the deletion of your thread.
I have had 2 very stubborn/picky eaters, so I know the frusteration, and can also relate to setbacks as well...but we will endure! 
.
something about being due to the breeders not feeding enough nutritional value to the feeder mice....so maybe he just had a bad one, hopefully 
I can ask him about the tummy upsets and maybe he can give me some ideas, but do give me a little more info about what meats he has eaten and his reactions to each. *If you want me to, Im more than willing to talk to him about it, in case your concerned at all or maybe just want some ideas it could be related to*