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Post by crystalineshadow on Apr 19, 2009 19:52:40 GMT -5
Sorry I haven't written in a bit, I've had a hectic couple of days around here. Well, the other day after they wouldn't eat much soup I put their kibble in for the night and they chowed down on it which really annoyed me, so the next night I didn't put it back in and just kept offering them the soup whenever they wandered by. They ate almost none of it so that night I didn't put their kibble back in, figuring that would make them hungry and more likely to eat the soup the next day. Well, they did eat a little more, but I think they ate about half a tablespoon of soup between the two of them over both days. Since they hadn't eaten enough to matter I couldn't not give them their kibble again that night. I had some white meat chicken that I had cut into kibble sized pieces in the fridge, so I spread that over the top of their kibble figuring that if nothing else they would have to move it to get to the food. Unfortunately I was wrong. Spaz went a bit crazy trying to figure out where I had hidden the kibble (walked around the bowl several times with her head inside sniffing and even tried digging through the side of the dish at the bottom) so I figured that she would find it before I got up in the morning. NOPE. Chicken coated kibble was still there, untouched. So I mixed the chicken in with the top layer of kibble. Spaz ate a circle about the size of a ping-pong ball all the way to the bottom of the dish. So I mixed the chicken in with all the food in the dish. I'd say they ate about half of the food that was in the dish, but there's no telling what percentage of that was the chicken and what was the kibble. I also took a chicken wing tip and cut it in half longways and put it in their cage on the off chance that they would want to play with it. As mostly expected it didn't get touched. I tried playing tug with it (not a game either of my ferrets play) and tying it to a string like a toy before I cut it in half and nobody thought those games were interesting either. I'm really not sure if I have the patience to keep forcing them to be spoon fed soup for half an hour at a time every day.  I'm gonna try mixing the soup about half and half with kibble in a small dish and putting that in their cage before they get up and see how they take to that. If not I guess it's back to spoon feeding tomorrow.  |
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Post by crystalineshadow on Apr 20, 2009 6:25:10 GMT -5
Well I put out some of the mix (1 Tbsp mush and 1 Tbsp kibble, well mixed) just after my last post and as of now it is all gone. They tend to wake up and get hungry again about this time of night, so I'll put out another bowl of the same and see what happens to it overnight. I figure I'll do it exactly the same way tomorrow except that I'll refill the bowl as soon as it's mostly empty. I think that I can make a few changes the following day, but I'm not sure which way to change it. I could add 1/2 a Tbsp more mush, 1/2 a Tbsp less kibble, or add in 1/2 a Tbsp of raw ground turkey (which is the meat ingredient in the mush). I think that if I took out half of the kibble right away that might be too sudden of a change for them, so I'm really trying to decide between adding more soup and adding meat... or perhaps I should do both that way there would still be a 50/50 mush to solid ratio but it would go from 50% kibble to 25% kibble.... Any ideas or suggestions on that one?
I have yet another bowl to try out with them. It is larger around than the blue one they are using (although smaller than the red) and a bit deeper. The main plus is that it has a slope at the bottom instead of corners and I've noticed the ferrets are having a hard time getting the mush out of the corners of the bowl. I'll wait to try out the new bowl until tomorrow morning so that if they're not eating I can tell whether it's because they're not hungry or because they don't like the new bowl.
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Post by buzzonesbirdie on Apr 21, 2009 15:20:57 GMT -5
Ok when I first started feeding the soup and had it mixed with kibble I very very very slowly took the kibble to soup ratio down very slowly. It seemed like it took forever. Sometimes you just have to move very slowly. I think it took a few weeks to go from 50/50 to 25/75 and then almost 2 months to go to only soup.
Take your time and just be patient
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Post by crystalineshadow on Apr 22, 2009 0:16:56 GMT -5
I thought that it wasn't good for them to mix kibble and raw for too long. I guess that's why I was trying to hurry through the change, but then there's kibble in the soup too so even getting them on straight soup wouldn't really help too much with that aspect of it.
I had already fed them before I read your post this morning and what I did was this (a scoop is 1/2 a tablespoon): two scoops soup, one scoop kibble, and one scoop raw turkey. They turned up their noses at it at first (took a sniff and decided they'd rather go back to sleep than eat) but chowed down later in the day. I'll be putting out another dish of the same as soon as they wake up again. (Do you think that they're getting enough food? They only eat two dishes of food a day and sometimes not quite the full bowl as after the soup dries out they don't want it anymore.)
I think that I may just stick with this setup until I run out of the soup that I have frozen already (at this rate that will take another 5 or 6 days) and then reduce the kibble that is in the soup itself by half. I'm thinking I'll make a smaller batch next time so that if they take to it well I can try reducing the kibble again the next time I make it (to 25%) and then remove it completely. At that point (if they're still eating just as well as they are now) I'll try lowering the amount of dry kibble in the mix.
Boy, I wish I could just fast forward this a little bit. Getting them to accept that soup is food was the hard step, now I have to work on food doesn't have to smell like kibble then all I will have left will be solid chunks that taste like soup is still soup. From there all it takes is introducing different types of animals and adding bones and organs and they'll be happy lil ferts.
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Post by buzzonesbirdie on Apr 22, 2009 9:27:21 GMT -5
I've heard that its not good to have them on it for to long either but I think that there is nothing that you can do to make your ferret(s) move faster with the switch.
It sounds like you have a good plan.
Are they losing weight?? If they are I would feed them more. If not then the it sounds like they are getting enough food. You can also try to add one or more feedings in there each day.
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Post by crystalineshadow on Apr 23, 2009 17:32:52 GMT -5
Well this is interesting... as soon as I asked you if they were eating enough they decided that they should have three bowls of food a day instead of the two that they had been getting. I'm still gonna weigh them later today when I clean out their cage. Spaz I'm not worried about as she's been wolfing down her food and also shedding so some fluctuation there wouldn't surprise me. Nipper seems to be getting a bit more picky about when she eats, but I am able to catch her eating at least a little each day. I think that she may take well to a feeding den once I start them on raw. Well remember how yesterday you said that I had a good plan and that I couldn't make my ferrets move faster with the switch? Well, throw all that out the window, lol. Just before I went to bed last night I noticed that their food bowl was almost empty so I took a look and what was left appeared to be about a third of their kibble with just a bit of soup stuck to it. So, since this would be their second day of getting three bowls of food instead of two I decided to take a chance and I only put in the mush and the turkey. They had the bowl licked clean by the time I got up this morning. First completely empty bowl since I started them on soup!  Spaz was up when I got up this morning so I mixed her some more of the mush and turkey and she had a snack before heading back to bed. Now all I have to do is make sure that Nipper is eating it too. I'm currently defrosting the last of my ice cubes, so I should run out of the current batch of mush either tomorrow or the next day. I'm going to go ahead and lower the kibble content (and a bit of the water as well) and if I have to add dry kibble to the soup to get them to eat it again, that will be fine with me since they are apparently able to let me know when it's no longer needed. Plan all you like, a ferret will do things it's own way and in it's own time. *grumble grumble* (I'm addicted to making lists and plans.) |
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Post by crystalineshadow on Apr 25, 2009 20:10:17 GMT -5
Well, I ran out of the old mush yesterday and started on the new. Thankfully (for me) the new mush is a lot thicker than the old cause Nipper hasn't been eating enough. I noticed her eating a cracker fairly early on yesterday, so I figured she might be missing the crunchiness of the kibble in her soup so I put some kibble in the mix with the last of the old mush. Nope, kibble was not what she wanted as she refused to eat the mushy kibble that ended up being in the bowl. So, since she had been eating the soup and run out of 'edible' food, I made up a batch of the new mush and turkey (two scoops mush, one scoop ground turkey well mixed). Well, she didn't want to eat it out of the bowl so I tried having her eat it off my finger and then go back to the bowl (which usually works), no dice. Fortunately, as I said, this mush is much thicker, so I just scooped it up in two fingers and let her eat it that way. She finished almost the entire bowl before she decided that she was done (left about a half teaspoon out of the tablespoon and a half of food) so I'm gonna keep hand feeding her until she remembers that this food is good stuff. She does eat a little everyday, but it seems like on her own she'll eat just enough to keep her going. I think she's holding out and waiting for the kibble to reappear.
On the up side, Spaz doesn't seem to care if her two scoops of mush have one or two scoops of turkey mixed into it (at least with the old mush) so if it were just her I probably could have skipped the 50% less kibble in the mush step and gone straight to 25%.
When I weighed them on Wednesday Spaz' weight had remained the same and Nipper had dropped from 1lb 14oz down to 1lb 11 or 12oz. She was at 1lb 12oz when I got her, and she does feel a little less bony than she did then but that's why I'm going to keep helping her out for a few days and see if she catches on. I probably won't weigh her again until the first part of May unless I suspect that she has lost a lot, especially since she has started shedding now and I figure that will cause an ounce or two of loss. So basically, as long as her energy levels don't drop below her pitiful norm, I'm not gonna worry overly much. Thankfully being on raw (even this little bit) does seem to have given her a little more energy.
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Post by buzzonesbirdie on Apr 26, 2009 7:31:41 GMT -5
Wait..What...you want your ferrets to follow a schedual and not confuse you as to what they want next. Not gonna happen, these little fuzzbutts are good at keeping you on your toes. On the up side, Spaz doesn't seem to care if her two scoops of mush have one or two scoops of turkey mixed into it (at least with the old mush) so if it were just her I probably could have skipped the 50% less kibble in the mush step and gone straight to 25%.I like this Spaz seems to be an eater and doesnt care as long as he has food. Nipper should come around, but at least you are able to get her to eat of your fingers. I wouldnt worry to much about lossing an ounce or so. Just like you said as long as their energy level doenst drop you are ok. Just remember its getting warmer out so if they get to warm they will lay around like logs and worry you, just make sure that the temp stays nice and cool for them. |
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Post by crystalineshadow on Apr 27, 2009 5:20:55 GMT -5
On the up side, Spaz doesn't seem to care if her two scoops of mush have one or two scoops of turkey mixed into it (at least with the old mush) so if it were just her I probably could have skipped the 50% less kibble in the mush step and gone straight to 25%.I like this Spaz seems to be an eater and doesnt care as long as he has food. Yeah, that's what I thought too, so I tried putting a dollop of plain turkey on the top of the mixed mush just to see if Spaz would eat it. She ended up eating around it, but once I got Nipper started eating out of the bowl she ate the plain turkey right along with the mixed stuff... Nipper keeps coming down to the level where I keep the food bowl and sniffing around looking for the food. If I notice and offer her a fingertip with some mush on it and lead her to the bowl with it then she'll eat a bit from the bowl. If I don't notice in time, she'll climb back up to her hanging corner hidey and go back to sleep. I'm hoping that if I do this often enough instead of feeding her all she will eat from my fingers she will start eating from the bowl on her own. Makes me really glad I work from home as otherwise I'd probably have to increase the amount of kibble in the mush until it smelled enough like kibble that she'd be willing to eat it without coaxing. I had forgotten that getting too warm would cause the ferrets to sleep more, what would you suggest as the highest indoor temperature that they would still feel happy and active? |
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Post by crystalineshadow on Apr 28, 2009 17:46:10 GMT -5
Just a quick little update.
Yesterday morning once I got Nipper started on her food she ate the entire bowl full and I had to make more so that Spaz could have her breakfast. I'm still having to 'start' Nipper by putting some food on my fingertip before she'll graduate to the bowl but I'm hopeful that eventually she'll figure it out.
I'll be using up the last of the half batch of mush I made today, but since Nipper still isn't starting the eating on her own I'm just gonna make a full batch the same way instead of trying to change anything.
I kinda lost count, but I believe the girls ate 4 full bowls of food yesterday and started on the fifth... I'll try to keep a better count today. I just put a fresh bowl in whenever I notice that they've emptied the last one. If they go through 4 or more again today I'll start putting more food in the dish at one time.
Don't worry about my question on how hot a ferret can be happy. My BF convinced me to turn on the air conditioner last night (blech) so now I have to spend the next two or three days adjusting it so that I'm not freezing to death constantly. Eventually I'll find where to set the dial to have the house in the mid 70's (the stupid air conditioner just picks a random number within about 10 degrees of where you have it set and changing the setting just gets it to pick another random number that may or may not be anywhere close to the last number... *sigh* I hate renting).
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Post by buzzonesbirdie on Apr 29, 2009 9:08:24 GMT -5
Sounds like you are doing good.
Yeah the we had 90s the last four days and once the temp in house hit 80 even our most active ferret did a speed bump and not move till i turned on the ac.
Mine like it in the 60's but they have to live with me so they deal with the 70's
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Post by crystalineshadow on Apr 30, 2009 18:48:58 GMT -5
Not much to say today...
I started feeding double bowls full of food yesterday (1 tablespoon ground turkey and 2 tablespoons soup) and I believe that they finished off four of them. Seems like Nipper must have finally decided that this is good stuff 'cause I severely doubt that Spaz could be eating almost 3/4 of a cup of food all by her self. Those four bowls used up almost exactly a third of the mix, so once they finish this batch off they should be ready for me to do a full batch with even less kibble in it.
Already I'm noticing how much less their poop smells as well as being smaller and looser. The ferrets themselves seem to be smelling worse, but that's probably because I wasn't able to wash their bedding last weekend.
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Post by buzzonesbirdie on May 2, 2009 14:57:52 GMT -5
Thatss great to hear that they are eating so well.
I remember when mine started smelling better to i was so happy
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Post by crystalineshadow on May 2, 2009 17:05:12 GMT -5
Yeah, I'm happy that it smells better. The downside, however, is that I now have to remind myself to clean out their litterbox. Before if I forgot to do it one night the smell would quickly remind me. Perhaps I should start cleaning it first thing in the morning instead of last thing at night... that way I'll have more chances to realize that I forgot.
They should be finishing up the last of the current soup today. Likely the bowl that I put in when I go to bed will be at least partly the new mix.
Since they won't eat the ground turkey straight, I'm wondering when they will start balking at the soup. Well, maybe if I'm lucky they won't notice that the kibble is slowly vanishing from inside their food.
Nipper was so cute last night. I put her in her cage for bed along with some fresh food. She was hungry so she sniffed the bowl, looked around to see if there was anything else to eat, sniffed again, then changed her position and went back for a third sniff. This time she gave a full body shudder and ended up a couple of steps away from the bowl. Quite to my surprise she actually settled down to eat right afterward.
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Post by buzzonesbirdie on May 4, 2009 6:38:39 GMT -5
That is so cute. Sometimes their antics can make you laugh. Im glad that she ate it though. I think that they know that kibble is disappearing but they like the other stuff better just dont want to admit it to us. LOL
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