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Post by ccretarolo on Jul 20, 2009 1:16:18 GMT -5
So... The ferrets ended up being just fine without me.
My boyfriend actually ended up making them very happy even though it was unintentional. he mixed a whole S&C patty with an equal amount of raw mush for last night's dinner... And it was actually completely eaten. Since they had eaten that much, he then proceeded to give them about 3 times the normal amount of mush for their breakfast. It was partially my fault for not making sure we got a new battery for the scale before I left... But I'm still surprised the boys ate that much... So they went through close to a week's worth of food for Mogli in about 24 hours... The pigs.
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Post by ccretarolo on Jul 21, 2009 10:34:10 GMT -5
Hey there. I'm going to be incommunicado for a few days. My (now ex) boyfriend and I broke up. This means that myself and the ferrets will be moving in with my dad. I'll be spending the next few days doing my best to relax and getting set up. Since this will include ferret proofing, it's going to be very time consuming.
I promise that I will be back. I just don't know exactly when since I'll be picking up the pieces from a relationship that lasted over a year... I'll also have to completely change my entire life since my parents have a pretty different lifestyle from me.
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Post by ccretarolo on Jul 23, 2009 20:14:09 GMT -5
So, I finally have internet on my own computer again...
Things aren't completely normal but are getting there. The ferret's cage is out in the garage until further notice. My dad's girlfriend is weird about having pets inside the house and refuses to consider having them in my room... She's just really weird... She would rather have them out in the open where people will harass them rather than in my room because it might get a little stinky... To say the least, she and I are on completely different wavelengths.
At least they'll be getting their own little piece of paradise. My dad is going to start building a giant playpen for them over the weekend. It's going to be 8'x8' with tunnels attached to the sides and top, a kiddie pool full of water and toys, a couple of dig boxes for dirt and sand, and various other things that I can think of. It will also be semi-portable so it can be moved wherever there's the most shade. I'm also going to talk him into making it tall enough for me to sit in it so I can go in and play with the boys for a little while every day.
In food news, things are kind of at a standstill for the time being. I made 2 weeks worth of mush from pork and chicken hearts to get them through the whole chaos of the move. I figured that it would be better to keep them eating the same thing so they wouldn't get too stressed. Mogli is still eating on his own and really seems to enjoy his food. To be honest, I'm not sure if I'm going to try and get him to eat whole prey or even bone in meats. Things are working the way they are and I can always start brushing his teeth if need be. I'm just happy that I have him completely off kibble and eating raw on his own.
Also, I'm going to be able to get a lot more variety when it comes to meat. My dad works at a high end grocery store meat counter so can get just about anything. A lot of the organs and strange cuts require ordering a case but we have several freezers to store stuff in. I currently have 2 more months worth of food but will have to start considering what I want my dad to start ordering soon.
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Post by bigsis7 on Jul 24, 2009 18:51:29 GMT -5
Hey!! Sorry I've been a bit absent. I'm moving from Virginia to Alberta, Canada. Right now I'm in Montana.
Sorry about you and your boyfriend.
I'm glad Mogli is eating raw so well!! One thing though that you'll need to be careful with is that he'll have to eat at least 3 different kinds of meat, organs, and bones to have a complete raw diet. I'm sure the ferrets will love the "expensive" meats hehe!!
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Post by ccretarolo on Jul 24, 2009 19:54:22 GMT -5
Variety won't be an issue. My dad is able to order just about any cut of meat imaginable for next to nothing. Of course, the main catch is that he has to order it in 10 pound boxes. Of course... This will probably be one of my main points as to why we should get a dog... While food costs will be a little more, a large dog (hopefully a Boxer) will make ordering 20+ pounds of meat at a time worth the freezer space it will take up.
For the time being, I have tons of chicken, pork, and some beef that will last a couple of months. My dad is also collecting bone dust from the saw at work. The bone dust also contains scraps of pork, lamb, and beef. The store he works at gets rabbit in every once in a while even though it's not a big seller. That means that the rabbit will go to me once it hits the expiration date (and this is from a upscale store so expiration dates is actually 2-3 days before it starts to go bad). I also get chicken organs for free since the store doesn't sell the giblets with whole chickens unless it's specifically asked for. This means that normally, the giblets are thrown out unless one of the employees takes them home.
I've also found that Mogli's tummy is a lot stronger then it was when he first started raw. He immediately accepts any new meats as long as they're ground and have a little ferretone on them. This means that I can now give him stronger dark meats which will add to the variety he gets.
For right now though, I have more than enough food for them to last at least a month and a half. It's only chicken, pork, and some beef for the time being but the variety will gradually expand.
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Post by bigsis7 on Jul 29, 2009 22:10:28 GMT -5
Hey! We're almost moved in, so I'll be able to pop in more!!
Well sounds like you're doing great!! Lots of variety and it's great that you have access to a lot of meat.
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Post by ccretarolo on Jul 30, 2009 10:40:24 GMT -5
Yep! I'm also adding in whole mice to the ground meat so Mogli's poops are more solid. They've been a lot runnier than usual these last few days due to the stress of moving and having little to no out-of-cage time.
I'm very proud to say that Mogli is well on his way to eating whole prey. I saw him chewing several large pieces of mouse skin (w/ fur attached) that didn't get properly pulverized by the food processor. If I had known this was all it was going to take for him to eat prey, I would have done it a while ago.
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Post by bigsis7 on Jul 31, 2009 14:09:53 GMT -5
I'm so proud of how far Mogli has come!! Started out you having to hand feed him watery mush and now he's starting to eat mouse!! Knowing how he first started, I don't think he'd eat whole prey right away unless force fed. Who knows? You're doing amazing! Keep me updated!
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Post by ccretarolo on Jul 31, 2009 18:57:15 GMT -5
I'm especially proud that he hasn't had kibble in almost 3 weeks and doesn't seem to miss it. At this point, I just couldn't imagine having to feed kibble... It smells horrible and it's all greasy and gross. If my dad and I get a dog, I'm immediately putting it on a raw diet no matter what.
Mogli has also gained a little bit of weight and seems a little confused about the seasons. He's shedding pretty heavily even though the house stays in the low to mid 70's all of the time. I'm thinking it's due more to stress than to anything else but I have no way to be sure.
Also, I might have to board my guys for a few days here soon. My dad is hoping to get some time off of work so we can go to the beach for a few days. If my sister plans on staying behind, I'll probably leave my ferrets with hers since she already has 5 of them. I may not agree with her standard of care but it's better than paying $10 a day for the both of them. And I don't know yet if the local shelter will agree to feed raw if I provide it. While my sister doesn't feed raw and has no plans to, she understands why I do and is still amazed that I was willing to force feed Mogli.
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Post by bigsis7 on Aug 2, 2009 10:37:33 GMT -5
That's great :]!! I hate feeding kibble, but when we moved to Canada you can't bring meat over the border, so I had to for a while. Also my ferret Chewie, who is now at a new great home, got sick on "whole" raw, so I had to supplement him kibble. Sort of backwards, but it helped him. Hmm yeah it sounds like he thinks it's getting to be winter time. I don't think it's something to worry about unless he gains way to much weight or loses a ton of weight. That's great you sister understands why you feed raw!! My family understood, but not all my friends liked the idea, but oh well. They're my ferrets to feed =P! $10 a day isn't too bad, but I would also go the cheaper way. Have fun when you go to the beach!
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Post by ccretarolo on Aug 3, 2009 0:44:18 GMT -5
Gah! I took my boys over to my sister's place today... And the ride home was a complete disaster. Mogli got into the kibble that my sister's ferrets eat and the results were horrible. Nasty, green diarrhea that smelled like something died. I'm hoping that it will work out of his system soon but it's bad. They both got it on them so they both got baths as soon as we got home... I only hope that it doesn't stink up the whole house.
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Post by bigsis7 on Aug 3, 2009 22:17:11 GMT -5
Oh no!! What brand of kibble was it? Not sure it's normal for their poo to be like that even after not eating kibble for long periods of time. I think once they get it out of their system and they're bathed, they'll be fine. Just keep an eye on them to make sure, cause that sounds like a strong "reaction" to kibble.
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Post by ccretarolo on Aug 3, 2009 23:57:40 GMT -5
It was really cheap kibble. My sister is barely able to afford the upkeep for her pets so she makes compromises. The kibble she uses for her ferrets is the Wal-Mart brand kitten food. I'm trying to get her to switch to raw though since after dad's discounts, she would still be paying less for a raw diet then she would for the crap she's feeding now.
I kept them in the cage overnight and they're doing fine now. The nasty poops only happened a couple of times and then it went back to normal.
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Post by ccretarolo on Aug 4, 2009 18:28:34 GMT -5
Happy birthday to me!
So, I finally got Mogli to munch on some bone! I was actually starting to consider brushing his teeth on a regular basis since I only want to give N-Bones as a very occasional treat. He's still a long way from being able to eat chunks of meat rather than the ground meat but that's alright. Knowing that he's getting some benefit for his teeth just makes me happy.
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Post by bigsis7 on Aug 4, 2009 19:52:23 GMT -5
Happy Birthday!! Hope it's a great one :]!
Ahh so cheap kibble explains the really nasty poo. I also found that feeding raw can be a lot cheaper than feeding kibble.
Yay! Like a whole bone? So glad he tried it out!
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