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Post by tiggyeaj on Dec 5, 2009 23:06:15 GMT -5
I think I'm going to get Muddy a foraging cup in the next few days. She's still fairly picky about what she likes, so edibles wise, I'm fairly limited in what I can put in it. Too bad there isn't one big enough to put my roommate's bunny slipper in--she'd go nuts! For now, I'm going to stick with putting n-bone pieces in it, mixing those with new treats to get her to try them. My question: how quickly do other ferrets eat their n-bones. She seems to eat them so quickly, for a while I thought she was stashing them, but nope, she's eating them. I would say she normally devours it in under 15 minutes. I normally only give her 1/2 a stick at a time, because I'm concerned with her bolting one and making herself sick? Am I being silly?
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Post by mustelidmusk on Dec 9, 2009 18:37:18 GMT -5
I wouldn't expect 1/2 n-bone eaten quickly would be an issue. My one girl will occassionaly eat so much she'll vomit. Then the'll eat the barf Her piggy behavior hasn't hurt her yet. The main thing you want to do is make sure you're not feeding too many treats such that your ferrets are eating less of the really healthy foods. I put regular food in the foraging cups (freeze-dried raw diet or dried meat strips work great for daytime snacks. ) If your ferret is currently eating kibble, you can put some pieces of kibble in the cup and less in their regular food bowl. If your ferret is trying to switch to raw diet, I highly recommend buying a bug of freeze-dried raw diet such as Wysong's Archetypal I and sprinkling a small amount of the crumbling stuff into your ferrets' regular kibble. Start with a very small amount of the freeze-dried at first. Start to add a little more freeze-dried every few days. Before you know it, your ferts will be eating more raw than kibble. You can also mix the kibble with the freeze-dried a few days before serving so the two types of food start to smell the same. If your ferts are still masters at picking out the kibble, crush the kibble lightly to break some of it into smaller pieces. This will make it more difficult for the ferrets to eat around the raw. This seems to be the easiest way to introduce picky ferrets to raw foods. once they get a taste for protien, the ferrets will be easier to switch to meat chunks, and you'll know what to put into the foraging cups! -jennifer
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Post by ferretrunner on Dec 20, 2009 22:37:14 GMT -5
Just a quick question: what is a foraging cup? I routinely hide treats for my ferrets to find- and try to find ways to make it somewhat challengin . Is this a similiar concept? I'm looking for new enrichments...
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Post by mustelidmusk on Dec 21, 2009 0:10:21 GMT -5
Foraging cups are commonly used for birds. They are cups that typically hang in a cage, and the bird has to learn how to open the cup to get the treat. Cups can be simple, but some are more complex and puzzle-like.
If you go back to the enrichment main page, there's a section above the one we're in now that has artices and info about enrichment. In that section, you'll find 2 threads about foraging cups - one is called something like "the best no-boreom toy" . This describes foraging cups and has links to some pictures and cups that work well for ferrets. The other is about treats you can put in foraging cups. (If you ferret is still eating kibble, you can even put kibble in the cups.
Another good enrichment thing to read about is the the feeing den. This is also great way to nuture natural behaviors.
Have fun! -jennifer
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Post by tiggyeaj on Jan 2, 2010 12:49:50 GMT -5
So I finally got Muddy some foraging cups. I bought a set that has replaceable cardboard cups, with honeycomb inserts. You can make different difficulty levels depending on how you place the treats. Instant success! She did manage to run-off with it the first time, because I didn't secure it to the cage well enough, but after that she had a blast. I think I'll only give it to her a few days a week so that it doesn't get old, and I'll switch around the treats and their placement. I highly recommend!
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