Random Raw/Whole Prey Questions

[bluemoose]

I just had a couple random questions with regards to natural diets. I was told that a natural diet will result in thick, shiny coats. My ferrets have been on a whole prey diet since I got them at 9 and 14 weeks old. They are now 21 and 26 weeks and their coats look pretty average. Am I expecting too much too soon? Do they need to shed before their coats will look better? Is there anything I can do to improve their coats like more frequent brushing? Or will they always look kind of rag tag because I didn't get them from a breeder?

Also, I read that feeding raw/whole prey results in less smelly poops. Their fecal matter still smells pretty rank. I don't have a comparison because I've never fed them kibble but I read a few places that their leavings would be almost odorless and this is not the case. Were the benefits of raw in this regard exaggerated or should I be having a vet look at them?

Along the same track, I read that natural diets result in less ear wax but one of my ferrets still has exorbitant amounts of wax in her ears every time I clean them. I use cotton rounds and an ear cleaning solution to clean them about once a week. Should I be cleaning them more often?

[Heather]

Ear cleaning....might be mites..you can check yourself under a microscope. I found the more I cleaned, the more dirt appeared I stopped cleaning quite a while ago (years) and have only had to clean occasionally. Now, my understanding, intact ferrets during season have to have their ears cleaned regularly.
Coats....This is the wrong time of year to have pretty coats but you may see a change soon. They're also kits and they have a strange coat until they get their forever coat. Something in the diet may also be a contributing factor, fat content in prey is often low which may be an issue.
Poops....what are you feeding for whole prey and are you feeding just prey? Prey poops are rather smelly depending on what they're eating, mice is stinky (and they still smell, but not horribly). I feed a mix..commercial ground, frankenprey and prey because I don't feel that I can offer a decent mix of prey to cover their dietary needs. I find I get much better and more consistent stools doing it them way. If I feed just prey for a number of days, they get loose smelly poops. I honestly don't think we have enough bone in the whole prey equation (we should do and this doesn't make sense but it almost seems that way) This is only my observation, others may actually have noticed something different or may be able to help further with this.
ciao

[bluemoose]

I feed mostly whole prey (mice, rats, chicks, rabbit, quail) but sometimes they'll get whatever raw the dog is eating that day. I feed them some chicken fat, sprinkled with crushed eggshell, after their evening meal most days but I could up that a bit.

I'm probably just impatient for their coats to become as amazing as some of the raw fed ferrets I've seen. We'll see how they look when they get their winter coats.

They do eat a fair bit of mice so that could be what's causing the stinky poops I suppose. It's not extremely horrible but I was expecting less smell.

I'll check for ear mites, I hadn't even thought of that.

[shilohismygirl]

I think that my advice would be to try and be patient. If nothing else, this diet is great for them-but I will say that I have had amazing results on raw/whole prey in the areas of coats and smell of them (though their poops still smell, but not as badly). Also, as Heather says, check for ear mites, but my understanding of the earwax thing is that some just produce more than others. I have four, and out of those, I have one that apparently has a ton of ear wax, while the others do not. Wait awhile-I bet you will see more and more as time goes by. My ferrets were on kibble, and I saw a dramatic change a few weeks after they switched.

[bluemoose]

I looked up some info on ear mites and I don't think it's that because the wax is not dark and I haven't seen her shaking her head or scratching excessively at her ears. I'll keep on eye on it but I'm starting to think she's just a waxy ferret My mother is a pathologist so if I think it needs further investigation I'll give her some wax on a slide to look at.

[sherrylynne]

Ruling out the mites is a really good idea. I had no idea mine had mites, til the vet found them! Meant I had to treat the entire animal household for them. Twice .
As for wax- out of 9, one of mine simply has dirty ears. I now clean his monthly. He also has dirty paws most of the time, for some weird reason He's just a scruffy boy, generally, even though his coat is good.
I noticed a real difference after their first shed, although most of mine were either older kits or adults when I got them.

[spiritualtramp]

I've found adrenal and in-tact ferrets (or recently spayed/neutered) tend to have uckier ears than the others, but I would rule out mites first. It's one of those things that half the time, you don't even know they have them!

As for the smelly poops, some meats/prey offerings yield stinkier poops than others, but if it's persistent and loose or poorly-formed I would have them in for a fecal to rule out parasites or the like. Sometimes it just takes time to even out, too.

I noticed a changed in their coats after the next shed - so give that some time yet

[rarnold18]

I'm anxiously awaiting the fall shed and winter coats to arrive... I have a few Fuzz that are quite scruffy looking, the switch to raw has done wonders but the three I have in mind are still a bit rough around the edges

[joan]

All but one of mine is intact and I rarely clean their ears...maybe once or twice a year at most. If their ears need cleaning, one of the other ferrets will do it. <G> I suspect ear wax may be like the oils in the coat, ie, the more you clean their ears, the more wax they produce.

[bluemoose]

Well Mango does clean Kiwi's ears and Kiwi doesn't seem to have a problem with wax. But I've never seen Kiwi return the favor. I've left Mango's ears alone for a couple weeks so we'll see if that reduces the wax any.