RahRah's Switching Thread/Hurricanekatt

[rahrah]

I don't really know how to describe Calvin
He isn't much of a mommas boy at all, I don't actually think he's as attached to me as Martin is.
I have a feeling he's just being difficult and fussy.

[katt]

Well, some ferrets are just more difficult to switch regardless. No worries, we will find ways o outsmart him!

[rahrah]

I mixed some ferretone in, and Martin ate a whole bunch off my finger and the plate!
Calvin.. not so much
Everytime I grab him and make him taste it he just freaked out flinging his head around and just goes crazy. He's so dramatic
I gave him a bit of baby food, but so far, not really interested.

[katt]

oh ferrets! They act like it's poison. Well I am glad Martin ate it - keep trying with Calvin. I think it's better to let each go at his own pace rather that let one hold the other back, so let's work on Martin since he'll eat the soupies and try to get Calvin liking the soup. Keep gving him little tastes throughout the day of you can. Will Martin eat kibble covered in soup-gravy?

[rahrah]

Nope, he'll eat it straight, but not if theres kibble in it.
Gah. Crazy boys.

[katt]

Jan 11, 2011 15:16:44 GMT -5 rahrah said:

Nope, he'll eat it straight, but not if theres kibble in it.
Gah. Crazy boys.

That is even better! Just start feeding him soupies every day! I would leave a bowl of kibble in the cage during part of the day (like only over the day or only over the night) so poor Calvin can still eat, and then make sure that Martin gets his bowl of soupies and Calvin gets more tastes at the very least. You can even leave the soup in the cage during the day when the kibble is not there as well. Then perhaps Calvin will get curious and nibble some, especially as you continue to give him more tastes. Let me know if that is doable for you.

[rahrah]

Yeah I can do that

[katt]

Awesome! Let me know how it goes and keep me posted on Calvin's progress with tasting the soupies. Perhaps try mixing in a bit more ferretone and seeing if he likes it then? I have a feeling he might be a stubborn one to switch though. I'll talk to Mustelidmusk and Sherrylynne about more ideas to get him eating soupies because they worked together to get Sherrylynne's Boris eating raw and he was reputably one of the world's most difficult ferrets to switch to raw.

[rahrah]

aha yeah
I'll keep you posted for sure - I had a feeling from the start that Calvin would be the difficult one.
He kind of has the personality...

[katt]

Here's what sherrylynne had to say about her Boris (in regards to "forcing" him to taste the soupies):
"It took me 4 weeks of doing that with Boris, and another 2 weeks of rather unwilling spoon feeding before he accepted it willingly
Kattrina Crouch: Oh great. -_- So no other ideas? lol
Arlith: perseverence? With some, it takes hand feeding for quite a while. The upside is the bond between you and them becomes a LOT stronger. and no, they don't hold a grudge when you have to do this for an extended period of time what makes the difference is her mind set. if she's absolutely determined they ARE going to eat raw- they'll wind up eating raw - if I hadn't been so determined, Boris would still be on kibble.
has she tried small bits coated in kibbles?
or a bit of heavy cream mixed in with the soup?
that last one is what made the difference for some of mine
tell rah rah to try adding a bit of liquid whipping cream to her meat mix, about 1 tsp per ferret that should make a world of difference"


So keep trying to make him taste it as often as you can. Several times a day. Try adding in a little heavy whipping cream as well. If her will eat that, then keep it in there and give both ferrets the same soupies. Otherwise, since Martin will eat it without the cream I'd leave it out (personally) if it doesn't seem to make a difference.

[rahrah]

So! Happy day!
Last night I gave the boys a bowl of soup, and put just a little bit of kibble in the cage with them.
When I got up there was NO soup left and half the amount of kibble was eaten.
THEN!
This morning when I fed them, I watched and saw that CALVIN was eating the SOUP! YAY!
So yes! Maybe this won't be as difficult as I thought!
So I'm gonna be making another batch of soup pretty soon.
Should I keep my portions the same? Or less kibble?
let me know

[katt]

Yaaay! First BIG step accomplished! Go ahead and try decreasing the amount of kibble by just a tiny bit. If they like it still, decrease it more. We want to keep pushing them to the next step, without making them feel too stressed about it either. As soon as they get comfortable with the decrease in kibble, decrease it again. I think it will help too if you also add a tiny bit more raw chicken as you decrease the kibble by a tiny bit. You want to gradually trade one for the other.

[rahrah]

Hmm...
Sooo...
I made them the soup, put in less kibble and more chicken, they both took a few tastes, then Calvin decided he wanted to be a pain in the but and was more interested in flipping over the bowl.
Martin on the other hand, refused to eat it unless he licked it off my fingers. So he sat with me and did that for a while. It was weird. haha

[katt]

Yeah, at every step they will most likely balk somewhat. If you have the time to hand feed them until they start to eat it on their own, it is a great bonding experience and will help move them along. Hopefully with each decrease in kibble they will adjust in no more than a day or so, but sometimes it will inevitably take longer. Just stick with it and don't give in. If you need to, make the decrease in the kibble even smaller so that it is more gradual.

[rahrah]

Haha yeah, I'm just worried about Calvin not eating enough...
I'm sure he is, but at the same time I'm a paranoid ferrent