Hi!

[claudettebillie]

My name is Emilee, and I'm owned by a dog, cat, 3 gerbils, and a ferret (who I just got June 29!!) Hope to see you guys around!

[meli]

Ahhh welcome! Congrats on your new addition!

[claudettebillie]

Thanks!

[Forum Administrator]

We are happy to have you here! Hopefully we can help you put your furball onto a more natural diet. What does your ferret currently eat, and do you have an idea of what type of natural diet you would like her to be on:

1. Kibble and raw (supplemented with freeze-dried meats, and commercial raw foods)
2. A raw diet based on the prey model (no kibble)
3. A whole prey diet (frozen-thawed mice, rats, chicks, etc) (no kibble)
4. A raw and whole prey diet combo (no kibble)

We can help you no matter what way you are trying to enhance your baby's diet. I hope you can make use of our forum. Feel free to ask as many questions as you like, and hop right in

[claudettebillie]

Jul 4, 2008 15:05:34 GMT -5 Forum Administrator said:

We are happy to have you here! Hopefully we can help you put your furball onto a more natural diet. What does your ferret currently eat, and do you have an idea of what type of natural diet you would like her to be on:

1. Kibble and raw (supplemented with freeze-dried meats, and commercial raw foods)
2. A raw diet based on the prey model (no kibble)
3. A whole prey diet (frozen-thawed mice, rats, chicks, etc) (no kibble)
4. A raw and whole prey diet combo (no kibble)

We can help you no matter what way you are trying to enhance your baby's diet. I hope you can make use of our forum. Feel free to ask as many questions as you like, and hop right in

Right now she's on smelly Marshall's kibble and I'm trying to get her onto Zupreem kibble and Evo. I'm still iffy on raw feeding. If I were to feed raw I'd feed kibble and raw. I know for a fact I cannot feed her hoppers. I have 3 gerbils and could not watch a mouse being eaten. I may try PoGos or Frozen Mice.

[Forum Administrator]

Feeding the frozen thawed mice really isnt bad at all (I promise) they eat it so fast that you dont even get a mess (just ask others on the forum ) .

IMO a whole prey diet is the best diet for a ferret. You can order feeder rodents online from places like rodentpro.com and honestly, when they are dead and frozen they dont look anything like a cute pet (I promise). To me they just look like lifeless toy mice (if that makes any sense).

Take some time to troll around the forum, ask questions, and we can help. We'll help your figure out exactly what you are and arent comfortable with when it comes to your ferret's diet. Once we have a better idea of where you want to take the diet (and you begin to make the switch) I can pair you up with a mentor that can help you reach your "diet goals" for your ferret.

[claudettebillie]

Right now I'm just trying to get the little stink weasel on soupies!! I scruffed her and gave her some and she gave me a face. So I put some on her nose figuring she'd have to lick it off- but she wiped her nose on her blankie! She's a picky girl, but I'm persistent!

About raw feeding- I don't think it'll be too difficult to get her going. She chases and attacks toys on sticks- so she has some hunting skills in her.

[Forum Administrator]

If you are feeding frozen-thawed prey (or just raw meats) those hunting skills wont matter......its the EATING skills that matter lol

How old is your ferret?

[claudettebillie]

Okay, she's from Petco. (Mom had a soft moment so I had to move quick.) I'm not necessarily proud that she's from Petco, but there are no breeders or shelters around me.

Now, when I bought her- the lady didn't give me her flipping papers! So they're mailing them to me. I don't know what shots she's had and when she was born- I'll tell you guys when I get the papers.

[Forum Administrator]

She is young then, she should be a breeze to switch (Switching ferrets under 6 months old is, usually, a joke. They dont take much work at all).

[nwheather]

Welcome! Congrats on your new baby! Three of mine came to me eating whole prey (frozen- mice) & one of my other ones converted himself to whole prey! He was about 9 months old, & within a couple days of watching the babies eat the mice, he decided to try it. I now have 4 out of 7 who eat mice.

[Heather]

Hi and welcome Emilee
I can understand why you're a little hesitant about feedin whole prey, especially as you have gerbils...rather like feeding family members
Not to worry, you don't have to. Even if you go for the frankenprey or ground you're doing something fantastic for your furbaby. These methods aren't as good as whole prey but ...they're better than kibbles and your guys won't smell near as bad. My guys get a mix of everything...except kibble...I don't keep the stuff in the house. Don't get me wrong, if I have an inulimomic ferret that I can't control their blood sugar I will feed kibble, but I've never had to yet. I have fuzzies that range between the ages of 2 yrs to 9 plus (I just switched a 9 and 6 or 7 yrs old in the last couple of months) It's never too late to reap the benefits and allow your furchild the benefit of a raw diet. Ask questions, read some of the posts check it out. They're a really friendly crew and a lot of them are just in the process of getting a handle on all this themselves.
Hope to see you around
Ciao

[tako]

Hello!

I'm a touch late on the game but WELLCOME! from me too!

[buzzonesbirdie]

IM a little late but still

[claudettebillie]

Thanks!