Post by ferretdroogies on Jan 25, 2011 18:08:48 GMT -5
It's been an exciting and new experience the past few days introducing Bantha into the mix... and even having had three very different ferrets for almost 3 years now, Bantha has thrown in a whole bunch of new experiences and challenges for me. :3
Food and Treats:
I assumed because he was fat that he would eat/try just about anything... and I was dead wrong He doesn't recognize ANYTHING as edible that I have offered him. He doesn't even sniff treats and food! I have tried offering freeze-dried chicken breast, Ziwipeak, S&C, Wysong A-1, and even foamy fries and ferretone (which I bought just for him)! I would be holding a piece to his face and he sniffs my hand and everything BUT the treat/food excitedly, then gets distracted and runs off.
Also, I left a bowl of a variety of freeze-dried and dehydrated foods with him for about 6 hours, but the second I put it in there, he snorkled in it for a few seconds (scattering it everywhere) then never touched it again I had to break down and buy marshalls kibble (since that's all he ate at the store- I have NEVER had to buy crappy kibble before)! When I first got Sari, she didn't want treats at first either, but she started eating ziwipeak the next day and within a week started eating treats.
He's only 6 months old, so I thought it would be cake switching him to at least freeze-dried and dehydrated raw foods. I also tried raw chicken soupie, but that didn't work either (but surprisingly, even Reks ate it, and he's picky when it comes to fresh/frozen raw) What do I do in this case? I was thinking of slowly adding more and more freeze-dried and less kibble over a period of a week (or two), and also offering wet kibble (which he also had at the store) and slowly adding more frozen raw (in soupie form) and less wet kibble). Hopefully, that works, or else I'm all out ideas
Now for the non-food related stuff...
Playing and Interactions:
Bantha has sooo much energy, despite his weight. He runs all over the room, and play-attacks anyone who surprises him. He won't go to sleep either, until I put him in his bed in the travel cage... just like a little kid If I leave him out, he seems to go on forever! He doesn't quite understand why the other ferrets are sleeping in various places around the room, and stomps into their sleeping spot (and all over them)
Everyone seems to be getting along just fine...there's no problem there. That said, he played with Sari (our wired weasel, and the littlest one out of the group) for a long time yesterday (because someone finally has the energy level to keep up with her to the point that HE tired HER out ). He doesn't seem to play too rough, either. Pan and Sari are an even match when playing, so they often play with each other a lot, but Reks on the other hand usually dominates play fights, and starts to get too rough for their liking. Bantha is kind of in between. It seems to work well for all of them, and Reks actually has a challenge now
They are still getting used to Bantha (and I'm sure he will chill out some once he gets used to everything), and there hasn't been full on play fighting/wrestling/chasing with him and the others yet. They all follow him around, sniffing him as he explores the room. Pan did hiss at him once when he tried to play with her when she wasn't in the mood, but she does that to the others, too (but not as much). Reks also started playing with him for a little bit, but it ended in Reks showing his dominance by grabbing Bantha by the scruff, holding on, and twisting. Bantha actually didn't seem to mind, as he sniffed Pan as she walked by and yawned while Reks had him pinned down by the scruff
For the most part, he seems to like chase games more than anything. I think that's one reason Sari played with him for a while yesterday, because she loves chasing and being chased
Toys:
Other than a tag connected to the bed he was sleeping in and starch packing peanuts, I have no idea what he likes to play with and stash yet :3
I couldn't find his carton of food last night, and turned the room upside down looking for it... finally found it stashed in a really tight spot in between some big tupperware boxes. He knocked it down earlier, so I'm pretty sure it was him who stashed it
The biggest problem I have had (because of his size) is that he can't fit all the way into the tubes we have They aren't the smallest tubes on the market either... they are about medium thickness (diameter wise). He gets stuck half-way through the opening, and ends up struggling to pull himself out. He's so confused as to why the others can slip right in there, but he can't follow them He still has fun chasing them through it from the outside, meeting them at the opposite end. I'm going to have to upgrade to the big black industrial sized tubes you can get at home depot, and maybe a cat tunnel or two
Sorry about the blocks of text, run-on sentences, and multiple subjects... I was feeling particularly lazy today
Food and Treats:
I assumed because he was fat that he would eat/try just about anything... and I was dead wrong He doesn't recognize ANYTHING as edible that I have offered him. He doesn't even sniff treats and food! I have tried offering freeze-dried chicken breast, Ziwipeak, S&C, Wysong A-1, and even foamy fries and ferretone (which I bought just for him)! I would be holding a piece to his face and he sniffs my hand and everything BUT the treat/food excitedly, then gets distracted and runs off.
Also, I left a bowl of a variety of freeze-dried and dehydrated foods with him for about 6 hours, but the second I put it in there, he snorkled in it for a few seconds (scattering it everywhere) then never touched it again I had to break down and buy marshalls kibble (since that's all he ate at the store- I have NEVER had to buy crappy kibble before)! When I first got Sari, she didn't want treats at first either, but she started eating ziwipeak the next day and within a week started eating treats.
He's only 6 months old, so I thought it would be cake switching him to at least freeze-dried and dehydrated raw foods. I also tried raw chicken soupie, but that didn't work either (but surprisingly, even Reks ate it, and he's picky when it comes to fresh/frozen raw) What do I do in this case? I was thinking of slowly adding more and more freeze-dried and less kibble over a period of a week (or two), and also offering wet kibble (which he also had at the store) and slowly adding more frozen raw (in soupie form) and less wet kibble). Hopefully, that works, or else I'm all out ideas
Now for the non-food related stuff...
Playing and Interactions:
Bantha has sooo much energy, despite his weight. He runs all over the room, and play-attacks anyone who surprises him. He won't go to sleep either, until I put him in his bed in the travel cage... just like a little kid If I leave him out, he seems to go on forever! He doesn't quite understand why the other ferrets are sleeping in various places around the room, and stomps into their sleeping spot (and all over them)
Everyone seems to be getting along just fine...there's no problem there. That said, he played with Sari (our wired weasel, and the littlest one out of the group) for a long time yesterday (because someone finally has the energy level to keep up with her to the point that HE tired HER out ). He doesn't seem to play too rough, either. Pan and Sari are an even match when playing, so they often play with each other a lot, but Reks on the other hand usually dominates play fights, and starts to get too rough for their liking. Bantha is kind of in between. It seems to work well for all of them, and Reks actually has a challenge now
They are still getting used to Bantha (and I'm sure he will chill out some once he gets used to everything), and there hasn't been full on play fighting/wrestling/chasing with him and the others yet. They all follow him around, sniffing him as he explores the room. Pan did hiss at him once when he tried to play with her when she wasn't in the mood, but she does that to the others, too (but not as much). Reks also started playing with him for a little bit, but it ended in Reks showing his dominance by grabbing Bantha by the scruff, holding on, and twisting. Bantha actually didn't seem to mind, as he sniffed Pan as she walked by and yawned while Reks had him pinned down by the scruff
For the most part, he seems to like chase games more than anything. I think that's one reason Sari played with him for a while yesterday, because she loves chasing and being chased
Toys:
Other than a tag connected to the bed he was sleeping in and starch packing peanuts, I have no idea what he likes to play with and stash yet :3
I couldn't find his carton of food last night, and turned the room upside down looking for it... finally found it stashed in a really tight spot in between some big tupperware boxes. He knocked it down earlier, so I'm pretty sure it was him who stashed it
The biggest problem I have had (because of his size) is that he can't fit all the way into the tubes we have They aren't the smallest tubes on the market either... they are about medium thickness (diameter wise). He gets stuck half-way through the opening, and ends up struggling to pull himself out. He's so confused as to why the others can slip right in there, but he can't follow them He still has fun chasing them through it from the outside, meeting them at the opposite end. I'm going to have to upgrade to the big black industrial sized tubes you can get at home depot, and maybe a cat tunnel or two
Sorry about the blocks of text, run-on sentences, and multiple subjects... I was feeling particularly lazy today