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Post by usmom on Jul 14, 2008 23:08:53 GMT -5
New thread as quested. My glilders are eating chicken wings, necks, some gizzards, beef (oxtail), some liver, and pork was just added today. Mostly they get chicken, and their poo is soft, slimy and smells horrid. They do eat bones, tendons, fat, marrow. Anywho, any thoughts?
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Post by meli on Jul 15, 2008 12:03:15 GMT -5
Oh wow you can give gliders meat?
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Post by pear2apple on Jul 15, 2008 12:13:56 GMT -5
I don't know anything about gliders, but perhaps a recent switch in food is causing stinky poos? And maybe it depends how often you feed organ meat?
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jul 15, 2008 12:16:58 GMT -5
Oh wow you can give gliders meat? I have a feeling she's so used to saying "glider" that she accidentally said it when she meant ferret Gliders are omnivores, but I know that many people refer to them as omnivore/insectivores, so I doubt they are eating all those meaty foods lol Now, Usmom it sounds like they could have an intolerance to chicken. So you said they DO eat the oxtails? If so, good. Here is what I want you to do. CUT OUT chicken from the diet. See if that helps to resolve the issue. Because your ferrets NEED bones I want you to replace the raw meaty chicken bones with the following raw meaty bones: Turkey necks Oxtails Pork neck segments Rabbit (if you can find it) The middle segment of a turkey wing (the bones are pretty edible. Dont feed the end segment, but you can strip the meat off of the end and feed that later. You can save the tips too as "chew treats"). For the organ meat I want you to feed beef liver (please try and find organic) and beef heart (beef kidney too if you can find it). Its possible that they might have an intolerance to chicken. Cutting out the chicken will help us see if this is the case. I have a feeling that cutting out the chicken will help ALOT. If not, then there is always the option of switching from raw to whole prey.
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Post by usmom on Jul 15, 2008 18:22:27 GMT -5
Whoops! I took a sleeping pill then posted. Sorry, I did mean ferrets. My gliders poo is fine, thanks! They can have meat, and actually require about 30 to 50 percent of their deit to be a protien source. Okay, cut out the chicken, check. I'll have to hit the grocery store tomorrow, but no big. The smell is so bad I gag when I clean their cage, and I do that daily. I have to say, my gag reflex doesn't go with smell too often, so...Hopefully that will help!
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jul 15, 2008 19:55:53 GMT -5
Poop that smells like that is NOT good. Its not normal either. Sounds like a chicken intolerance to me. Lets see how this switch works. Like I said, worst case scenario you would have to cut out the raw and feed whole prey (would you be ok with that?). I really think its the chicken though
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Post by mustelidmusk on Jul 22, 2008 19:55:58 GMT -5
Are your "gliding ferrets" from the same litter? If multiple ferrets are having the issue, then chicken allergy is not all that common. I'd be kind of surprised if you have 2 or more unrelated ferrets with bad poops from chicken allergy. But its certainly not impossible, and perhaps the allergies are more readily apparent with raw diets. If your ferrets have not been eating raw for very long, it's possible that they have a bacterial overgrowth. A couple of times after my ferrets had been switched, they had some bacterial flare-ups that required a short run of antibiotics to get things under control. This happened after when I introduced a new ferret (unneutered male) to my "tribe". I thought my new boy may have introduced an issue, but all 4 ferrets had different bugs flaring up!!! (I had the stools cultured to make sure there were no "food cooties" making them sick - No food cooties) It was just the stress of the new boy (obnoxious kit!) coupled with the bacterial load they weren't fully adjusted to. The new boy got the worst of it! Has anything stressful been going on - like adding a new fuzzy to your crew??? Moving your ferrets to a different room? Is it warm in your ferret's location? Summer heat is a big stress factor. etc. Also, stress doesn't necessarily have to be apparent for ferrets to get bacterial overgrowths.If this doesn't clear up soon, take then into the vet and have a poop check done. And even if it is bacterial overgrowth, don't give up the raw - they'll get used to the bacterial load -jennifer
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Post by josiesmom on Jul 24, 2008 7:47:12 GMT -5
Something else you can try too to help clean their system thoroughly is to give them smashed UNspiced pumpkin. Canned is fine as long as it is plain, unspiced.
The fibrous nature of the pumpkin will push a a large majority of the junk out of their system.
I'd be more inclined to think the pork would be bothering them, unless the chicken you are offering them has been enhanced with solution or broth.
They seem to be eating enough bony sources to keep their deposits firmed up, so its either:
A sensitivity to the food usually the deposit will practically run through the ferret and color won't be too different from what originally was ingested.
A reaction to something IN the food. This may be accompanied by gassey toot at deposit time.
A bacterial or microbial flourish can lead to a rainbow of colors from light tan to orange to brown or black even green and usually has a significant odor. The odor is usually defined as a sickly sweet fishy smell.
Too much fat in the food usually leads to very light colored, sometimes white pudding like or beady deposits.
Too much meat, not enough bone. Makes for small puddles of brown to dark brown goo.
Eating liver creates thick black deposits, which can also indicate ulcers or gastric bleeding.
When you say they "mostly get chicken" do you mean they are mostly eating chicken meat? Or are they getting a bony item with every meal? They really need bony substance with every meal.
Get some pumpkin into them for at least two to three feedings. IOW let them have a regular meal, but the next meal is ONLY pumpkin. You may have to syringe feed it into them. A half teaspoon only.
If you can't get pumpkin into them, try a whole mouse - the mouse fur will also clean out the digestive tract very nicely.
If the deposits smell sickly sweet fishy, you need to make an appointment with your vet for some meds if the pumpkin doesn't clear it up.
Hope this helps! Cheers, Kim
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Post by mustelidmusk on Jul 24, 2008 23:58:31 GMT -5
I know this is not as healthy as pumpkin, but laxatone will push bacteria through as well. i've used it a few times to clear out bacteria, and it does work if the bacteria overgrowth isn't too bad.
The pumpkin is the healthier way to do the same thing, but a lot of ferrets won't touch it. You should have to do this once your kids have adjusted. And again, if this does not work, take your kids to the vet for poop checks.
-jennifer
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