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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2013 10:20:11 GMT -5
Just asking questions in case it ever comes down to ripping u what I have hehe
Since they've been eating dry kibble, I decided last night that perhaps I should do as you said and back up and get them used to soup-like kibble again. It took them a bit to get the hint, but they ate it. I had to start it off as "mush" (like they give it to them in the pet stores) and after they ate a bit I continued to add water until it was more of a soup texture. This was quite the process, so this is what I got done last night. Hope I'm not moving too slow and aggravating you!
Tonight, I have chicken breast, more liver, and some other chicken meat that I will be mixing up for the soup du jour haha! I re-read a lot of the things I had printed out a while back (from your threads) so I think I have a much better understanding of measurements now. As I said before, I think I just got excited and jumped in the other night without thinking. SO. From here on out I shall turn my turn on!
Since I found the app on my phone, I will keep you posted this weekend as to how they do with it (and how the hunt for hearts go). I'm going to do some research today on good taurine supplements in case I can't come up with any. I could be wrong as I Just scanned back over our thread here and didn't see it, but I thought I remembered you saying somewhere that brain is also a good source of Taurine? (I'm trying not to make you repeat yourself 1400 times here).
Oh and as far as Sydney's biting goes, I did the Bite Hold a few times with her the other night when she went to town on my elbow, and did as you said with putting them right back where they were when the biting started. She did NOT submit (she wormed out but I managed to re-pin her), but I think she got the hint because the past 2 nights haven't been *as* bad. My boyfriend got home really early yesterday afternoon so he had let them out all day and she was sleepy by the time I got home so that could be why she didn't bother biting me last night. She actually slept with me all night long.
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Post by katt on Feb 1, 2013 13:50:57 GMT -5
Just asking questions in case it ever comes down to ripping u what I have heheNo worries. Since they've been eating dry kibble, I decided last night that perhaps I should do as you said and back up and get them used to soup-like kibble again. It took them a bit to get the hint, but they ate it. I had to start it off as "mush" (like they give it to them in the pet stores) and after they ate a bit I continued to add water until it was more of a soup texture. This was quite the process, so this is what I got done last night. Hope I'm not moving too slow and aggravating you!Nope, no worries. We can go as slowly as needed as long as they are getting the nutrients they need. Getting them reacquainted with the texture is a good start. Now it should be a lot easier to get them to accept the raw soupies when you get a new batch made up. When you do I would like you to try feeding it on it's own first (Scruff n Stuff, finger feed, etc). If they aren't taking it, mix a little into their kibble soup. Tonight, I have chicken breast, more liver, and some other chicken meat that I will be mixing up for the soup du jour haha! I re-read a lot of the things I had printed out a while back (from your threads) so I think I have a much better understanding of measurements now. As I said before, I think I just got excited and jumped in the other night without thinking. SO. From here on out I shall turn my turn on! Let me know how it goes! Since I found the app on my phone, I will keep you posted this weekend as to how they do with it (and how the hunt for hearts go). I'm going to do some research today on good taurine supplements in case I can't come up with any. I could be wrong as I Just scanned back over our thread here and didn't see it, but I thought I remembered you saying somewhere that brain is also a good source of Taurine? (I'm trying not to make you repeat yourself 1400 times here). Yes, brain is a very good source of taurine, but I would still supplement if you can't find hearts. I'm not sure how brain compares to heart in terms of taurine content. Freezing meat does degrade taurine as well, so again it never hurts to have a supplement on hand anyways. I'll message Jackie and ask her what brand she uses. Oh and as far as Sydney's biting goes, I did the Bite Hold a few times with her the other night when she went to town on my elbow, and did as you said with putting them right back where they were when the biting started. She did NOT submit (she wormed out but I managed to re-pin her), but I think she got the hint because the past 2 nights haven't been *as* bad. My boyfriend got home really early yesterday afternoon so he had let them out all day and she was sleepy by the time I got home so that could be why she didn't bother biting me last night. She actually slept with me all night long.Aw. It takes time before they learn. Also watch closely as they each have their own way of submitting. Sighing, yawning, looking away, licking their lips, etc. You have to get to know each ferret's body language. Stick with it though. The key is consistency. It can take some time for things to sink into their thick little ferrety skulls.
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Post by katt on Feb 1, 2013 14:25:58 GMT -5
Taurine should be given @ 500 mg a day per ferret. Look for a pure taurine supplement, with no additives/fillers.
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Post by katt on Feb 2, 2013 15:11:02 GMT -5
Just popping in for an update today. I may not be around on Monday, just a heads up. My interview is Tues (for Med school) so Monday night after work I am going to be a bit busy panicking and trying to study up on last minute healthcare tidbits. If you have a question that you want answered before Tuesday, please send Heather or Sherry a PM. I'll be here today, Sunday, and Tues for sure though.
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Post by katt on Feb 3, 2013 12:31:59 GMT -5
Taurine should be given @ 500 mg a day per ferret. Look for a pure taurine supplement, with no additives/fillers. Jackie recommended the NOW brand of taurine from Amazon.
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Post by katt on Feb 3, 2013 12:32:26 GMT -5
Any updates?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2013 10:22:37 GMT -5
Sorry was a long, crazy weekend in my personal life so I didn't get to the forum - should have gotten in a quick update though. Things were nuts, but I HAVE continued with the scruff n stuff because that's the only way they're taking it and they hate it. I tried just the soup at first and they acted like they were dying so I mixed up just a little bit of kibble with it and they were a little more apt to that. I also cheated and put a tiny little dot of ferrovite (sp?) on my finger and THEN put the soup on it. They fell for it haha! So I'm still trying to get them to just eat dern soup!! But I'm getting more and more down their throats. I just feel kind of mean continuously doing the scruff n stuff. Also watch closely as they each have their own way of submitting. Sighing, yawning, looking away, licking their lips, etc. You have to get to know each ferret's body language. Stick with it though. The key is consistency. - - Yeah all she did was squirm and twist hehe! I didn't have to do it over the weekend though. She was pretty well behaved. Oh and I measured out the chicken breast and liver exactly to the oz and threw in a tad of wing meat to try to add something different. Good luck with your med school interview!! I'll be thinking about ya! Stay calm it'll be fine Excited for you! Oh and uhh - I was a victim of ferret math yesterday. We brought home a boy He still needs a name but he's an excellent addition so far. They all took an immediate liking to one another and played all night long (we've started leaving them out in the living room at night when we go to bed). So I'm working with him on the raw as well. NO hearts anywhere we went, and I need to order more stuff of of Amazon today anyway so I'll get the taurine. We brought him home from Petco as well. Though the lady that helped us there was very in to them and knew a lot, and she said that they make a point to take them all out multiple times a day in a play room and interact with them, and it is VERY evident in his temperament because he doesn't bite or anything and he was immediately very trusting with us. I will get a picture of him soon. He's a month or so older than the girls and he's pretty big, and very healthy it seems. I'm a sucker LOL!
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Post by katt on Feb 4, 2013 18:32:54 GMT -5
Definitely need pictures! Congrats! As for the soup, I would mix a SMALL amount of the raw soup into their kibble soup. See if they will eat that on their own. Even if it is 90% kibble soup and 10% raw, if they will eat it on their own that is progress. Once they eat that regularly without fuss, change it to 80:20, then 70:30, etc. Tonight give that a try - almost entirely kibble soup with just a tiny bit of raw soup mixed in. You can preserve your soup by freezing it in an ice cube tray, and then storing the cubes in a ziplock bag in the freezer btw. That way you won't waste as much soup during this part of the switch.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2013 11:36:49 GMT -5
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Post by katt on Feb 6, 2013 21:13:07 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2013 10:37:02 GMT -5
The soup is still like this: LOL Still trying though. Question - and this is kind of embarrassing. I'm pretty sure we just caught a bug from being out this weekend, but can you catch any kind of diarrhea-like illnesses from them? They themselves don't have diarrhea, but we didn't know if maybe there was something in their poop that we may have come in contact with while cleaning up. I made an appt with a vet for general check ups for the 18th, and asked them and they said most likely not, can just transmit the flu back and forth, but I didn't know if you might have a different opinion.
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Post by katt on Feb 8, 2013 5:28:54 GMT -5
Nope, not a whole lot you can catch from them other than the flu. With ANY animal there is a risk of salmonella, but keeping the cage and feeding area clean and washing your hands after handling their food, cleaning their litter box etc reduces the risk to pretty much zero. Unless you are tasting their meat soup or eating their poop; the chances of getting salmonella are very, very low. Not impossible, but darn near. Now technically I should advise you to to wash your hands any time you handle ANY animal, but who actually does that? I kiss my boys all the time. And kibble has much higher risk of salmonella contamination than meat btw - it is less tightly regulated. It ia normal for ALL animals (including humans!) to shed some amount of salmonella in their feces. To get a salmonella infection though you typically have to ingest contaminated food. The risk is almost zero. I have only heard of one person getting a salmonella infection from her ferrets EVER, and that was a person who had a severely compromised immune system, AND there was no way go really determine that it was from her ferrets or from contaminated food she may have eaten at some point. The short answer is no, only the flu. Can you tell me exactly what they are eating and when right now?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2013 11:30:21 GMT -5
But i like the taste of feces!! jk! I do wash my hands religiously after handling their food and cage/poop, and usually at least once while I'm playing with them.
Still eating kibble through out the day, I can get them to eat the kibble SOUP at night, but dont' want anything to do with it if raw is mixed in with it. Still putting it on their noses/lips and doing the scruff n stuff. They're pretty stubborn.
Going to try to do better this weekend. I have a lot of health issues going on, on top of what I told you, so I admit it's a little difficult right now and I'm probably slacking a bit. I was going to let you know that I have a bunch of doctor appointments in the next couple of weeks, and multiple surgeries are being discussed, though they haven't been confirmed or decided upon. If I do have to go through that, I might have to go on hiatus with the switching because my boyfriend isn't home enough right now to work with them. Just thought you should have a heads up because I don't want to be one of the frustrating people that suddenly drops. I have to get this stuff taken care of though.
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Post by katt on Feb 8, 2013 12:50:38 GMT -5
How thick is the kibble soup? You should give them the kibble soup 24/7 right now. Remind me again how old your brats are?
As for mixing the raw in the soup, when I say a TINY bit I mean TIIIINY. The smaller the better. Start with less than a teaspoon. You want it to be completely unnoticeable at first. And leave the soup in their cage with them. Watch them to make sure they are all eating.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2013 16:35:01 GMT -5
OK I will do this.
The girls (Sydney and Scout) are roughly 3 1/2 months. Theodore is more around 4 1/2 - 5 Months.
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