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Post by Heather on Jun 29, 2013 1:23:59 GMT -5
HF Forum Username: Saleena
1. Where did you first learn about natural diets for ferrets? stumbled upon this website (:
2. Please describe the type of diet you would like assistance in switching your ferret(s) to. Be sure to include if you are interested in feeding whole prey (live or frozen-thawed) and if you are wanting to FULLY switch to a natural diet or PARTIALLY. If you are unsure what kind of diet you want to put your ferrets on, please express that and we can help you find the best type of natural diet for your ferret.
Well our baby ferret eats whole mice and mosr meats no problem, Im just not sure im feeding the right amounts and variety, My two adults wont eat it unless its pureed and i was doing that with kibble/ meat mix.. i know bad bad :/ I would like them all 3 on a whole prey/raw diet kibble excluded!
3. Why are you interested in switching your ferrets to a natural diet? I love them to peices, i just want whats best my adults are so lazy, tired and unplayful :/ Im hoping a healthy diet will help them out of this funk
4. Do you understand that switching your ferret to a natural diet can be a lengthy, arduous process? Its not an overnight switch. It can be a commitment of several weeks or even months. Your HF Mentor will be more then happy to assist you in switchng your ferret(s) to a natural diet, but you need to be equally as commited. If you aren't willing to tough out a potentially lengthy switching process, or if you have major life changes approaching (baby on the way, moving, starting school, getting married/divorced, etc) then it might be a better idea to wait on switching your ferret's diet until you have more time. Are you willing to make the commitment? Boy do i, i tried this myself about a month ago and it wasnt pretty, i feel i did more harm then good so they are back on kibble until i can do this PERFECT, my bf and i are dedicated farrents, were ready for this!
5. How many ferrets do you currently have? What are their names? Ages? Genders? Do they have any health problems? Are they overweight? Underweight? How long have you had each ferret for?
we have 3 boys, Marcellus-3 1/2 skinny but gaining slowly, Dax- 3 1/2 tubby lol he's my weirdo would prefer a dirty sock over nice healthy meat!, there my rescue boys adopted them from craigslist we've had them since november '12 , and Novak- 12 weeks very healthy bought from petlife about 3 weeks ago Ill have legitimate weights soon, we have a checkup coming up for all 3.
6. What diet do you currently feed your ferrets? (Please include all treats, supplements, etc) Right now they have zupreem kibble, and ive been trying to mix shredded meat, and chicken livers in there once and a while, but a few weeks ago i atempted raw myself and they were just getting chicken legs, hamburg, breasts and cut up pinkies (not even the baby will touch the pre frozen mice) and for a treat they have 8-1 ferretvite which i found out is terrible should i throw away or finish the tube?
7. Have you ever tried to switch your ferrets to a natural diet in the past? If yes, what happened? The baby took right to anything you put in front of him, except kibble lol and my 2 adults would only eat it if it was the only thing they had, and that was only if it was pureed with kibble, so overall NOT GOOD
8. What additional information about yourself or your ferrets would you like to share? Well ive owned ferrets briefly in the past, this is my second run with them i love them to absolute peices, and would love to see them live long happy lives with us, id also like to say there a couple of weirdos lol
9. How often during the week do you have access to a computer? everyday, at home and at work
10. Please post a picture of each of your ferrets (if possible).
Hi and welcome to the mentoring program (wave) . In a little while your mentor (Hurricanekatt) will introduce herself and you can get started on a new adventure in natural ferret care and diets. Please remember to post regularly (daily or as per arranged with your mentor) so that your mentor can assist you move along safely in this adventure. If you experience computer difficulties or are going to be away, please notify your mentor and most of all relax and have fun (dance) . Your mentor is here to help you on this journey. ciao
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Post by katt on Jun 29, 2013 3:37:13 GMT -5
Location: Anchorage, Alaska Skpye name: hurricane.katt – I am on Skpye a lot so feel free to pop in and chat, or ask questions you want a quick answer to. I became a mentor because... I really like helping people (hence the whole wanting to be a doctor thing ) and animals. I am a strong supporter of a natural diet and probably bore most people that I meet to death ranting about raw diet and why it is the best way to go…this way I can rant to someone who actually cares! About My Ferrets: Koda – male, Real Canadian, I got him when he was about 8 weeks old when I bought him in December 2009, Sable. I gave him raw the second he came home and he immediately ripped into it and started hissing to keep me away from his tasty prize! Neither of us has ever looked back. He is a real trouble maker and is pretty well known around the forums as such. He is my first ferret and he has forced me to learn and learn FAST! He has managed to eat several foreign objects, and is constantly finding new trouble to get into (his nose has a rubber detector in it). He had to have an emergency blockage surgery, which (we believe) ended up being the catalyst that resulted in his IBD. He loves digging the carpet up, or more recently chewing it, has a very serious oral fixation (if his mouth can stretch wide enough for his teeth to touch it – he will chew it), he will rearrange the room to reach things, has learned how to levitate, and is an all around little monster. He is also very strongly bonded to my boyfriend and I, and can be a huge love bug. When the endless energy is finally burned off, he will curl up in our laps, give us kisses, and fall asleep. As you can tell, I have this problem where I can’t stop talking about him or taking pictures of him… He has IBD which we struggled to get control of (and finally succeeded!) with diet. He has recently had a second blockage surgery, and this week he will be getting his second Des implant for juvenile adrenal. He's been a handful, that's for sure! Kneai: male, Silver/Black Roan Mitt. I brought Kenai home towards the end of November 2010 when he was about 7-8 weeks old. He is also eating 100% raw diet, whole prey, frankenprey, meaty bones you name it! He was a tiny little bag of bones when I brought him home, but he eats like a pig and grows like a weed! He is now huge and rolly-polly! definitely a little porker - he can barely make it out of his rice box because he is so bottom heavy. lmao He finally started shedding some fur and a little winter weight and is slimming up, but he is still a clumsy critter. haha He loves, LOVES toys and is a loveable, goofy little guy and has been helping to keep Koda company and burn off each others energy! He's definitely a little spaz - I thought Koda was until I got Kenai! He's a bit of a simpleton. He has trouble finding the potty box a lot, and he doesn’t learn very fast. He also is much less physically adept at things – he has trouble climbing and getting into/onto/out of things. He is sloooowly figuring out how to control his floppy body, but he definitely has some developmental delays. But, we love him just the same. About My Natural Feeding Experience: I've been feeding raw since December 2009 when I brought Koda home. Thanks to this forum, I was ready for a fuzzball to come home with my freezer stocked with meats! I gave him a raw chicken wing his first night home and that was the end of that! He is fed frankenprey, f/t roents, and live prey. Unfortunately, his diet is somewhat restricted because of his IBD, but we've finally got a bit of variety back in. I have been reading and learning since before I brought Koda home and learned a lot from the people here on the forum. I am always on the forum, and various websites trying to learn more about ferrets in general, and especially raw diet. My boys are healthy, energetic, have super soft fur, and smell so good that people regularly comment, asking me what perfume or spray I sprayed them (esp Koda) with! I love telling them: Thanks to a raw diet - he just smells that good naturally! When Kenai first came home he had been eating Marshall's kibble and his poops were HUGE and smelled...awful doesn't even come close to describing it! Now he smells much better and his scraggly coat has been replaced by a luxurious pile of fur. Type of Mentor: In Training! I feed frankenprey, raw meats, bone-in meats, ground meats, frozen/thawed rodents, live prey, and recently added (for treats and supplemental) freeze dried raw and commercially ground raw. I have never fed kibble so I can’t help with picking a good kibble… My Specialty: Trouble makers! I focus on full switches to raw – no more kibble!
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Post by katt on Jun 29, 2013 3:38:07 GMT -5
Let's start off with a detailed description of your current feeding schedule. What are you feeding to each ferret, when, do you give meals or free feed, etc. Then I'll have an idea of where we need to start!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2013 11:29:38 GMT -5
Alrighty all 3 boys Marcellus dax and novak eat zupreem kibble its available to them 24/7, our 13 week old novak eats pumpkin mice (only live, wont touch pre frozen), chicken wings&legs, beef, and sometimes liver. I just got my older boys Marcellus and dax eating pumpkin and when I tried going raw myself they were eating the soup I was making. There VERY finicky eaters
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Post by katt on Jul 1, 2013 19:00:28 GMT -5
Pumpkin mice? I haven't heard of that, I assume that is just a breed of mouse?
What was in the raw soup that you tried before? If you offer it again will they still eat it?
If NOT, then let's start with kibble soup. Let the kibble soak in warm water to soften for a few minutes, and then blend it up with some warm water until you have a nice soup. Think pudding consistency. Try that out and see how well they take to it.
If they WILL eat the raw soup, and Novak will eat it too, let me know (and let me know what the soup ingredients were/are) and we can go from there.
Ideally THIS is the soup recipe that should be used as it is balanced. If yours is different let me know.
Soup for switch: 8oz chicken(or other meat) One half chicken liver(or 1oz other liver) 2 chicken hearts(or 1oz other heart) 1/2 tsp eggshell powder
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2013 19:22:16 GMT -5
lol I ment pumpkin, AND mice! I was mixing kibble with meat liver and water and eggshell and blending it in the blender until I saw that kibble and meat digest at 2 different rates and it could hurt there bellies. Im gonna offer up the soup tomorrow I have the whole day off so I can keep an eye on who's eating and how much, I know for sure they eat squishy kibble, so im gonna shoot for the chicken soup first. I'll take some pics and let you know how it goes , do you need weights? I can weigh them tomorrow at the vet by my house, they don't take ferrets but im sure they wouldn't mind us using there scale And can I just say THANK YOU soooo much for taking the time to do this with me, my boys thank you too
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Post by katt on Jul 1, 2013 19:39:28 GMT -5
Oh okay! lol How much pumpkin are you giving? It really shouldn't be a regular part of their diet. It should strictly be used for sick ferrets and hairball type situations. It can help with constipation, and it can help firm up loose poops if someone isn't feeling well, but it should not really be given regularly. Okay, now that I know more about the soup here is my recommendation. FIRST make up the raw soup recipe above. Give it a shot and see if they will eat that if you finger feed them a bit. I suspect that they won't go for it right off the bat, but if they do, all the better! If all 3 will willingly eat the raw soup no problems, switch them to that cold-turkey. If not, which I suspect will be the case, start with some kibble soup. Let the kibble soak in some warm water for a few minutes to soften it (you can have it soaking while you make the raw soup). Then blend it up with some more water to make a nice soup - think pudding consistency. Test the kibble soup and see if they will eat that (they should if they were getting it before). Mix in a little bit of the raw soup. Start small and we will build up. Add as much raw soup into the kibble soup as they will accept, and stop there. Let them eat that and let me know how they did and how much raw they accepted in their soup. Their stomachs should be fine using this method. Blending the kibble helps make it easier to digest. Don't be overly alarmed by strange poops though, this is common during a diet change.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2013 19:57:54 GMT -5
hairballs are an issue right now that's why I got the pumpkin in there, but thanks cause I didn't know its not good for a regular diet! phew nice save lol. Ok sounds like a plan, ill let you know how it goes!
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Post by katt on Jul 1, 2013 20:29:03 GMT -5
Will they eat egg? If so, that may be a better option than the pumpkin. I try to save the pumpkin for when they are hacking a lot if they seem constipated. Egg yolk is supposed to be a great hairball remedy. I will try to dig up the article if I can find it. The WHOLE egg is the best to feed, a whole egg is a very balanced protein. (Note - do not feed only egg Whites due to the high biotin content). When my boys are getting hairballs I whip up a whole egg with a little olive oil and salmon oil for taste (mine don't really care for the taste of egg) and spoon feed it as a treat. You can also mix it into their soups. The downside of eggs is that too much can cause really slimy poops. I would try giving egg 1-2 times a week, and then maybe cut the pumpkin down to 1-2 times per week and see how they do. We are trying to cut down on the pumpkin people used. While it has long been recommended as a hairball remedy, the more we learn about insulinoma the more we have all backed off of giving ANY plant products unless necessary - including pumpkin. Here is a really interesting article: www.ferretharmony.net/2013/06/10/a-rant-about-pumpkin/That in mind, pumpkin is still a great tool. I still use it for blockage scares, if someone seems to have a bad hairball, or if poops are in dire need of firming up (both of my boys are IBD babies, and sometimes pumpkin is what it takes to firm up a slimy IBD flare up ). I keep it on hand in case of emergencies, but I have stopped using it unless I feel I really need to.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2013 6:41:36 GMT -5
Good morning , So we started with kibble soup, and at first they were ALL SET with it, but I hand-fed them and they ended up eating the whole bowl between the 3. Left a bowl out today until tonight where I wanna make a little bit of chicken soup and start hand feeding that. Ok ill save the pumpkin and start introducing egg, I tried giving them some a while ago, but ill deffinatley try again you never know haha. Theyre poops have been inbetween lately, pumpkin made them HUGE! I don't think they have any belly problems, but there poos (im not exactly sure whos) REAK, like I mean knock you out stink. Is that bad? there only eating zupreem and novak has his mice, so idk whats causing it. What kind of oils should I have on hand? and what is reishi mushrooms? haha sorry about the 21 questions!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2013 6:48:27 GMT -5
OMG , Im so glad we caught that early, my poor babies! I had no idea, thank you for that link or id of been feedin pumpkin like nobodys business all ive read is positive things, you never assume theres negative effects too
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Post by katt on Jul 3, 2013 22:24:45 GMT -5
Never be sorry to ask questions. That is why I am here! Ask away! Definitely cut the pumpkin. I'm glad they accepted the kibble soup. They usually do, but I have come across a fair share of oddballs who don't like the soup texture. It is good to always have them recognize soup as a food anyways in case one ever gets sick. Now we can move on to the next step! Make a batch of the raw soup. You can freeze any excess in an ice cube tray to keep it good. That makes it easy to use later too. Mix a SMALL amount of the raw soup into the kibble soup. See how they do when you hand feed them. If they like it, add a little more. If they are hesitant, hand feed and leave it in the cage. Be sure to keep hand feeding a few times a day to make sure they are eating. They will need fresh soup meals anyways, so each new soup batch, hand feed them as much as they will eat. If you aren't sure all of them are eating it, leave a bowl of kibble only soup in the cage overnight, and hand feed the raw+kibble soup during the day. Let me know how the first soup run goes and we will go from there! PS It is totally okay to skip ahead if they will let you too! Before mixing the raw soup into the kibble soup, try finger feeding them each a bit of the plain raw soup. See how they like it! I suspect that they won't go for it right away, but it never hurts to try. You can do this as often as you like, as long as they aren't stressing out about it. If they do like it, GREAT we can skip some steps. If not, no worries - they will get there!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2013 16:44:21 GMT -5
ok sounds like a plan! have to start the soup tommorow, the butchers closed for the holiday and i left the livers out and forgot all day (headwall), ill let you know tommorow evening!
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Post by katt on Jul 5, 2013 3:57:59 GMT -5
Haha I've done that before. Put the frozen meat in the garage fridge to thaw for prep (I buy in bulk and typically have to thaw it out before I can cut it into meal servings to be re-frozen in ziplocks) and say I'll prep it all tomorrow...then forget.... Organs are the worst because you pull them out to find that the blood has seeped out and you now have a coagulated mess to clean up. Coagulated blood is a Pain to scrub out of the fridge! lol Thankfully I have only managed to forget long enough to ruin the meat a handful of times in the last 4 years. haha Usually I remember before it is bad, but after it's had a little TOO much time to thaw and the organ meat has leaked. When you move on to preparing chunks, I suggest dealing with organs in a semi-frozen state. Totally thawed they are super messy, and liver especially is a pile of slop (actually brains are worse!); totally frozen and you are working with a rock. If you can get it right in between it is perfect. Easy to work with, less mess, much more manageable for slicing! Let me know how the soup goes!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2013 13:56:51 GMT -5
Ok so the butcher wasn't open when I needed it to be, we've been running around with our heads chopped off the past few days, so there still on kibble soup, but this time I mixed in a raw egg (hairballs), and they've taken to it, there actually eating that faster than plain kibble, tomorrow ill be working 8-8 so sunday will have to be soup start day, who knew how difficult it was to get organs, gosh lol.
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