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Post by lyles on May 12, 2014 10:53:07 GMT -5
For awhile now I been feeding my ferret Wysong Epigen 90 because it has been the only grain free ferret food that I've found so far that does not contain peas (as it has been found to cause kidney stones).
Now for the past week I started a new bag of their "improved formula" and she has had severe diarrhea since then. I've searched and found many others are experiencing the same problem. I contacted Wysong and explained, they said the best they could do is file a quality control form and send me some free samples of their other food, but I purchased a whole case of this thinking it would last for the rest of the year.
Now I'm at a complete loss as to what other kibble out there I can feed her. I used to feed her zupreem grain free until I found out the nature of peas in it. Evo and Orijen cat food also use peas. Ugh, it is so frustrating how limited the options are. Raw is out of the question as it cannot fit into my living conditions. I don't want to feed her the Zupreem again but what choice do I have? The immediate threat of dehydration is more severe than the chance of kidney stones.
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2014 11:06:39 GMT -5
I've seen some of our other ferrants, post this diarrhea issue with Wysong. Geez! I don't feed kibble but I do know that Wysong Archetypal 2 is a FDR like kibble, you could look at that. My Ponce (years ago) was fed kibble. I once had a vet suggest Young Again Ferret food. I bought a bag for him and he did like that. It doesn't have peas, and seems to be a rather good kibble. I think its pretty high up on the kibble chart: moredooks.herobo.com/search.php?chart=ferret |
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Post by msav on May 12, 2014 11:07:00 GMT -5
I experienced the same with one of my ferrets (the one that actually switched to the new formula. Seems there was considerable difference from the old to the new formula. Koufos is the only one that switched to the new formula and that was after mixing old food with the new and gradually increasing the new food ratio. He still had the runs for about 2 more weeks. I have since switched them all to raw since the other 2 would not eat the new formula no matter what I did.
I hope that this is loose stools from diet change and not some other issue as Koufos eventually did solidify up. I also thought it was strange form him to get the runs even though I was gradually introducing the new food. I have no explanation for it though.
I still have quite a few bags of old formula and a full case of new formula. collecting dust on my shelf. I should probably put it in the freezer.
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Post by msav on May 12, 2014 11:11:19 GMT -5
BTW
Archetype I when through a formula change as well. It is much harder and crunchier. My ferrets again did not like the formula change.
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Post by lyles on May 12, 2014 19:33:54 GMT -5
I noticed that Zupreem does have a variant of the grain free called corn free, which does not have peas but has wheat as 3rd and 4th ingredient. :/
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Post by Sherry on May 14, 2014 8:23:52 GMT -5
Avoid that one Lyle. It has been linked to serious, sometimes fatal, issues with cystine stone formation.
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Post by unclejoe on May 14, 2014 12:18:04 GMT -5
A member on another forum posted this:
Post by Erinn on the AFA facebook page:
ATTENTION WYSONG EPIGEN 90 FEEDERS!
I am collecting information regarding the households and ferrets affected by the recent Wysong Ferret Epigen 90 formula change. I have been in talks with Wysong regarding the issue and they are concerned. I think by collecting numbers, they will rectify the issue sooner rather than later. If you have ferrets who have experienced a reaction such as diarrhea to the new formula, and have not found much relief and are considering phasing Wysong out of your mix, please either list your name, email address and number of ferrets here, or feel free to message that information to me privately. If your vet has prescribed any medication, or done any diagnostics on the affected ferrets, please also include that information for us to review. I know many have been put on metronidazole with little results, and I've had a few clients note raised eosinophils (a type of white blood cell,) which could indicate an allergic response to something in the new formula. The more data that I bring them, the more they can understand the scope of this issue.
Thank you for your attention to this!
edit: To submit your experience with Epigen 90, email Erinn @ mustelamania@gmail.com. Include Epigen 90 in the subject.
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Post by msav on May 14, 2014 12:30:48 GMT -5
A member on another forum posted this: Post by Erinn on the AFA facebook page: ATTENTION WYSONG EPIGEN 90 FEEDERS! I am collecting information regarding the households and ferrets affected by the recent Wysong Ferret Epigen 90 formula change. I have been in talks with Wysong regarding the issue and they are concerned. I think by collecting numbers, they will rectify the issue sooner rather than later. If you have ferrets who have experienced a reaction such as diarrhea to the new formula, and have not found much relief and are considering phasing Wysong out of your mix, please either list your name, email address and number of ferrets here, or feel free to message that information to me privately. If your vet has prescribed any medication, or done any diagnostics on the affected ferrets, please also include that information for us to review. I know many have been put on metronidazole with little results, and I've had a few clients note raised eosinophils (a type of white blood cell,) which could indicate an allergic response to something in the new formula. The more data that I bring them, the more they can understand the scope of this issue. Thank you for your attention to this! There is an email address but I'm not yet a member of the facebook page so I'm not sure about posting it. In lieu of that, I suggest contacting Wysong directly or joining the AFA facebook group. WOW! I did not know that this was affecting so many ferrets. Like I said It only affected one of my ferrets because he was the only one who switched to the new food. Now It has me thinking did the loose stools stop happening because he got used to the food or did it stop because I started switching him to raw. |
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Post by unclejoe on May 14, 2014 17:54:38 GMT -5
Someone on that forum claimed that 2 of their ferrets died 5 days after they started on epigen, and it was around the time of the change. At the time most of us who read the thread assumed that the package must have gotten contaminated somehow.
I joined AFA Facebook so I could. keep up with this story. I'll try to update here. meantime I again suggest forwarding any bad experiences to wysong
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2014 19:02:58 GMT -5
My babies experienced it as well. The first bag I purchased was back in March and I just thought they were reacting to the gradual food change. I am still a ferret newbie. This last bag I purchased was the new 5lb bag and unfortunately, I waited too long to order it so a WONDERFUL ferret friend found a 3lb bag of the old formula and rescued me with it. My babies were so lucky she came along bc it took Wysong forever to send the shipment. I am gradually trying to ease them back into the new formula by mixing it with the old but we are having issues just like everyone else. I believe I have purchased my last bag from them until this gets cleared up. Its hard as a rock and sounds like their teeth are breaking as they chew. Here is my email addy, leking90@yahoo.com >  |
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Post by lyles on May 15, 2014 0:46:46 GMT -5
A member on another forum posted this: Post by Erinn on the AFA facebook page: ATTENTION WYSONG EPIGEN 90 FEEDERS! I am collecting information regarding the households and ferrets affected by the recent Wysong Ferret Epigen 90 formula change. I have been in talks with Wysong regarding the issue and they are concerned. I think by collecting numbers, they will rectify the issue sooner rather than later. If you have ferrets who have experienced a reaction such as diarrhea to the new formula, and have not found much relief and are considering phasing Wysong out of your mix, please either list your name, email address and number of ferrets here, or feel free to message that information to me privately. If your vet has prescribed any medication, or done any diagnostics on the affected ferrets, please also include that information for us to review. I know many have been put on metronidazole with little results, and I've had a few clients note raised eosinophils (a type of white blood cell,) which could indicate an allergic response to something in the new formula. The more data that I bring them, the more they can understand the scope of this issue. Thank you for your attention to this! There is an email address but I'm not yet a member of the facebook page so I'm not sure about posting it. In lieu of that, I suggest contacting Wysong directly or joining the AFA facebook group. Is that a class action suit? Sounds like it. Unfortunately, I can't use facebook atm (long story short, they repeatedly disabled one account after another for using fake ID but I'll never give them my real info) I wish there was another way to contact them. Good news is after emailing back and forth with Wysong they gave me a complete refund of my prior purchases. Bad news is I'm still trying to look for a replacement food. It is crazy how virtually every ferret kibble out there has bad ingredients, I mean there are many bad dog and cat foods out there but there are many hardy breeds out there that can live on pretty much anything. lol Are you absolutely sure about that Sherry? I know the Grain-Free from Zupreem has peas in it and that's why it has been linked to kidney stones, but the Corn-Free does not have peas in it. Wheat as 3rd and 4th ingredients isn't good but what else is there? I looked and looked and either ferret food has rice or potatoes as one of the main ingredients or it is labeled grain free and has peas in it. For now I really need to get her on something fast and will not upset her stomach. The Zupreem grain-free was the only other food that gave her healthy stools so I'm hoping that the Corn-Free with have the same effect until I can find something better and not something ridiculous like $20 for a 7 oz. bag. :/ |
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Post by unclejoe on May 15, 2014 7:16:56 GMT -5
We've fed ZuPreem Ferret Diet (No Corn) from near the beginning of my ferret life without issues. We have had insulinoma in 2 ferrets that we got when they were very young. (Ours are on a mixed raw/kibble diet) One was daignosed around age 7 1/2 and the other was well over 5.
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Post by unclejoe on May 15, 2014 8:00:15 GMT -5
Erinn gave me permission to provide her email.
mustelamania@gmail.com
Include Epigen 90 in the subject.
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Post by Sherry on May 15, 2014 9:07:41 GMT -5
Sorry! Did not realize there were several brands. Just new about "regular", and "grain free". And yes- it is the grain free.
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Post by unclejoe on May 15, 2014 10:56:10 GMT -5
New Update, please read!
This was posted by Erinn Whitmore from Mustelamania.com on the American Ferret Association FB page
"I heard back from Wysong this morning. They are working on a newer new formulation and performing a feeding trial to assure digestibility - and the newer reformulation will have the chia removed. I have been assured that this newer reformulation will be more akin to the original Ferret Epigen 90 as that was a product that worked and worked well, and they are distressed about the overwhelmingly poor response to this formulation.
I've also discussed with them about properly advertising to buyers about formula changes well in advance, as there was not a great awareness this time around and while I am not finding that transition time has made any difference as it seems nearly all ferrets are affected - it does help folks prepare when they know a change is coming.
For those who purchased the 5lb bag of Ferret Epigen 90 through Wysong.net directly, you will all be contacted once feeding trial and testing is completed to be given a complimentary bag of the newest reformulation. For those who have purchased Wysong Ferret Epigen 90 through another source - such as a local retailer, online store like Ferret.com, or other avenue - we are highly encouraging you to contact Wysong Customer Service directly (Wysong@Wysong.net or 1-800-748-0188) to be added to the list. Mention that you read my announcement regarding the food and are hoping to get on the list for the newer reformulation.
Note your ferrets and the conditions they were in when put on the 5lb bag formula. All the email addresses have also been passed along, but to ensure your place on the list, be sure to check that your purchase has been through Wysong.net, or contact Wysong directly. Thank you everyone for your attention to this, I think Wysong is taking this seriously and is concerned about the poor response. I hope this helps!"
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