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Post by Ferret_Ozzy on Nov 18, 2015 14:25:34 GMT -5
Hi, I recently made another thread on wether a ferret would be the rigt pet for me or not. It was so great to read through all the responses I got and it really helped me. I have researched quite a lot about these little fuzzies, but I still got some beginner questions, that I hope some of you will take the time to answer (even though you might have gotten these kind of questions a million times before ) 1. I would love to take the ferret for a walk in the forrest (if the ferret is comfortable with it of course), but it would also be very nice if I could take the ferret with me on errands or longer walks/trips. On the longer walks I thought about carrying them som of the way inside my jacket with their head poking out or just carying them in my arms, so they wouldn't get too tired. My immediate thought was that it could be a great bonding experience to take them with me to different places and a great, stimulating thing to to, but would this be something a ferret would enjoy (both the shorter and the longer walks/errands)? 2. I don't know yet which kind of punishment I'm going to use if/when the ferret bites/nips, but I thought about getting some bitter apple (the spray thing) and use a naughty crate or the bite and hold if the crate doesn't work (an advice from this forum). I want to reserve the scruffing for doing check ups, clipping nails, cleaning ears, relaxation and checking teeth and I don't want it to be associated with a punishement, since it could be a very useful tool. What do you guys do to train your ferrets not to bite? I'm also planning on using a lot of positive reinforcement 3. I have an empty cage that is 1x1x2 meters and I have to design and build the entire interior of the cage from scratch. If you had this opportunity, how would you design it? I was thinking of putting 3 or 4 1x1 meter shelves/floors in the cage. My thought was that this would prevent clumbsy ferrets from being hurt by falling. And then maybe connecting each level with tubes in stead of ramps. I will of course give them hammocks, blankets, safe toys and other fun things to do in the cage, even though they might just sleep most of the time spend in their cage. If I were to build the shelves it would probably be made out of wood, but would that be a bad idea? (Would it make the cage smellier or harder to clean?) Whatever the material I was still thinking of making fabric covers for each shelf that I could wash every week. 4. How many litterboxes would be necessary pr. shelf/level of the cage? Would one pr. floor be enough? 5. How is the poop? I know this might be a very weird question, but it would be nice to know 6. I know most of you have very strong opinions about kibble vs. raw diet, but what do you think of the following kibble: Frettchen4you Ingredients: Crude Protein 48%, Crude Oil and Fats 22%, Crude Fibre 1,5%, Crude Ash 12%, Moisture 8%, Carbohydrates 10%, Omega 6 Fatty Acids 3,5%, Omega 3 Fatty Acids 1,4%
Composition: Turkey Meat Meal (min. 21%), hydr. Chicken Meal (min. 21%), Duck Meat Meal (min. 7%), fresh Duck (min. 6%), fresh Turkey (min. 6%), fresh Whitefish (min. 6%), Chicken fat, Rabbit Meat Meal (min. 5%), Potato flake, Sweet potato, Whitefish Meal (min. 2,5%), Salmon Oil (min. 2%), Chicken Gravy (min. 2%), Linseed, Brewers yeast, Vitamins and Minerals, hydr. Fish protein (min. 1%), Dried egg, Alfalfa, Beet pulp, Taurine, Yucca Extract, MSM + Glucosamine + Chondroitinsulphate MixThank you if you have come this far in my post, it seems like I keep writing waaaay more than I intent to
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Post by Ferret_Ozzy on Nov 18, 2015 15:31:42 GMT -5
Oh I totally forgot my 7th question: How much fish oil (salmon for example) is okay for your ferret to eat/drink? Of course it shouldn't be used in large amounts, but it could be so useful at the vet, or keeping them still for nail clipping and other health check ups
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Bonbon
Junior Member
Raw Feeder
Posts: 194
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Post by Bonbon on Nov 18, 2015 16:36:29 GMT -5
1. Ferrets have high energy and aren't the type of pet to just sit in a purse or jacket. Plus their metabolismsite are very fast so expect that after a short while. Ferrets can be leash trained, but mine kinda go where they want and not where I want them to go. It's good for short trips or to the backyard to play.
2. You shouldn't think of punishing an animal they do better when you reinforce the desired/ good behavior. But like training a puppy make a yipping sound ferrets make a similar sound, try to mimic it and praise them when they don't bite. As far as nail clipping put a little bit of olive oil on their belly, they will lick that while you Clip their nails. If you have two ferrets put a little on each of their ears and they will lick each other clean.
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Bonbon
Junior Member
Raw Feeder
Posts: 194
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Post by Bonbon on Nov 18, 2015 16:40:12 GMT -5
4. I have two litter boxes in my two story ferret nation cage, and when I had a one level I used one, with three shelving units.
5. There is a poop link somewhere on the forum, let me see if I can find it for you. But it varies depending on every meal.
That's all I can offer a advice for now.
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Post by Heather on Nov 18, 2015 16:57:21 GMT -5
1. Many of our ferrants take their ferrets on walks and outings. Just remember that dogs and people can be idiots, so you always have to be on your guard. When I was taking my guys out for outings I used to have a slouch type carrier. If they wanted to walk they could, if they were tired or I thought it was too dangerous then they rode in the purse. They could peek out if they wanted to or sleep (most of the time they slept, seems it was really comfy in there...rather like a hammy) 2. Please do not use bitter apple. It doesn't work, especially for a ferret who's going to bite you, they're going to bite you even if you taste bad. Bitter apple has to be one of the most negative types of training I can think of (rank it up there with scruffing and nose flicking). How are they going to associate your hands with good things if they taste like that. If you're still stuck on using it, make sure you taste it before you decide to use it on your furfriend. I've known ferrets to associate their food and their friends with it (someone thought it would be a good idea to put the crap on a kit because he was suckling his friend's ear....that kit died....he associated water and food with horrible things). I use time outs (the sin bin) and ignores. Ignore is something that is practised by the ferrets themselves 4. Litter boxes...depends on the ferret. Most of my little ones have 2 litter boxes, one on either end of the cage (I use ferret nation cages attached side by side, it means there are no levels. Basically if there is more than 1 ferret there are two litter boxes. 5. Ferrets are little poop machines. If you're feeding crap in a bag....you've got much more stinky poop to clean....huge amounts. Raw fed ferrets still a lot of poop but a lot less output...they're using up their food, not putting it in the litter box. Ferrets have one of the shortest digestive tracts, 4 hrs turn around, from mouth to litter box...so lots of poop and they're not necessarily good at remembering where their litter box is. 6. Diet....haven't fed kibbles in over 30 yrs...someone else will have to answer your food question. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2015 16:58:56 GMT -5
Hi and welcome! It is so great you're doing your research, we LOVE questions, as many as you can think of no matter how silly you might think they are, we are more than happy to answer them! There are no stupid questions here on HFF 1. Most ferrets would adore this, but it can be a little difficult taking them anywhere that they would be gone longer than a few hours. You have to pay close attention to the weather when outside, in the summer I would refrain from going out on the walks if it was more than 75F (depending on how sunny it was and how long the walk would be). In the winter though would be fine, they can handle the cold much better than heat. Mine love to play in the snow and when they get cold they just come to me and we go back in and warm up. With ferrets, they poop every 2-4 hours or so, more on kibble, less on raw, but still have a very fast digestive system. This is so raw meat/bacteria doesn't have time to grow and make them sick (they are literally designed to eat meat, lol) but you'll have to make sure they can have access to a litter box if you're gone more than 2 hours or so. If you take them often, I'd have a small travel cage (like a rabbit cage) in your car with a litter box, water bowl, and blanket. There are little cross-body carriers you can put them in too, I bought one, but I don't take them out all that often. Some stores you go to if someone sees the ferret, depending on the store you may quite possibly be asked to leave/get the ferret out. Most stores don't allow pets, even if you're carrying them. I have taken mine into places like Walmart a few times though, I put them in my little carrier and zip it up when we first walk in (where all the employees are) then let them poke their head out. Occasionally the workers will see them and come up and pet them/take pictures, haha. But some are not so nice, so just be careful with that. Also be wary of people who ask to pet, especially if you get a baby. If they bite, even just a light nibble that is harmless, most people who don't know about them will flip out. If the ferret gets scared of the person does something wrong and they bite and draw blood, it would not be good at all. So I wouldn't let anyone hold it unless you trust them. And absolutely NO children to hold, and if they pet hold the ferret with it's face towards you and let them pet its back. It doesn't matter how long you've had it, if it has never ever bitten, or how nice it is, things happen, gotta be careful. (same goes with all pets). Before you decide to take your ferret places though, make sure they are okay with it. Some love it, some hate it. My Caillou gets TERRIFIED when we leave the house, he drools everywhere, he gets lethargic, diarrhea, it is not pleasant for him (he was left outside to die before we found him). But my Marcie, she LOVES it. She gets excited and poofy tailed, she very much enjoys it. So listen to your ferret and it's body language. Watch the temperature, be careful where you go and for how long, and be wary of other people/animals. It may seem like a lot but once you get all those down pat it'll be the norm and many people take their ferrets out and about all the time. 2. Bitter apple spray has worked for a few, but from my experience has failed for most people. I mixed vinegar and water in a spray bottle and sprayed it on the stuff my boy tries to chew on (he obsessively chews/eats inedible things), it worked for about 2 hours, but he overcame it and gnawed on it even though I soaked everything in it. What has worked best has been ignoring. Ferrets HATE being ignored. That is something they absolutely cannot stand. When they do something like say bite your feet, they do that to get a reaction out of you. They want you to jump/scream/chase them, they think it is funny, that it's play. So when they do that, ignore them. Don't give them anything out of it. They may try harder and do it more at first, but eventually (soon) they will learn it gets them nothing, and they'll stop. Also reinforce good behaviors while doing this, so they realize that good = salmon oil/treat, and bad = nothing. You cannot punish ferrets necessarily, animals do not understand why they are being punished most of the time. Ferrets are very smart, but they do not have the mindset as we do. When they say poop in the floor, you can also put them in the "Sin Bin". An empty cage/carrier with no toys, no blankets, no food/water etc. Leave them in there for 3 minutes, no shorter or they wont learn anything, no longer or they'll forget why they are in there. They will learn that when they do that certain thing, they don't get to play or get attention or anything for those few minutes. When you let them out, completely ignore them. Say nothing, just put them down and walk off. But you HAVE to keep with it, EVERY time they do it, or it will take much much longer for them to understand. 3. I cannot help you much on the design, as I'm not handy at all lol, but here is a picture of my cage, it is a FN 182 and 142 attached via zip ties. Took the sides off and pushed them together. The cage is plastic and metal, whatever design you choose, make sure the doors open all the way for full access, ferrets can make huge messes (and they will) and small doors make it near impossible to clean. Also, ferrets can like to climb a little, but they were meant/bred to tunnel, climbing is not their strong suite, so a super tall cage/a bunch of levels are not necessary and if built wrong can result in injury. Mine like to climb a little bit, but my Caillou isn't as strong as he used to be due to his illnesses and he can have a hard time pulling himself up (we have ramps and stairs to everything now, though). So just keep in mind of that. Length trumps height with ferret cages. I definitely would not use wood, some people do but IMO it would be a disaster, lol. Ferrets are never 100% with their litter box, they will miss every now and again even in their cage (yes, even on fabric. Mine used to poop in their beds). And theres no getting that smell out of wood once it's there. But, you could use wood, and use something like tile or vinyl to cover it. But nothing they could chew/rip up. I'm going to tag some people who might now more about that than I do, because I'm not savvy in that area at all. Not saying that using wood will absolutely turn out bad, but I personally would not use it, I'd have had replaced it in 2 weeks if my cage was wood, haha. Not just poop/pee, but their meats too, I'd worry about the bacteria building up. Then again, don't know much about it. bitbyter, Heather, if you wouldn't mind for a little insight on the whole, wooden cage/shelves/pan thing, I'd appreciate it. ... oh and I think @ninjagoth has a hutch for hers business (she has like, a dozen adorable wittle fuzzies, haha) Here is a picture of my cage (I just cleaned it out that's why its so empty lol) 4. I have one litter box on each level, so, two in my cage. When I just had the one FN, it was 2 stories but wasn't very big, and I just had a litter box on the bottom level. But, they had a lot of accidents on the top story from being so darn lazy. Most ferrets would go to the bottom to use the box, but I can't have fabric in my cage because my Caillou eats it, so there isn't much to deter them from pooping everywhere since it's just plastic. (most rarely poop on their bedding) 5. It depends. Kibble poops are awful, they STINK to high heavens and they are huge. Raw poops barely have a smell, they are about 1/4 of the size of kibble poops and much better. On organ meal days they will have more loose poops, on bone-in days/meals they will have more firm poops. On raw, that is. On kibble it's always the same, because they never get any variety in their diet. Kibble poops are so big because kibble (no matter the brand, no matter the quality) always has fillers in it. Ferrets can NOT digest *anything* except meat. They are obligate carnivores. So kibble poops are so huge because they are barely getting any real nutrients from it, so that is why there is so much waste left behind. Raw poops are so much smaller, because they are absorbing and using all the nutrients they eat. Hope I was able to help a little! Let me or any of the admins/mentors here know if you need any help at all. And please please please do not ever hesitate to ask any questions at all.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2015 17:30:48 GMT -5
Oops, forgot the last question. 6. It is okay, better than a lot of them. But, we cannot really recommend any kibbles here, it is part of the rules (to rid of any kibble fights), and I, personally, can't. I have lost 3 out of 5 of my fuzzies in 3 years, 2 I lost within 3 months of each other. They all had Insulinoma, which are cancerous tumors in the Pancreas (usually microscopic and possibly hundreds) that cause them to over-produce insulin, it is the opposite of diabetes. It is incurable, and it is a horrid, hated disease that most of the time is very difficult to get under control, kibble is thought to be a large contributor to the growth/severity of these tumors or even the cause (no funding for ferret studies so nothing is proven, but this is based off of 30+ years of experience between thousands of ferret owners and ferrets and the personal experiences of them and many very explanatory theories) and I had to watch my 3 babies deteriorate day after day from it, from a disease that is VERY likely to be to contributed by feeding kibble. I spent over $4,000-$5,000+ in Vet bills on them, trying to keep them stable. My Neichei, in her last days she was on the maximum dose of Prednisolone (main treatment option for Insu), the highest dose of Diazoxide (last resort drug for Insu) and highest dose for Carafate, a stomach coating drug she had to take because the Pred ate thru her stomach and caused her bleeding ulcers, in her last weeks/2mo or so she couldn't use the litter box, she could barely walk unless she had carpet, and in her last weeks she had daily seizures. She died from a screaming seizure that lasted for over an hour (took 45 minutes to get to the ER vet). Over an hour she suffered. Now, her bag of kibble costed $30-$40 a month or so (considered one of the "highest quality" ones). Okay... she had Insulinoma for 18 months before it took her, in her last year, every month, I spent $60 for her Prednisolone, $120 for her Diazoxide, $60 for her Carafate, $100 for her Carnivore Care (special food she ate twice a day because she lost half of her weight), and then $60 for the Vet visit she had every month to check on her and her BG. ..total of $400/mo (not counting her reg. kibble she still ate) So altogether, I chose the ease of kibble and the $30 a month bag of food, and in return, spent $400 every month for a year, treating the damage that it did/helped along. That's $4,800 (not counting what I spent in her first 6 months, though), as apposed to the possibility of raw being $10-$30 more (depends on where you live, some people feed raw for free or near-free), and the 1-3 hr or so spent every few weeks/months prepping their food. That's only talking money-wise, though. $400+ a month and she still had screaming seizures every week or so. She still only weighed about 10oz or less. She still had nerve damage from the pred. She still had a bleeding stomach from it too. She still had liver failure from it. She still was spacey. She still could barely walk. She still had a BG that never got above 55mg/dl. (a normal ferrets BG is 90-120mg/dl. Any less than 85mg/dl is diagnosed Insulinoma. Any less than 70 and your ferret is at a higher risk for a seizure at any moment. 40-50 and under is a trashed pancreas that won't make it much longer) But even after all that, all the medicines, all the vet visits, she still suffered in her last weeks. No, raw does not cure everything. It isn't a guaranteed preventative for Insulinoma or cancer at all. But, I know it helps. It helps a lot. I know that if my Caillou hadn't had been on raw when he had a gastric bleed out, he wouldn't be here. The Vet said that the only reason he was able to make it was because he was so hydrated, healthy and strong. At this time, he did already have cancer, we just didn't know until 2 weeks later. My Adrian had internal bleeding because the cancer that we didn't know about had spread (extremely painful). My Jules, she had all 3 cancers. She died after her first insulinomic seizure, which brought on a MASSIVELY rapid spread of her lymphoma, in 2 days it shut down all of her organs, despite the 2 ER vet visits, the medicines, the feeding her every 3 hours throughout the entire day and entire night, didn't matter. Now, every case of Insulinoma is different. But, I now many, many people who I've guided through starting raw with their Insu babies, and the huge difference it made... it is unbelievable. It can be hard to explain why it helps so much, here is an explanation (I tried to make it more-easily understood)- Remember the words Obligate Carnivore. Ferrets cannot digest anything other than meat, no fruits/veggies. Without getting technical (so please do not get onto me about the way I word this) when your ferret eats the fillers they cannot digest their pancreas works harder trying to filter it, long story short being overworked like this creates tumors on their pancreas, most are cancerous, sometimes they're benign, but regardless these tumors cause Insulin to be overproduced and these tumors will never go away. Without treatment (such as Prednisolone/Dexamethasone/Diazoxide) this will get worse and is fatal. The ferrets Blood Glucose goes up and down and causes numerous symptoms, sooner or later without treatment with medicine and proper diet the BG will spike then fall, this is when your ferret seizes, a seizure can be your ferret being mid-responsive or very spacy, to your ferret screaming with muscle spasms. To bring your ferret out of this you need karo syrup or honey to bring their BG up, followed by a high protein meal to stabilze it. Some seizures can be fatal or without karo can cause your ferret to slip into a Coma, some may never come out of it. How does kibble effect this? Well, other than having evidence that kibble can cause or contribute to the development of Insulinoma tumors, when your ferret has Insu and eats kibble it's BG will be up and down more than a ferret on raw. Why? When a ferret (a carnivore) eats carbs they are absorbed into the bloodstream. This causes the pancreas to overwork trying to accomadate for these carbs that the ferret shouldn't be getting, when there are tumors on the pancreas this causes it to go into overdrive and start producing copious amounts of Insulin, when this happens their Blood Glucose levels rise and drop, rise and drop, rise and drop, when it drops too low this is when the ferret has a low BG seizure. When you feed kibble which contains sugar/fillers/carbs/fruits/veggies that are not needed, the pancreas overworks itself, creating the tumors or causing the tumors which are already there to secrete more and more Insulin. On a raw diet, there are no veggies/fruits/fillers/sugars, so the pancreas doesn't have this response to raw like it does to kibble. The tumors are there and raw is most definitely not a cure, but it certainly will help keep your ferret more stable and their BG more within safe levels.And here is a link to a kibble comparison chart that may help, that ^^ is also at the bottom of this post- holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/17537/kibble-commercial-ingredients-overview-comparisonWe here are not to judge anyone for kibble feeding, but, we have seen a lot, the members here... we have seen what awful things it can/most always does, and we have seen what amazing things raw always does. When you go through watching your fuzzy struggle, the lethargy, the loss of appetite, the muscle loss, the weakness, the side effects of all the medicines, the poking and prodding and the blood tests and IV's and shots and staying up all night and force feeding, and then you know that there is a good chance kibble was a huge part of the reason your baby is so sick, and so miserable, the reason you will likely lose them faster and the reason their last days will likely be filled with bad memories of nasty medicines, needles, etc, it is heart breaking. Even though those last memories were your attempt to save your fuzzy that you love so much. That is why we are so passionate about raw. We aren't just opinionated about it because we simply *think* it's the best, we know what the alternative does, and we don't want anyone to ever have to go through that. The pain is something I will never be able to get over. I still cry when I think about them, I still feel like I could've done more, I miss them every single day, and no pet lives forever, but I didn't get to hold them in my arms in my house where they were comfy and just pet them until they slowly passed peacefully without pain. I had to rush them to the ER vet, blood tests, ultra sounds, x rays, IV's, then hearing, "there is nothing we can do, the cancer..." and having to sit there in the vets office with them not knowing where they were or what was going on, I couldn't tell them why they were in so much pain. Holding them telling them I'm so sorry, because nothing I did was good enough to keep that from happening. It is that kind of pain that takes away a part of your soul. I say all of this, just to explain that we aren't a crazy group that simply believes it is the best just because, and when we are so opinionated on it, if we ever seem pushy about it, it is not us trying to be rude or mean or judgmental, it is the part of us that still suffers from that pain every single day that only wants you to never have to go through what we had to go through. I'm sorry for the long post, it is a very emotional thing for all of us who have experienced it. We are here to help educate and try to be eye openers so we can spread the word about proper diet and care for ferrets. I was a member here for 1 year before I decided to switch to raw. Nobody every judged me, shamed me, nothing like that. They were here and supported me when I needed it, and they gave their stories and opinions, I learned a lot, I wish more than anything that I would have switched sooner though. But our goal is to guide those towards the right path for them. Some people take a while before switching to get situated and everything they need, everyone does it differently and everyone is treated all the same no matter what they choose to do.
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Post by bitbyter on Nov 18, 2015 23:52:13 GMT -5
If you are making a cage from wood you have to seal it really with with something impermeable to water or accidents will penetrate the wood. You might want to maybe line the floor / shelves with linoleum.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2015 1:45:17 GMT -5
1 - All my ferrets love to walk, most of the time they just do what they want and I have to follow their route. It normally involves sniffing and digging at the base of trees. A couple of things to be wary of are dogs The problem I find with the ferrets liking wooded areas is you can't always see dogs as they approach so you need to be very alert and ready to grab your ferret (or if you can't can't to deliver a good kick to the dog which I've had to do once) I've got to know most of the dogs that walk when I'm out with my ferrets and I do know which ones are likely to chase and which ones will be curious but not do anything and which will just ignore the ferret and 99% of the owners know me and how their dog will react so take precautions. Be prepared for the 1% of dog owners who are selfish ar**holes and just don't care what their dog is doing and just let them run wild. Those people make me very angry ... holes Ferrets love holes and tunnels, they are also very good at getting out of their harnesses while you're looking out for dogs, you need to keep a close eye on what your fuzzy is up to because they can be in a hole and off their harness before you know whats going on As for putting them in a bag/coat I only have a short walk to the park, normally on the way the ferrets are fine and will sit calmly in my arms getting ear rubs but on the way back, no matter how much they've walked or how tired they seemed when you finished they are little wriggling monsters and just don't want to be held. All ferrets are different though so you may get one that enjoys the cuddles mid walk. I did have a bag for taking them (which you could clip their harness to) but they just wouldn't stay in it so it's now been left hung up with my coats and is only used by Gloves when she scales my bike, climbs up the coats and decides to have a sleep there. 2 Bites and Nips You need to understand what each bite and nip might mean first, mine tend to bite for a couple of reasons a) to get attention - the best solution for this kind of bite is to not reward the behaviour, if you can not react or walk away from the ferret they will hopefully stop, if they persist scruff them and tell them no and if that doesn't work then scruff and time out somewhere boring (for a short amount of time). b) as part of play - this is a hard one to deal with, ferrets will bite as part of play, I tend to throw mine around (onto soft surfaces like the sofa or the bed) and slide them along the floor then flip them over and rub their belly, of course they will bite when you do this and how can you punish a ferret for playing how it would naturally play? When mine bite too hard I tell them "Gentle" and stop all play until the biting isn't quite so hard (or start licking my hand) then let them know that they have been a "good boy/girl" and play starts again. It doesn't stop biting, it doesn't stop hard biting but when hard biting happens they do listen and become more gentle. Be prepared for hands with bite mark ... c) fear - if the ferret is scared it will bite, you can avoid this by how you interact with the ferret, learn what it likes and doesn't like, as you get to know your ferret you will learn how to handle it to prevent fear bites. My local shelter had one ferret that I sent a couple of my boys for playdates with as he was on his own, he is one of the sweetest ferrets I've met but a couple looked at him for adoption, he'd just been playing and was a bit hyped up, and even with a warning not to hold him close to their face they still did. The result of this was a hyper ferret being held by a stranger with a strange face looming up at him so he reacted as anything with do - in a defensive manner giving a good bite to the nose and lips. This was a 100% avoidable incident because the person didn't know the ferret and didn't treat him with respect yet they blamed him and called him a vicious ferret ... Do NOT use bitter apple it's pointless and IMO a very poor and lazy way to attempt to control biting 3 and 4) My ferrets are free roam, they have 4 litterboxes in their main area, I could have 100 litterboxes and the buggers would still only use them 50% of the time 5) Poop varies on diet the best advice is to check the poop chart holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/2469/poop-chartas poop is a good indicator of ferret health you will need to examine poop regularly, with 13 ferrets if I see an out of ordinary poop I will separate the ferrets into groups in different areas and try to work out who that poop is coming from 6) I'm not familiar with that brand of kibble, as kibbles go it looks like one of the better ones. You need to look for ones that are high in protein/fat and low in carbs/fibre. If you can feed raw, I've just made the switch and there is a noticeable difference for the better in the ferrets even after just 2 weeks, and to be honest the meal planning is quite fun and much better than sticking a kibble down and walking away. I could watch my guys dismantle a whole rabbit for hours. A raw diet will also produce nicer and less poop so this will tie in with question 5 7) I only use fish oil when I nail clip or go the vets (and occasionally when introducing new food I'll put some on that to entice the ferrets in) so it's a little squirt on the belly once a week generally
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Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2015 7:21:13 GMT -5
Wooden hutches as accommodation: I have ten ferrets and live in UK so mine are kept outside in an enclosure now I have so many but when I got my first two in July 2014 I just had a double hutch for them. They still have access to a double hutch & now a triple hutch within their ferret enclosure This is the lino stapled to the floor of the triple hutch (came from prev owners like that I'm gonna put more up the walls a you can use aquarium sealant to seal edges too) Neeps is in the photo abov cause he's so nosey lol This picture shows a bits of Tatties climbing the double hutch with the triple in the backround. Tatties wanted a treat and a cuddle lol And this is a general pic of their enclosure floor area and some of their toys an most of the ferrets tucking into raw mince Wooden hutches kept indoors or coverd up outdoors will last with good cleaning and maintenance but you need to ensure its coated on the outside with pet friendly stain/paint - stuff for sheds & decking is good also flooring - my double I bought with plastic flooring so its easy to wipe clean and the triple is lined with lino. There are many corners and nooks and cranies raw bones, poop, litter etc can get into so a few time a year its good to strip out the hutches as scrub well wit nylon scourers and mild disenfectant anl rinse well & dry before allowing fuzzles back in. When I just had hutches I also had runs for the ferrets but once I got more I love them having their own bigger space which I'm always working on to improve for them. They can choose where they want to sleep and play in lots of space and lately leave pheasant feathers everywhere (I'm feeding them whole pheasant heho they love making a mess I can only let them do that cause theyere outside. It would be too messy indoors lol) Mine are 100% raw fed mix of frankenprey and whole prey. 5 of my hobs were converted or raw fed as kits and my latest five I converted from kibble but I believe the a prev owner or breeder may have exposed them to raw because even the 3 & 2 yr olds took to raw so easily. The difference in my 5 newer hibbne fed ferret coats and less smelly poops after being on raw fully for 3 weeks was amazing they all have soft floofy winter coats and even the little jills that were 500g har a lovely healthy winter weight of around 750g
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Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2015 13:01:06 GMT -5
gizmo goes everywhere with us, he has gone even into walmart briefly. I tend to wear a hooded sweatshirt and he hangs out in the pocket that my partner has altered all mine, so only one side opens. that being said car trips he sits in my lap and sleeps, when we get to the park or where ever he gets leashed walks and decideds if he needs to go potty and will start exploring and I follow suit.
he never was a bitter, but i think everyone needs to be more than aware that ferrets are biters, they bite when they play, they bite when you get them excited, they bite when they get mad. its all about letting them know whats allowed and whats not. If you let them get away with bitting you and you stopping what your doing they will bite you. but if you just go about your business and make them listen they are great, and timeout boxes, screaming when they bite you, tends to make them come around.
with food, what does an average bag of food cost ? 40-50 bucks and will last you for awhile, that being said you can get the same amount in raw and last you for just as long but everyone will enjoy it more. health, up
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