Post by Heather on Apr 27, 2016 12:34:59 GMT -5
Name:Alexis
HF Forum Username:Alexispuccino
Please confirm that you are 18 years of age or older: yes. I am 25 years old.
1. Where did you first learn about natural diets for ferrets?
Facebook pages.
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.
Right now I am looking to transition one if my ferrets, who is sick with IBD to acommercial freeze dried raw or frozen raw diet. I have 6 ferrets all together that I would like to transition, but because he is having so much trouble, I would like to focus first on him, and then the others. We are trying to di a protein elimination diet because I suspect a chicken allergy.
3. Why are you interested in switching your ferrets to a natural diet? My ferret, Sir Dooks-A-Lot is sick and I suspect a chicken intolerance. Going raw seems to be my best bet in excluding the different sources of meat.
4. Do you understand that switching your ferret to a natural diet can be a lengthy, arduous process? Its not an overnight switch. It requires a commitment of several months at minimum. Your HF Mentor will be more then happy to assist you in switching your ferret(s) to a natural diet, but you need to be equally as committed. The switch takes time and effort every single day. It can also be extremely frustrating at times. If you aren't willing to tough out a potentially lengthy switching process, you have major life changes approaching (baby on the way, moving, starting school, getting married/divorced, etc), or limited time due to work, then it might be a better idea to wait on switching your ferret's diet until you have more time. Are you willing and realistically able to make the neccessary time commitment?
Yes, though I do work long hours, I prioritize keeping my buddy alive.
Fir this reason, I would like to start just with Dook, and once he is stablized, I will transition the others.
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?
Pebbles- male, will be 3 in September. Dxd as a baby with IBD, but was really just a bad reaction to evo. Otherwise healthy.
Ferret Bueller- unknown age. Have had for 2.5 years. Fat. Was dropped as a baby at petco and suffers from back pain, which ends up causing a vicious cycle between his weight and back pain. Hes also as stupid as could be, but we love him.
Daisy- Female.
Houdini- male
Have had both since July 2015. They are about 2 years old. They were part of a carnival display about exotic animals. They were getting rid of them, and they were in bad shape. Daisy is a Waardy, and Houdini has an MCT on his neck. Bith are healthy weights
Sir Dooks-A-Lot: excuse the length. He's my problem right now!
My ferret, Sir Dooks-A-Lot (Dook) is about 4 years old. We got him a year ago (March 2015). He was fed Marshalls Kibble and bandits, raisins and bananas. Hed never been to a vet. I took him in, brought him to the vet that day, and the vet gave him a clean bill of health. I noticed that day that he was "twitching" after eating. A little muscle on the top of his head kept moving, which I later foundout was because he was grinding his teeth. I took a video, went back to the vet and showed her. She gave Dook another once-over and said it was probably stress induced.
We transitioned him to Wysong Digestive Support and Orijen. He always seemed a little down, not so playful, and always ground his teeth after eating. In July, we went away and left him with a sitter. He became sick. He vomitted to the point of barely being responsive. Our sitter brought him to the vet, who felt that the illness was caused by stress. She gave him meds to stop vommiting, checked for blockages, and found nothing. After some fluids, anti-nasuea meds and extra attention, he stablized. He was fine. My husband and I have both noted an odd stare on his face (have tested for insulinoma 6 times, before anyone suggests that) and he seemed almost depressed to us fir the past year though.
In March, we brought him in for a check up. All was good. 2.5 pounds, no obvious health issues, gave a booster of canine distemper, since he hadn't had it since he was at marshalls farm. He was pretreated with benedryl.
Then, 4 days later, on Easter, he suddenly became ill. Throwing up, loose stool, diarrhea, refusing to eat or drink. Wehad been fostering a baby with an suspected ECE infection, but he had been STRICTLY quarentined. We brought Dook to the vet, who thought he may have caught the virus, ir possibly a hair ball. She gave fluids and suggested giving pumpkin and waiting it out, which we did.
The next day he was looking better, still fighting on eating, but not throwing up. Wednesday, came home to him vomitting, so brought him to the vet for fluids and an xray. Nothing showed up in the xray, but just to be sure, the vet suggested a barium xray, and that we bring him back in the am for another xray. Nothing showed up in the xray, or his stool, but he looked so much better. The vet felt that maybe the barium helped dislodge anything stuck. He looked good and had healthy poop. He even ate on his own, for the first time in a week. The next day, Friday, he took a bad turn. He stopped eating, looked terrible, cried when he pooped and would not stop grinding his teeth.
At the advice of some ferret friends, I called the office and requested carafate, and made an appointment at a different vets office for that Monday. I will be honest- I didnt know if he was going to make it through the weekend. The vet I brought him to, Dr. Beeber is a highly experienced ferret expert, published and well respected.
Dr. Beeber requested that I leave Dook at the hospital overnight. He put him on a potassium drip, did a full round of blood work, xrays, ultrasounds of every organ...
After a $1000 vet bill, he called me and told me ge was fine- eating, drinking, alert, and not nearly as sick as I thought he was!
The next day, I went to pick him up at the vets, and he was grinding like crazy! The vet wasn't there, but called me and said that perhaps it was because he hadn't had pepcid or carafate, but don't worry. He said it was probably a sign of stress. The vet had been able to get him to eat by mixing Ensure, kibble and water together. Not my idea of Soup, but we needed to get him through.
Fast forward to now- Dook has not been to well, still. Lethargic, grinds his teeth (especially if he hasn't had his carafate), not eating much. His weight is dropping (2 pounds 7 oz in March to 1 pound 14 oz today). We are working under the diagnosis of IBD, and despite the absence of dark tarry stools, suspect an ulcer (for no reason other than visual symptoms and carafate helping him).
I am suspecting (perhaps hoping) that the food he is on is causing his issues. He is eating independently, but we are also giving him the mix of Ensure with Kibble, since he will eat it, and his weight is so low. I know it is just sugar water, but I have never had a ferret so opposed to eating new things- even before this! We have 6 ferrets all together. The other 5 LOVE turkey baby food, raw egg, boiled chicken, pooping pumpkin... he acts like we are KILLING HIM! He was never accepted anything other than kibble- not even ferretvite (which I would never buy, but it was given to me with the babies we were fostering, and I was just trying to get him to eat anything!)
We are mixing the frozen rabbit in with his Soup, just a little morsel each time. So far hes eating it, and hopefully we'll be able to continue to increase it without him objecting too much.
6. What diet do you currently feed your ferrets? (Please include all treats, supplements, etc) Do they already eat some form of soup?
My ferrets are fed Wysong DS and orijen. We use turkey baby food and raw egg for soup. Pebbles likes boiled chicken, or scrambled eggs. We give them each a lick of ferretone at night when its time to go in their cage.
See above for what Dook is eating, or not eating.
7. Have you ever tried to switch your ferrets to a natural diet in the past? If yes, what happened?
No
8. What additional information about yourself or your ferrets would you like to share?
9. How often during the week do you have access to a computer?
Rarely, but am always on the phone
10. Please post a picture of each of your ferrets (if possible).
Cant do that frim the phone, but will happily post on the FB page.
11. Have you met the requirements for this program? Are you at least 18 years of age? Do you have your scale, a place to access meats, hearts, livers, etc?
I have ascale and weigh my guys constantly. Its a digital kitchen scale.
I do not have (but could) organs and supplements. I do have stella and cheweys frozen rabbit and primal FDR turkey, but have only used the rabbit so far.
Hi and welcome to the mentoring program . In a little while your mentor ( Sherry ), 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. I hope that you are able to find some answers to help your little one, good luck. Your mentor is here to help you on this journey, do not be shy about asking questions
ciao
HF Forum Username:Alexispuccino
Please confirm that you are 18 years of age or older: yes. I am 25 years old.
1. Where did you first learn about natural diets for ferrets?
Facebook pages.
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.
Right now I am looking to transition one if my ferrets, who is sick with IBD to acommercial freeze dried raw or frozen raw diet. I have 6 ferrets all together that I would like to transition, but because he is having so much trouble, I would like to focus first on him, and then the others. We are trying to di a protein elimination diet because I suspect a chicken allergy.
3. Why are you interested in switching your ferrets to a natural diet? My ferret, Sir Dooks-A-Lot is sick and I suspect a chicken intolerance. Going raw seems to be my best bet in excluding the different sources of meat.
4. Do you understand that switching your ferret to a natural diet can be a lengthy, arduous process? Its not an overnight switch. It requires a commitment of several months at minimum. Your HF Mentor will be more then happy to assist you in switching your ferret(s) to a natural diet, but you need to be equally as committed. The switch takes time and effort every single day. It can also be extremely frustrating at times. If you aren't willing to tough out a potentially lengthy switching process, you have major life changes approaching (baby on the way, moving, starting school, getting married/divorced, etc), or limited time due to work, then it might be a better idea to wait on switching your ferret's diet until you have more time. Are you willing and realistically able to make the neccessary time commitment?
Yes, though I do work long hours, I prioritize keeping my buddy alive.
Fir this reason, I would like to start just with Dook, and once he is stablized, I will transition the others.
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?
Pebbles- male, will be 3 in September. Dxd as a baby with IBD, but was really just a bad reaction to evo. Otherwise healthy.
Ferret Bueller- unknown age. Have had for 2.5 years. Fat. Was dropped as a baby at petco and suffers from back pain, which ends up causing a vicious cycle between his weight and back pain. Hes also as stupid as could be, but we love him.
Daisy- Female.
Houdini- male
Have had both since July 2015. They are about 2 years old. They were part of a carnival display about exotic animals. They were getting rid of them, and they were in bad shape. Daisy is a Waardy, and Houdini has an MCT on his neck. Bith are healthy weights
Sir Dooks-A-Lot: excuse the length. He's my problem right now!
My ferret, Sir Dooks-A-Lot (Dook) is about 4 years old. We got him a year ago (March 2015). He was fed Marshalls Kibble and bandits, raisins and bananas. Hed never been to a vet. I took him in, brought him to the vet that day, and the vet gave him a clean bill of health. I noticed that day that he was "twitching" after eating. A little muscle on the top of his head kept moving, which I later foundout was because he was grinding his teeth. I took a video, went back to the vet and showed her. She gave Dook another once-over and said it was probably stress induced.
We transitioned him to Wysong Digestive Support and Orijen. He always seemed a little down, not so playful, and always ground his teeth after eating. In July, we went away and left him with a sitter. He became sick. He vomitted to the point of barely being responsive. Our sitter brought him to the vet, who felt that the illness was caused by stress. She gave him meds to stop vommiting, checked for blockages, and found nothing. After some fluids, anti-nasuea meds and extra attention, he stablized. He was fine. My husband and I have both noted an odd stare on his face (have tested for insulinoma 6 times, before anyone suggests that) and he seemed almost depressed to us fir the past year though.
In March, we brought him in for a check up. All was good. 2.5 pounds, no obvious health issues, gave a booster of canine distemper, since he hadn't had it since he was at marshalls farm. He was pretreated with benedryl.
Then, 4 days later, on Easter, he suddenly became ill. Throwing up, loose stool, diarrhea, refusing to eat or drink. Wehad been fostering a baby with an suspected ECE infection, but he had been STRICTLY quarentined. We brought Dook to the vet, who thought he may have caught the virus, ir possibly a hair ball. She gave fluids and suggested giving pumpkin and waiting it out, which we did.
The next day he was looking better, still fighting on eating, but not throwing up. Wednesday, came home to him vomitting, so brought him to the vet for fluids and an xray. Nothing showed up in the xray, but just to be sure, the vet suggested a barium xray, and that we bring him back in the am for another xray. Nothing showed up in the xray, or his stool, but he looked so much better. The vet felt that maybe the barium helped dislodge anything stuck. He looked good and had healthy poop. He even ate on his own, for the first time in a week. The next day, Friday, he took a bad turn. He stopped eating, looked terrible, cried when he pooped and would not stop grinding his teeth.
At the advice of some ferret friends, I called the office and requested carafate, and made an appointment at a different vets office for that Monday. I will be honest- I didnt know if he was going to make it through the weekend. The vet I brought him to, Dr. Beeber is a highly experienced ferret expert, published and well respected.
Dr. Beeber requested that I leave Dook at the hospital overnight. He put him on a potassium drip, did a full round of blood work, xrays, ultrasounds of every organ...
After a $1000 vet bill, he called me and told me ge was fine- eating, drinking, alert, and not nearly as sick as I thought he was!
The next day, I went to pick him up at the vets, and he was grinding like crazy! The vet wasn't there, but called me and said that perhaps it was because he hadn't had pepcid or carafate, but don't worry. He said it was probably a sign of stress. The vet had been able to get him to eat by mixing Ensure, kibble and water together. Not my idea of Soup, but we needed to get him through.
Fast forward to now- Dook has not been to well, still. Lethargic, grinds his teeth (especially if he hasn't had his carafate), not eating much. His weight is dropping (2 pounds 7 oz in March to 1 pound 14 oz today). We are working under the diagnosis of IBD, and despite the absence of dark tarry stools, suspect an ulcer (for no reason other than visual symptoms and carafate helping him).
I am suspecting (perhaps hoping) that the food he is on is causing his issues. He is eating independently, but we are also giving him the mix of Ensure with Kibble, since he will eat it, and his weight is so low. I know it is just sugar water, but I have never had a ferret so opposed to eating new things- even before this! We have 6 ferrets all together. The other 5 LOVE turkey baby food, raw egg, boiled chicken, pooping pumpkin... he acts like we are KILLING HIM! He was never accepted anything other than kibble- not even ferretvite (which I would never buy, but it was given to me with the babies we were fostering, and I was just trying to get him to eat anything!)
We are mixing the frozen rabbit in with his Soup, just a little morsel each time. So far hes eating it, and hopefully we'll be able to continue to increase it without him objecting too much.
6. What diet do you currently feed your ferrets? (Please include all treats, supplements, etc) Do they already eat some form of soup?
My ferrets are fed Wysong DS and orijen. We use turkey baby food and raw egg for soup. Pebbles likes boiled chicken, or scrambled eggs. We give them each a lick of ferretone at night when its time to go in their cage.
See above for what Dook is eating, or not eating.
7. Have you ever tried to switch your ferrets to a natural diet in the past? If yes, what happened?
No
8. What additional information about yourself or your ferrets would you like to share?
9. How often during the week do you have access to a computer?
Rarely, but am always on the phone
10. Please post a picture of each of your ferrets (if possible).
Cant do that frim the phone, but will happily post on the FB page.
11. Have you met the requirements for this program? Are you at least 18 years of age? Do you have your scale, a place to access meats, hearts, livers, etc?
I have ascale and weigh my guys constantly. Its a digital kitchen scale.
I do not have (but could) organs and supplements. I do have stella and cheweys frozen rabbit and primal FDR turkey, but have only used the rabbit so far.
Hi and welcome to the mentoring program . In a little while your mentor ( Sherry ), 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. I hope that you are able to find some answers to help your little one, good luck. Your mentor is here to help you on this journey, do not be shy about asking questions
ciao