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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2016 23:43:28 GMT -5
Hey Hey~~~ I'm Back @burleighfamily!! Huge thank you to @morgan2247 for being able to be a back up while I was absent. It really put me at ease knowing my mentee was taken care of while I was away. I hope everyone is having a great holiday and a fantastic new year~~~ From what I have read to catch up on the posts I was away for, Gus Gus sounds like he is really doing fantastically. Eating super well, and sleeping more. Considering it's winter for you, this is good. Nipping at the feet is his way of telling you to get off your hooman bottom and play. If you can't run around or keep up with ferret play, try some teaser toys. I do this when I study because I cannot get away from my desk while I do study unless I take short breaks but ferrets cannot wait for breaks ahahah! When my Yuuki was a Kit, he did this foot nipping all the time. The only one who currently does the foot nipping in my business now is Beavis. (Beavis also nips the fatty parts of hooman arms because he finds our reactions hilarious, not so amusing for us though lol!) I'm super happy to hear that GusGus is getting at least 8-10 hours a day and/or is pretty much free roaming. You mention trying some new meats soon, such as squirral and deer. Do you source those from your local supermarkets or are you sourcing from hunters? When in doubt freeze for a minimum of 2 weeks to kill any parasites from game meats or exotic meats. Also I'm super happy to hear that you intend to vet him soon. Keep the thread updated on that, especially when you have a BG test done on GusGus. You probably think we're like a broken record with the "please vet please vet" posts. I hope you understand that we really do want the best for you and GusGus. We do understand that money may be an issue currently due to circumstances and I do hope it wont be in the future. I highly recommend starting a savings account or putting funds away for GusGus. This way you can have funds available for ongoing treatment/vet consult/medication costs and most importantly, emergencies.(They say, having at least $1000 to $3500 put away or saved up is ideal, even if lets say you need to have emergency surgery or something and may not have all the funds, most vets should be good if you have at least a majority of the funds available at the time it is needed.) ;u; <3 Sorry for the long reply post! In regards to the meals at the moment, I would love if you could tell me what GusGus is currently having in the following format: This will help me to get a better idea on what is being fed daily on a weekly basis. I hope all is well for you health wise too! We'll talk again soon~~~~
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2016 2:03:08 GMT -5
Hey @burleighfamily ~ could you check in please~ I'm keen to hear about how GusGus is going. Thanks!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2017 22:40:52 GMT -5
Hi @burleighfamily , I noticed that you haven't posted in your switching thread for a while and wanted to check in and see how everything is going. As your mentor I am here to help, and want to help you and your ferret transition to a fully balanced raw diet, but unfortunately I cannot be of any assistance if I don't have any information or updates to go off of. Please remember that as per the Mentoring Program Rules: Please update your thread as soon as possible so I can help you and GusGus on your raw feeding journey.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2017 13:55:48 GMT -5
Sorry for my late responses. This holiday and new meds has me a little crazy.
Gus is eating (at this point) chicken gizzards, heart, heart, spine and thighs. He still isn't crazy about the bone, but it seems he's eating more than he's spitting out. I'm going to pick up some more spines hopefully tomorrow and try giving it to him whole. He's eating that every day. I occasionally throw in some liver (a small amount).
I think I got everything.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2017 20:09:05 GMT -5
Have you been weighing out the meats before you feed? There should be 10% organs in the ferret diet that make up of 5% liver and 5% other organ. Have you been able to locate any other varieties of protein? Now would be a great time to begin to balance out GusGus' menu, this why I would love it if you could tell me what is being fed as mentioned earlier in the followin format: This will help me to get a better idea on what is being fed daily on a weekly basis and then how I can advise you from there. How's things going with the vet plans?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2017 18:13:55 GMT -5
No, I haven't been weighing out as much as I was before. I know I need to be. Like I've said, with my health and the holidays plus losing multiple people close to me, things have been sort of crazy. I make sure he has roughly 2-3 ounces of food (just guessing by amount that I put in his bowl) every time his bowl is refilled.
I haven't been able to locate any more yet. I have people that are getting some for me, but, as stated before, my funds are incredibly tight. I am having to get what I can at the grocery store that's local.
As for his menu, it's the same thing every day: Monday AM/PM - Sunday AM/PM: chicken neck (chopped and sometimes in a blender), chicken thigh, a small amount of gizzards and roughly 1 heart. I haven't been able to do all the different bone in, special things as much because of everything that's been going on. I am trying my hardest to get it done as it should be, but it's not easy when it's mostly just me. I am trying, though. I'd probably be able to do it better if I actually was told what's best to do daily, like a menu. But not one that I have to choose, because I always get confused. Lol. I don't even know if that's making sense. THe meds I'm on have me really loopy lately.
As for the vet, I couldn't take him this past check. I had to have an alignment as well as new tires put on my car. That was $400 I didn't have (I had to skip paying bills to make this work) I am doing the absolute best I can with what I have. I already feel horrible about it, trust me.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2017 18:38:07 GMT -5
Am reading your website - can I do the ground/grinds? I really believe I won't have any luck getting him to eat any bones. I keep meaning to get you a picture of his teeth/gums. From what I can tell, though, it seems as though he's at least 5, probably older. And I was wondering if maybe that's what's keeping him from eating bones.
Again, like I said before I'm sorta out of it from my meds.
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Post by katt on Jan 3, 2017 23:23:37 GMT -5
We have a basic menu that is posted on our website, various places around the forum, and on FB but I will not focus on that as I think switching to grinds is going to be what is needed here. Right now his menu is extremely unbalanced and frankly, is NOT safe. An imbalanced raw diet is very dangerous - more dangerous than kibble - and will lead to very serious nutrition deficiencies. He absolutely MUST have organs; organs should be 10% of his total diet (one and a half full meals a week). Even if you can't find organs like kidney and pancreas he MUST have liver in his diet or he will become very sick due to nutritional deficiencies. Additionally, he is not getting enough heart (should be 10% of the diet - one and a half full meals a week) which is absolutely vital for taurine. Without enough taurine in their diet they will suffer serious neurological problems, blindness, and heart disease. He also needs more variety - chicken alone is not sufficient. He needs a bare minimum of 3 different proteins (e.g. chicken, turkey, pork, beef, rabbit, duck, lamb...). I understand that it is still fairly early in your switch and you have not gotten to introducing new proteins yet, but even with that taken into consideration the lack of liver and low heart content is extremely concerning. I am not saying this to be harsh or make you feel bad, but to impress upon you the extreme importance of proper balance. Your mentor is here to help you with balancing the diet, but she cannot do that if you do not answer her questions thoroughly, and if you do not follow her feeding instructions. If you are unable to provide a properly balanced raw diet based on local supply then you NEED to access commercial foods. Balanced commercial grinds may be an ideal option for you, and at this point is what I would recommend to ensure that your Gusgus is getting proper nutrition. I would recommend Rad Cat raw Cat Food as the first choice. It is a completely balanced raw grind without any added vegetable matter, has sufficient organs and taurine, and is relatively inexpensive. You can look here to find a local store that may carry it, as well as online stores: www.radfood.com/where_to_buy You will still need a minimum of 3 proteins (chicken, lamb, turkey for example).
Here is a website where you can buy them for $6 a tub: discountpetsandsupplies.com/onlinestore/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=rad+cat&osCsid=10f0d016f6a8861bd78446efbbbe0a15
You can buy all of the different RadCat Proteins here for a little more, but with free shipping (also they currently have a sale going for 15% off): www.onlynaturalpet.com/products/Rad-Cat-Raw-Cat-Food-Diet/537000.aspxThese 2 stores are about an hour or so from your area I believe and are listed as carriers of Rad Cat: - Mary\'s Tack, Feed, and Pet Store; 4860 Atlanta HWY; Bogart, GA. 30622 US; Telephone: 770.725.1977 - The Puppy Pantry Boutique; 2590 Hamilton Mill Rd; Buford, GA. 30519 US; Telephone: 678.804.9583 The next options would be the cat foods from: - Nature's Variety Raw, which is also balanced but does have some vegetable matter: www.instinctpetfood.com/instinct-raw-bites-for-cats - Darwin's Naturual Selection Raw, which does not have vegetable matter but only offers 3 different proteins: www.darwinspet.com/product/raw-cat-food/Machan will help you out RE getting him onto grinds. I cannot stress this enough. Gusgus ABSOLUTELY MUST get to a vet. Immediately. He needs to be diagnosed by a professional and his prednisone needs to be dosed by a professional. Using pred from a shelter at arbitrarily determined doses without proper BG monitoring is downright DANGEROUS. Prednisone is a very serious drug with severe side effects when taken properly - and extremely dangerous side effects if dosed improperly. A vet exam runs about $50-70, a BG check is usually about $20-30, and then the properly dosed prednisone, which varies by pharmacy but is typically very cheap ($10-15/mo non-compounded, give or take depending on your area). That's a total of $70-100 for the visit and BG check to properly diagnose isnu, plus the prednisone. I understand that things can be tight - trust me, I too have lived paycheck to paycheck before where some days I didn't know if I could pay the bills. But this is an UTMOST priority. I cannot, cannot stress this enough - he DESPERATELY NEEDS to see a vet. Call around to vet clinics in your area - ask the shelter who they use. Get price estimates for an exam and blood glucose check. Ask about payment plans. Look into CareCredit www.carecredit.com/vetmed/ Borrow from a friend if you need to. This is not something that can be put off. What happens when you run out of the pred you have? What happens if he is being under or over dosed? This is a very dangerous situation. This is NOT to make you feel bad but again, to stress the vital importance of this matter.
Please, whatever it takes - get him into a vet.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2017 11:22:00 GMT -5
I am going to attempt to see if the vet will allow me to do a payment plan. I know it's not that expensive to some, but we literally are living overdraft to overdraft these days. I feel absolutely horrible about it, trust me. And I'm doing everything I possibly can. Care Credit isn't an option (can't get approved). Hopefully the vet will let me make a couple payments. Guess we'll find out.
The stuff on those pages you gave me, I can order that stuff and it has everything he needs, right? And about the grinds, could I just continue to make him soupies until I can order it? If that's the case, then it isn't a problem. I have the recipe printed out and all that. I can just start making a lot of it, and feed him that way, as well as brushing his teeth.
I understand that vetting is of utmost importance, and I don't know what I can do other than reassure you that I am doing everything I can at this point.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2017 12:28:06 GMT -5
Would I still use the basic Frankenprey menu if I went to grinds? My husband just reminded me that there is a deer processor up the road. Could I use that as the hearts and stuff?
And where it says AM/PM on the menu - would I need to do just ground up (bone in) meat in the morning, then the muscle (or organs, etc) at night? Separate?
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Post by katt on Jan 5, 2017 12:44:44 GMT -5
I know that $100 or even $50 can be a lot when you are so right financially. But if he gets improper dosing and treatment you could be looking at it being MORE expensive down the road. The longer it gets put off the more you're risking needing to do/pay more. What happens when you run out of pred and he's crashing in the middle of the night? Now you're looking at an emergency vet visit which is extremely expensive. What is your plan if there *is* an emergency? I understand that you are trying and I am not trying to be mean, but these are very important practical questions you need to ask yourself. As for the grinds, they are completely balanced so you would be feeding the grinds only. You would need 3 different proteins (e.g. Chicken, duck, pork), but do not need to feed any additional meats or organs besides the grinds as long as you use one of the 3 brands I mentioned (and stick to the cat formula - the dog formulas are not balanced for ferrets). So your menu would look like this: Sun AM: grinds Sun PM: grinds Mon AM: grinds Mon PM: grinds Etc. You just need to offer a few different proteins a week (example you could do something like: Sunday could be chicken day, Monday pork day, Tues rabbit day, Wed chicken day, Thurs beef day, Friday pork day, Sat beef day). Yes, in the meanwhile you can feed soup using the balanced soup recipe. Machan will help you with this and with deciding which grinds to order as well as helping you introduce them to him. In the meanwhile please find SOME way to get him to a vet. Perhaps a friend or family member could give you a temporary loan and you can make payments to them if the vet doesn't allow payment plans?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2017 13:43:25 GMT -5
I understand. They will give me the meds at the vet, correct? If all else fails, I'll write a bad check. I know it's important. I am just incredibly stressed trying to make sure we don't lose our house and car. I promise I do understand the importance, though. I really do. And I am working on making it happen as quickly as I possibly can. I looked through the frankenprey menu, and am sending hubs to the store tonight to grab some more stuff for him. I looked into ordering, and while the prices were AMAZING, it was saying that I was going to have to pay more for shipping than what I was paying for the food, so I am going to call those places you mentioned and see if they have that stuff in the store. I'd rather drive up there and get more instead of ordering online and paying a lot for shipping. I really hope you do understand that I am doing everything in my power to make sure he can get to the vet soon. I don't want you to think I'm deliberately keeping him away.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2017 15:24:16 GMT -5
What is the best kind of meat grinder to get? One that isn't too awfully expensive, but I can use to grind up meats and bones for him so I stop messing up my blender?
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Post by katt on Jan 5, 2017 16:43:31 GMT -5
A FB member commented on the Darwin's grinds: "Oh wow... thank you for posting this! I went to check out each site, and the Darwin's has an awesome intro offer!! Their trial package is 10lbs, and they send it to you for $14.95 SHIPPED. 10 pounds of their food for $15!! They schedule you for another shipment in seven weeks, but you can cancel it if you don't want it. So excited "
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2017 16:45:36 GMT -5
I tried it out and calculated my shipping and everything, and even with the special offer, it was putting my shipping at the $14.95 with an additional $11.95 shipping. Maybe I did something incorrect? I'll definitely go through it more thoroughly when I get off of work.
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