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Post by lolososo on Jul 28, 2017 10:44:18 GMT -5
My ferret has started to poop green feces. He had his food changed a week ago and only started having this weird poop now. It started 2 days ago then stopped completely yesterday then i got a new one this morning but havent had another one since. He went from being in a petstore and having his food changed 2 weeks ago from the one i am using now to a brand called north ferret or something then I switched him back to the food he was on a week before that which is a very healthy and grain free cat food with lots of protein and fat. He also has a lot of time out of the cage and has a LOT of energy all the time. He is perfectly fine but just has green poops sometimes. This was from 2 days ago a few hours after it started. ( will insert picture)
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Post by lolososo on Jul 28, 2017 10:47:46 GMT -5
I cant insert a picture but its dark green. I searched online and it said that it can be caused by changing his food and the ferret can take up to 2-3 weeks to get used to the food. Also it can be stress related which he has been playing a lot and getting really excited
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Post by LindaM on Jul 28, 2017 14:09:31 GMT -5
He could have a bacterial infection as well. So it's best to get him checked out by the vet, who can give you antibiotics if it is a bacterial infection. Because green poop can be related to some scary things such as ECE or a bacterial infection, it's best to have the vet take a look in case it is either of those.
If a random green poop happens just once, it could just be something they ate that they shouldn't have, and it passed through the digestive system too fast.
But as you have been changing foods, it could be a bacterial infection related to stress from the rapid diet changes. To avoid these things and stomach aches, it's best to gradually change a ferrets food, this includes kibble. Kibble gets changed over the course of 10 days, starting with 1/10th new, and 9/10ths old. And adding 1/10th of new food each day until it is only new food by the 10th day.
Also, if I may ask.. what kibble are you feeding him? And is there any specific reason you do not wish to offer the species appropriate diet of raw instead?
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Post by lolososo on Jul 28, 2017 15:57:38 GMT -5
I will be changing him on raw soon but i had to buy the kibbles as a last minute thing. It has stopped completely for now. I have a vet check up in a few days. I didnt have extra kibble to slowly change him because the petshop wouldnt give me any to do that. He eats a cat food kibble that is grain free and has a lot of good things for ferrets. I didnt want to buy an unknown brand or get marshalls ferret food so the best thing i could get was the food i got and it is recommended by my local vet.
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Post by LindaM on Jul 28, 2017 16:04:27 GMT -5
Can you tell me the brand? There are other concerns with grain free though, so not all of them are good, even though they might sound good. Hence why I am asking. For example, Wellness Core Kitten/Cat food, while a high-end kibble, has a lot of peas, which has been related to kidney and bladder stone problems in cats and ferrets from diet. Making that kibble a bad choice compared to something like Orijen for example.
Please tell me the vet didn't recommend Hill's Science Diet for you.. that stuff will kill anything. I avoid it like the plague in the stores. Or Zupreem Grain-Free ferret food, it has the same issues with sweet potatoes that peas has. Sadly, most vets only receive a very basic education in nutrition, and it's the kibble companies who pay for it, so it's often very biased and even unhealthy.
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Post by lolososo on Jul 28, 2017 19:41:55 GMT -5
Its called "nutrience" I think its only made in canada not sure. I will list all the ingredients in a few minutes
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Post by lolososo on Jul 28, 2017 19:47:30 GMT -5
Ill change his food immediately, just noticed all the bad things for ferrets after those chicken and turkey parts and all. Theres a huge list of over 50 things
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Post by lolososo on Jul 28, 2017 19:50:39 GMT -5
Ill go tomorrow to buy meat to start him on a raw diet. Ill check somewhere else on this web to find the things i need and of course ill be careful that it is 100% meat unlike this awful food they sold me. I am so disapointed!
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Post by lolososo on Jul 28, 2017 19:51:59 GMT -5
Should I buy meat and slowly change him from the kibble? Although the kibble is bad for him. Should i remove his food that he has now?
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Post by lolososo on Jul 28, 2017 19:52:35 GMT -5
I could get some meat first thing tomorrow morning if it will help!
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Post by lolososo on Jul 28, 2017 19:57:20 GMT -5
The food indicates that theres vegetables in it. Peas carrots and other bad things for ferrets
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Post by LindaM on Jul 28, 2017 21:23:56 GMT -5
Okay, so first thing first, the most important part of looking at a kibble is the first 6 ingredients being meat-based. The reason for this is that following the general law for products, that they should state ingredients in order of highest to lowest quantity contained in the product. So a kibble like Orijen would be okay to use, because while it does have peas for example, it's usually around the 15th-18th ingredient on th list, which basically is the equivalent of a small handful or less of peas in the entire bag size. Whereas say a bag with potatoes as the third or second ingredient could mean that 30-50% or more of the bag is just potatoes. But even high-end kibbles can eventually lead to insulinoma in the end. But since you want to do raw and the best for your wee furbaby.. Congrats! The link below will help educate you on how to go about this, I also recommend going through the archives of completed switches to see how mentors helped others switch their ferrets. You can also sign up for a mentor on here to help you switch. Raw Intro Links: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/17480/intro-raw-newbies-readCompleted Switches: holisticferret60.proboards.com/board/55/archivesMentoring Program: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/61/sign-mentoring-programSoup recipe: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/145/raw-soupBecause ferrets sometimes can and will starve themselves when only offered an unknown food, it's best to start at the raw soup stage and still allow kibble until they realize that the soup is food, and will eat from the soup by themselves without you needing to interfere to get them started, at which stage kibble can be fully removed for good. Kibble and raw needs to be fed apart though to not cause a stomach ache or bacterial overgrowth. So take kibble away a few hours before offering raw, and replace it again a few hours afterwards. Yours is still a kit, so you will likely be able to run through these steps much quicker, soup -> mince/ground meat -> slivers -> bigger slivers -> chunks -> bone-in chunks. Read through those links above, and if you have any questions, we are here to help!
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Post by unclejoe on Jul 28, 2017 21:35:58 GMT -5
You could start with raw chicken wings but he may not take to it right away. go to the natural diet section holisticferret60.proboards.com/board/18/natural-diet and read about balanced diets. We started with a soup made from ground kibble mixed with ground chicken and turkey and water. You can apply for a mentor to help you create a diet plan. Welcome to the forum.
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Post by abbeytheferret6 on Jul 29, 2017 5:22:10 GMT -5
Hi and welcome to forum. Glad you are wanting to make the switch. There are a lot of people here that will be able to help you and answer your questions.You can even start a self switching thread while waiting for a mentor. People will make comments in your thread to help u. Kits are pretty easy to switch. My 12 week old found a piece of meat under the bed where my others had dragged it(had turned to jerkey). I heard some crunching and tried to check her out. I got threatened with a hiss as well as being jumped at. She kept that piece of meat in her mouth all the while---cutest sight ever. The forum sites provided you by others above are really great reading. The green poop thing: Green Ferret Poop: A very non-specific sign — it just means that food is moving through too fast. The normal brown color seen in feces is the end product of break down of old red blood cells. The pigment goes through a green stage called biliverdin before it becomes brown (called stercobilin). So if it goes through at an accelerated rate, it never breaks down all the way and has a green color to it. Anything that accelerates passage of food or causes diarrhea can result in green color — ECE, rapid food changes, lymphoma, just about anything. (Click image to enlarge.) www.petcha.com/the-ferret-poop-chart/Most of us has been there and seen that
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Post by lolososo on Jul 29, 2017 7:38:40 GMT -5
The food i was feeding him had a lot of vegetables ranging from around the 12th ingredient to the 18th. If it was a handful each for the bag, the vegetables could be taking a big part in the diet. I am currently making a soup from this website. Lets hope he eats well! ( i removed his kibble last night so his stomach would be ready for this new food.
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