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Post by surichan55 on Feb 5, 2020 23:52:38 GMT -5
Hi. I've suddenly hit a speed bump with my ferrets. I will try to explain my best.
I had five ferrets, all eating balanced raw with no issues. Then we suddenly lost our wardy girl (death) and it seems our four suddenly didn't want to eat much, but were still eating. I'm in Ohio and the weather's been odd so not sure if that's a factor, but they're eating just not nearly as much.
Fast forward about a month, we took in three more ferrets, did the quaratine. During that time I got one to mostly switch to raw, two will not. So we're doing soups and rubbing on gums but I'm at a loss on how to get the other two to transition. Should I move them back to quaratine and keep giving them their old food? I'm not sure what exactly to do. It also seems like our original four are getting more picky with what they do and do not want to eat.
Thanks.
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Post by Sherry on Feb 8, 2020 9:34:23 GMT -5
First, with your original crew. when they grieve a reduced appetite is fairly common. And now many are slowing how much they eat due to seasonal change.
With the newbies keep pushing with the hand feeding. Are they eating anything, and if so how much? If they are getting even 3oz a day into them, they'll be good. If less than that, then give them their kibble at night.
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Post by surichan55 on Feb 10, 2020 1:38:09 GMT -5
I'm honestly not sure how much I'm getting oz wise into each. The issue is their kibble was awful and we already used the rest of what we had today. So I'm really trying to push the raw tonight. I'm really not wanting to get another bag of kibble but I will in the morning if I have to, I guess. Out of the three new ones, one eats fine. The girl eats a bit, so I'm not as concerned for her. The other boy is still acting like we're poisoning him. We've discussed going back to kibble, but it seems like it'll cost more than raw in the long run. I can't monitor them 24/7 because I do require sleep. So I'm at a loss.
Edit: I'm also not sure if this is allowed, but I am able to chat over pm, text or something if it's faster, otherwise this works.
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Post by Charlie on Feb 10, 2020 22:54:16 GMT -5
Do they like salmon oil? If so, try putting a couple drops on the raw food or mixing it into the raw food.
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Post by abbeytheferret6 on Feb 11, 2020 4:30:42 GMT -5
Another thing you can try is warming an empty plate in microwave then putting food on it. Stir with finger until all hotspots are gone and plate is not too hot. Microwaving to warm food I find cooks the food. Of course you will have to sit and hold ferret and finger feed. A sealed baggie with soupie in hot water also can warm it. I did the salmon oil as Charlie mentioned on cut up mice to win my girl over to eating them---but first I had to get her to like salmon oil, which she would take off running when when I dabbed her mouth with it.
Hang in there. The first few days can be rough switching a ferret over---
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Post by surichan55 on Feb 17, 2020 15:55:21 GMT -5
I've tried salmon oil, he will only lick it off. He will sample egg. We're still giving him kibble. I've tried wet iams cat food grain free, not the best choice but I figured he might try it, he will only lick the juice.
I'm seriously at a loss because I think he's starting to loose a little weight. The other two new ones are good with the raw now. We've tried cutting it small, we've tried grinding it into a soupie. Is it possible the re-home was too much for him? He's active and playing all day, but he refuses to eat anything but the kibble. We've dabbed it on his gums and lips.
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Post by surichan55 on Feb 17, 2020 15:56:14 GMT -5
Another thing you can try is warming an empty plate in microwave then putting food on it. Stir with finger until all hotspots are gone and plate is not too hot. Microwaving to warm food I find cooks the food. Of course you will have to sit and hold ferret and finger feed. A sealed baggie with soupie in hot water also can warm it. I did the salmon oil as Charlie mentioned on cut up mice to win my girl over to eating them---but first I had to get her to like salmon oil, which she would take off running when when I dabbed her mouth with it. Hang in there. The first few days can be rough switching a ferret over--- Finger feeding isn't working either. He's still acting like I'm poisoning him. |
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Post by abbeytheferret6 on Feb 18, 2020 8:59:05 GMT -5
I got discouraged with my male when switching him too.
Leave some meat in cage at night(if it is just for him to get used to the smell--then you can remove next day at some time).
I would continue finger feeding, I heard some rather have it from a spoon.
Are you holding him in your lap? Of course let him go after a couple sample tastings. Oh, he will want to.
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Post by Sherry on Feb 29, 2020 10:02:04 GMT -5
definitely keep at it. When finger feeding, don't let him go right away. Make him take more than a taste or two before releasing him. Do this repeatedly during the day.
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Post by surichan55 on Mar 16, 2020 17:06:06 GMT -5
We got him eating!!
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Post by abbeytheferret6 on Mar 17, 2020 2:42:21 GMT -5
Yea for you!
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