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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2013 14:37:11 GMT -5
That is a strange bunch you have, I can't figure out for the life of me why they won't eat more than once a day. I assume they snacked all day when they were on kibble?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2013 18:25:08 GMT -5
Not really. I provided kibble to them at all times but they really ignored it all day with minimal snacking. They would eat it all at night and it would be gone in the morning.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2013 19:28:29 GMT -5
Made them new food. Pork Loins, Chicken Thighs, Livers, Hearts, Gizzards. Fed at 7:00 PM and they went straight to the bowl.
Maybe I should do an early evening feeding and a later-evening feeding? Like 6:00 pm and then right before I go to bed?
Could it be because I'm fairly nocturnal?
I mean Im a full time student & I'm carrying two internships. They get out during the days *some days* (weekends, days I have only a couple classes) but are mainly actively engaged with me in the afternoon / evening / dead of night.
I let them out when I am home and just let them stay up and run around the house however late I'm staying up. Sometimes that cane be 3/4 a.m. if I'm pulling an almost-all nighter to study.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2013 21:24:29 GMT -5
Hmm could be. They are dawn/dusk creatures by nature. Mine will sleep most of the day generally and get up once or twice and eat if I've left them something out to munch on. Some of my group are more active and play for hours during the day (especially if I'm around to bother; have you ever tried reading in a room with 9 weasels? Good luck!) but in general they are all most active in the morning and then again around the almighty dinner time. I live with a pack of piggies though. ;D
I'm sure they adjusted to your schedule, they're very flexible. Mine used to get up at 6 am when I did. Now I get up around 8 am and they have shifted their wake up time to match. A second night feeding couldn't hurt, though I've no idea if they would eat it. Do they consistently empty the bowl at night or do they leave some leftovers? If the bowl is usually empty I'd try another meal again in a few hours.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2013 22:27:56 GMT -5
They empty the bowl at some point during the night. Not sure when.
I'd guess between 12:00 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. because it happens when I'm fast asleep!
They did not empty their bowl yet tonight - it was 3/4ths full at 9:30 p.m.
I can't even read in a room with two weasels! Yeah, no, never going to even try with 9.
I try but if I sit anywhere other than my desk chair, Loki will find a way to get on my lap and steal anything I happen to have with me (pen, highlighter, notes, etc).
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2013 9:14:30 GMT -5
Yeah, Zar'thun almost ran off with my leather bookmark one night. While I was thus distracted someone else stole my slippers and stashed them under the bed. Well, it's feasible that they just have smaller appetites. 2 ferrets "on average" supposedly eat 2-4 ounces each a day. If they don't drop weight and look like skeletons then they should be fine. As a frame of reference, I put out 24 ounces of ground meat made into soup a day out for 9 ferrets (with water added). That's 2.66 ounces of meat per ferret a day, excluding any RMB they may snack on. I can tell you that some of the males definitely eat way more than that. No one is unhealthily thin, most of us are quite chubby for winter. The last 5 or so days they haven't been cleaning their bowl out, they've reduced their appetite by quite a bit. We all seem to be fine and bouncing about though. It's amazing how little they actually need.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2013 17:47:17 GMT -5
Yeah, Zar'thun almost ran off with my leather bookmark one night. While I was thus distracted someone else stole my slippers and stashed them under the bed. Well, it's feasible that they just have smaller appetites. 2 ferrets "on average" supposedly eat 2-4 ounces each a day. If they don't drop weight and look like skeletons then they should be fine. As a frame of reference, I put out 24 ounces of ground meat made into soup a day out for 9 ferrets (with water added). That's 2.66 ounces of meat per ferret a day, excluding any RMB they may snack on. I can tell you that some of the males definitely eat way more than that. No one is unhealthily thin, most of us are quite chubby for winter. The last 5 or so days they haven't been cleaning their bowl out, they've reduced their appetite by quite a bit. We all seem to be fine and bouncing about though. It's amazing how little they actually need. I'm putting out roughly 7.5 - 9.5 oz per night. So they certainly have "the chance" to get enough food (unless Loki is secretly eating it all hahaha) Plus their raw eggs that they get every 2 - 3 days. I normally feed 2 eggs every 2 days but it's been a little hectic "on vacation". And they always eat every drop of the eggs.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2013 20:33:05 GMT -5
Sounds like things are going well. Have you tried upping the size of the meat pieces again?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2013 13:15:19 GMT -5
No not yet. I did, however, add an extra 3oz a few hours before their normal feeding time. They did not touch it BUT they ate it AND 9.5oz by the next morning. I guess they want to eat more than I'm giving them So I'll be increasing their portions. Going to keep feeding that extra 3 oz a few hours before - hopefully they finally get the hang of it.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2013 14:16:54 GMT -5
What a pair of little piggies. Here's what I gave mine today, some turkey necks cleavered into smaller chunks. They're willing to eat pretty large pieces of bone. I put some of these pork bones up in the freezer for another day. They chew them right down into little pieces.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2013 14:51:26 GMT -5
I wish mine were at that point - it would be easier than cutting up my meats into such tiny chunks!
I took Loki on his harness outside this morning (parent's have a large yard and Loki kept trying to stash the bowl Dexter was eating an egg out of) - I should have gotten a picture of his bottle brush tail! It was ridiculous.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2013 15:45:33 GMT -5
;D I can imagine! I need to drag some of mine out to play in the snow as soon as I kick this dang cold. Not all of mine will eat pieces, I have two that will only eat soup. Sooo frustrating to be stuck in the same place because I haven't been able to find something they'll eat.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2013 16:34:47 GMT -5
Finally back home in Columbia.
Oh my lord that trip was horrible. And the packing/unpacking. Ugh!
I'll have to see if they eat during the day now that they have their normal cage & hidey hole.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2013 9:04:05 GMT -5
Gotta love the stress of traveling. At least ferrets seem to enjoy it. My dog always hated going anywhere.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2013 11:28:55 GMT -5
The ferrets do very well traveling. The Super Pet cage is small enough that it fits (just barely) on the backseat of my car so they have a pretty comfy ride. The dog does well too, he just sleeps the entire time on the passenger seat or looks out the window. The cat, however, meows very violently the entire ride. I mean she makes it sound like she's in PAIN. She has a pretty big kennel to ride in and a comfy bed/a couple nip toys but that doesn't seem to help her. Meow, meow, meow. Then when we got home last night she was acting odd. Stayed downstairs. Started meowing, like she was going insane (she isn't a vocal cat at all). I went to "talk" to her and see if I could get her to come upstairs and she squatted down and took a poo on my new leather sofa.
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