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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2013 22:30:11 GMT -5
Honest mistake, given the circumstances and the stuff I was asking about! We're near Purdue so we get a lot of strange stuff around here. Kangaroo meat dog food is just one of the weird things we see on a regular basis... there are little oriental groceries next to mexican ones and korean ones and it's just really neat sometimes to just check out all the different stores... My babies all thank you for the help tonight Ducky, Chucky, Hoppy, and Digger
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2013 22:36:23 GMT -5
The question is not idiotic. Three days of junk food will not hurt your ferret. I suspect the biggest threat to feeding them something different is that they may not eat it.
Here are possibile problems that could develop if your ferrets are not eating the kangaroo kibble:
If your ferrets refuse the food for 3 days (or eat very little) they could develop a bit of hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease). This could result in elevated liver enzymes and liver damage. That being said, the liver tends to heal itself in healthy, younger individuals.
Of more immediate risk, if your ferrets have a mild case of insulinoma or go for days without any nutrition, they may experience low blood sugar episodes. Ferrets can crash and become very lethargic (seemingly lifeless) if this happens. they require sugar (karo syrup, suagr, honey) to bring them out of the "low blood sugar cras". But this must be immediately followed up with a high protein meal. Left untreated, a ferret with a blood sugar problem can seizure, go into coma and die.
In a nut shell, you want to make sure all of your ferrets are eating - watch each one carefully. If you run into a problem where one is not eating, I recommend that you buy a jar of the Gerbers second stage meat baby food. Most ferrets like the turkey or chicken. grind the kibble and mix a bit in twit the baby food and hand-feed the ferrets that are not eating. Most ferrets like the baby food.
I don't mean to sound harsh herewith the above information. I see that you care about your ferrets because you're asking good, responsible questions. Because you care, you will want to know what to watch for and why. Hopefully your guys will just eat the junk food, and you won't have to deal with any issues.
Please feel free to post if you have any questions or run into any issues. Everybody runs into situations they cannot control from time to time. It's called life. We'd rather support you through a bump in the road rather than criticize you - life can be very unpredictable.
-jennifer
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2013 22:44:13 GMT -5
Jennifer that was not in the least bit harsh and it was VERY informative. Thank you.
My crew is all pretty young and healthy, but I have had ferrets with insulinoma before and quite frankly, that was part of my concern with the kibble. I know even healthy ferrets can show symptoms if they go for too long without eating.
I hadn't realized about possible liver damage.
It's looking semi okay, just need to get through to Thursday when the rescue opens up. And Friday, which is payday, will have them a brand new bag of Marshall's. It's the only thing the little darlings will eat, of the diff types of ferret specific kibble.
Thank you for a well thought out, kind response.
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Post by darlene on Jan 16, 2013 0:40:31 GMT -5
I can get kangaroo here at one of the Raw pet food stores. ;D Also I don't really think 2-3 days of the food you have is really going to do any harm
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Post by Sherry on Jan 16, 2013 1:20:09 GMT -5
One thing you will never get here is flamed Not allowed. And sh*t happens! Might be an idea though to get them used to a raw meat soup on a weekly basis so if this ever happens again, your local grocers will give you what you need to tide you over We did have a fellow who'd run out of food and cash, but had lots of meat in his freezer. Fuzz were hand fed a meat soup and stayed on raw after that
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2013 3:18:32 GMT -5
If they like the chicken baby food it sounds like they'd like raw meat! I've never had no money until payday, but I'm finding it much more economical to feed my single raw food. I mean, a single bag of kibble is $28 here. That amount will buy enough meat and protein for several months.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2013 3:39:03 GMT -5
I second the raw...marshall's kibble..how do you stand the smell?
I rescued a ferret fed marshalls and the smell about knocked you over. It lasted over a month after moving him to a higher quality food and it permeated everything. You're a brave ferrent.
Raw is cheaper though and healthier. I was feeding a very high quality kibble (Wellness CORE) and after the switch the difference was still amazing.
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