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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2012 19:53:17 GMT -5
Button bones (or button "ribs") are the round flat bones located on the end of the back bone. Those are generally thin enough to be edible. My other mentee had success with her ferrets with smashed cow and oxtail, but you ALWAYS have to smash and mangle it, else it's too much for the ferret to eat. With these bones, too, you have to monitor the ferret and make sure he is consuming the bone instead of just stripping it.
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2012 23:52:37 GMT -5
I have seen oxtail at my grocery store and I have a meat smashing tool. Today my son in law shot a rabbit and he saved me the heart and liver so that will change things up a bit too. Too bad they are heading to Alaska (Coastguard) because he is an avid sportsman and a good source of things like that. There are so many rabbits on our property that I considered hunting with Tomo but I wouldn't want to risk any harm or losing him. Also there are hawks, owls and coyotes that live nearby and depend on them for food. Nobody buys them game hens.
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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2012 11:09:07 GMT -5
I've heard stories of ferrets in the rabbit burrows curling up and falling asleep (and these were experienced hunters!), and the owners having to wait hours when trying to flush them didn't work. Our little ones have minds of their own, that's for sure But rabbit and oxtail, if he takes to them, will be great variety!
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2012 21:11:51 GMT -5
He did not like the beef liver. But he does like the game hen and seems to have no problem with it. He ate the rabbit heart but my son in law cooked up the rest of the rabbit on a camp fire--it was pretty tasty, I do have to admit. Do you feed whole baby rabbits? They are so cute and sweet looking, I really don't like the idea. But I was considering ordering from Hare Today.
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2012 23:15:58 GMT -5
I do, primarily to Rula and Neera, because they like rabbit meat. Out of my other business, only Hiko likes rabbit, so he doesn't get it often (I don't like wasting the poor animals). Right now, I have like itty-bitty baby rabbits (rodentpro), because while they like rabbit MEAT, they haven't yet tried whole prey rabbit, so I'm starting them at the smallest and working them up to the adult. I admit, it's a bit odd, feeding whole prey - especially things like rats, rabbits and guinea pigs. I love rats as pets, and I've had rabbits and guinea pigs as pets before. It can be startling and sad to see, but I know it's keeping my guys healthy and happy, and that can only be a good thing
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2012 23:38:46 GMT -5
Sorry I haven't checked in for a while. My computer decided to die so I had to do a restore and it takes forever to get everything updated and reinstalled Tomo is doing well and he weighs 2.5 lbs now. I followed the same diet as last week except added game hen and beef liver. He didn't eat the beef liver. Should I just keep trying it on him? He really likes the game hen. Tonight I'm giving him some of the little fishes from the Korean market. And I gave him an egg. He ate it all up except for the shell. He is doing better with the bone in. With bigger bones I smash them up a bit with my meat tenderizer thingy. His poo gets a little loose when he eats heart but otherwise it has looked good. Only a couple times did it look like he wasn't digesting well.
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2012 22:51:36 GMT -5
That's great Have you tried adding the liver in with soup? I'd follow the recipe that's posted on the forum (foregoing canned food, etc), or just try blending meat, eggshell, liver and something like canned pumpkin/boiled and mashed squash/squash baby food) to it. That might be a better way to work him up to eating it (or you can try - if you can find it - turkey or pork liver. Those tend to be lighter). (also sorry on my end for the delay, I didn't see your update!)
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2012 0:10:52 GMT -5
Hey, no problem. Just getting back online today anyhow. Computer still pretty sketchy. I will try your suggestion with the beef liver. I gave him a fuzzy rat last night and he only ate the head--very disappointing, but at least he got the brain.
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2012 1:36:03 GMT -5
None of my guys were really instant whole prey eaters. They only really took to it when I switched them completely to whole prey - then they really didn't have a choice. My guys don't like hunger pains ;D
You can try chopping up a fuzzy and adding it into a meal, sometimes that cons them into eating more of it (just, try doing it when it's still frozen. Less mess.) Or, let him get a bit hungry and see if he's more willing to go for it.
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2012 19:00:00 GMT -5
Tomo is doing well. He didn't gain much over the last week but he didn't lose any weight either. I suppose he will be slowing down his growth now. He is eating well but I am a little concerned now about his poo because it isn't consistent. I guess it depends on what he eats. It is almost always well formed and brown (but its really dark when he eats liver or heart and a couple times it was yellowish like baby poo). But then when I take a closer look (which I never bothered to do until you asked about it) it always looks a little undigested unless he eats liver or something without a lot of body to it. When I gave him pumpkin it came out looking almost just like pumpkin, only squeezed from a tube. Sometimes it looks seedy, sometimes mucousy. He acts like he feels great. So I'm not real concerned but I want him to be in the best condition possible.
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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2012 22:32:21 GMT -5
As it is now, it doesn't sound like anything much is going, but just to clarify - how often do the "sometimes" mucous/seedy stool occur? About 1x/week? Two or three? Do you notice it's mostly after you feed one type of protein? Or after meat meals or bone?
The darker poos are completely normal with liver/organ and heart. Softer poos, too, are normal when there's no bone. It's also normal, when fed larger quantities of pumpkin (over a half teaspoon/teaspoon) to have it come out looking the same (there's nothing there they can use as nutrients, being obligate carnivores, it's just a good flusher/stool bulker, etc).
Bone in the stool can make it look undigested (and that's not anything to worry over), even a lot of fat can do the same. You can try getting him on a regimen of probiotics, as well. I use benebac, and use a 1/2g tube a week/ferret if there's no GI flaring (used to have a ferret with IBD, and still have one that has semi frequent GI upsets).
Like I said, it can still be just the transition and experiencing new foods; slight stress can do this too, or he may be mildly sensitive. Right now, if it's not a complete mess (high stink, completely liquid or otherwise highly unusual) I'd continue just getting his diet and menu refined.
If this continues or worsens, you can isolate foods. Feed one protein for a week or two, see how he reacts, and if he's fine, keep it in, or if he worsens, take it out of his diet. Continue that til all the proteins you feed have been tested.
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Post by Deleted on May 19, 2012 0:43:45 GMT -5
okay I will pay close attention to how he reacts to what he eats. Like I said, he acts like he feels great.
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2012 19:26:33 GMT -5
ok, I am going to start an official food/poo diary for Tomo and report to you. I think his GI tract is off and needs something to balance it out. All weekend his poo has looked pretty weird. Friday night he ate fish and it was dark and seedy. Saturday morning he had cubed pork with eggshell powder and Saturday night and this morning he had chicken wings. This afternoon his poo was light colored and seedy/mucousy. My son said he made a little noise when he pooped so I hope he wasn't saying ouch. He is his usual crazy self running all over the house looking for trouble and ambushing people.
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2012 9:34:45 GMT -5
Sunday pm: chicken hearts/cubed pork; poo: brown then almost black with chunks of bone and chunks of undigested meat up to 1/8 inch. Energy level off the charts.
Monday am: chicken liver/gizzard cut into pieces--only ate the liver; poo: very dark brown, the consistency of pudding. Energy as usual.
Monday pm: game hen wing cut into 3 parts, game hen thigh smashed up with meat tenderizer--only ate one section of the wing and only part of that bone; poo firmer, brown, mucousy. Energy as usual (crazy man!)
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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2012 22:14:38 GMT -5
Like I said in the pm, these are very strange symptoms you're describing! Has Tomo been checked out by a vet?
As to the food, on Sunday - did he get bone in the morning? And was he eating it throughout the day? I'd assume so, because you say the bone showed up in the stool, but if he didn't? Then it's something resembling bone bits but not.
Have you gotten a hold of shower hooks? We need something to slow him down with his food, maybe, and that's your best bet right now.
Also, have there been any other changes taking place around Tomo? Anything that could be stressful (he might not act stressed, but it may be coming out in his body's symptoms. Just want to analyze all the factors (or as many as we can) so we can narrow things down.
Ferrets on a raw diet do have varied poos, so some differences are normal (how the color fluctuates, etc). What is more concerning is the ongoing mucous and seedy appearance. Occasionally those things don't mean much, but on a frequent basis it's a bit more meaningful. Now for another odd question - how is the smell? Like, a normal odor, or is it a metallic odor or something unusual?
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