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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2013 23:16:49 GMT -5
Today for breakfast Javik had a chicken back bone with some extra meat to equal 2oz. (I messed up my schedule this week, will go back to my original plan on Monday). For dinner he is having a smashed chicken wing with some beef blood. He spent about 10 hours out of the cage today, most of it was in his play pen while I cleaned, frequently we played around though. He loves chasing my hand around, and tonight he got three new toys. One is a cat toy, it's a stuffed toy (mouse shaped) attached to an elastic string on a stick, he LOVES this, played for a long time with it. He also got two large stuffies, a hippo and a monkey. They're the kind with an abnormally long torso like a ferret would, they're pretty large for him, but by the time he's fully grown they should be a pretty good size for him.
His weight today was about 883-893 grams (he was really squirmy and my scale wouldn't calm down). Is this a safe amount of weight gain? If it sounds unusual I can try weighing him again while he is sleeping.
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Post by Sherry on Apr 12, 2013 9:27:57 GMT -5
Since he's a baby he's going to pack the weight on fairly quickly, so yes- that's normal And it sounds like he's doing well with his meat Just make sure to feed him enough! Babies can eat a LOT. If he's finishing what you've given then add more in.
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Post by Sherry on Apr 12, 2013 9:29:02 GMT -5
Now is also the time to introduce as much variety as possible. Pork, beef, quail, duck, turkey, even whole prey if you are going to feed that. Also heart, liver, and whatever other organs you can find.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2013 9:34:17 GMT -5
He has been leaving a couple chunks of meat when I take his den to add his next meal so I haven't upped the quantity yet. I have a Cornish game hen that I'll be butchering today or tomorrow to add some variety and will probably buy some duck or turkey next time I go shopping. Maybe some mice when I go to the pet store next as well. Heart and organ meals are on the menu for over the weekend
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Post by Sherry on Apr 12, 2013 9:59:31 GMT -5
Sounds like you've got it well in hand
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2013 10:39:37 GMT -5
I hope I do! But it's only my first week, I hope I can keep up with all of this on the long haul lol not going to lie, I have gotten confused with what I'm doing a couples times now, but I just refer back to old threads on here
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2013 11:27:05 GMT -5
I'm looking for a new litter box ATM, I have a corner one that, for now, fits Javik really well, but obviously he's growing and I know I need a full size one. Should I get a cat sized box, or will ones designed for ferrets be better because of the high walls? The two I'm thinking about getting will probably be ordered from Drsfostersmith.com since there are a few other things I'm interested in ordering from there as well. Their two options both sound great, there's the Marshall's high wall, which I like because ALL of the walls are high, or there's the lock on one, which I love because Javik really enjoys trying to move his box around (I have it attached to the cage with zip ties, but he still manages to move it a bit because they're not super tightly attached. Has anyone used both or either of these and have a recommendation for me? (Are they big enough for an adult ferret?)
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Post by Sherry on Apr 12, 2013 14:16:15 GMT -5
The blue square ones are big enough for most farm ferrets, but not all. I find with some of my boys I'm REALLY glad to have high backs. I never before realized just how high a ferret could get their butts when pooping
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2013 14:50:51 GMT -5
Haha I hope I won't have that trouble with Javik ;D also, I've noticed he definitely prefers using his dig box over his litter box I'm hoping it's because his litter box is too small and will be a quick and easy fix, but if it's not, it looks like I'll be returning my bag of Swheat Scoop... might just have to stick with rice for litter since he enjoys it so much lol this weekend I will be doing the training you suggested though, I'll lock off the top level and tie his food denied in one corner, litterbox in another, a hanging toy, and his water dish in the other.
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Post by Sherry on Apr 12, 2013 17:38:22 GMT -5
For now, keep the rice bin out of bounds until he learns which one is the appropriate litter box
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2013 1:09:13 GMT -5
For breakfast Javik had some left over chicken wing from last night (I watched him eating the entire thing minus two little slivers without stashing it ) with an egg yolk and about an ounce of pork meat. For dinner he got the remaining 3 ounces (he hasn't touched much of it- I'm expecting to see a lot left in the morning). His stool has varied throughout the day. Early on the morning it was nicely formed with plenty of bone matter, but the second one was yellow and foamy, almost mousse like. It lasted for two poops before he had some more chicken so I'm thinking it was probably the egg yolk since he's never had it before. I had a friend over today, she absolutely loves him we spent a lot of time with him out in the living room. He chased the cat toy I got him yesterday around, dooking the entire time, and when he would catch the mouse at the end of the string I would tug a little bit as if it were fighting back and watch him give it a death shake and roll. Once he even hissed at it! Lol he definitely convinced me that he will probably be quite the hunter once I'm ready to provide him some live mice (as if the already dead animals I've had to butcher lately that DIDN'T have eyes staring at me weren't bad enough...lol) Tomorrow will be my big cleaning day, going to clear out my room and ferret proof it so he can roam around in here without a play pen. And this reminded me of a question, I'll be cleaning his bedding tomorrow, and I know ferrets are sensitive to essential oils so what should I be washing his bedding in? I normally use a homemade, fragrance free detergent for my clothes, but I think I've run out so I might only have store bought detergent. Is that stuff safe, or should I make a batch of homemade tomorrow and use some vinegar as well? Same question about dryer sheets, should I just leave it out since it's a heavily fragranced brand? And here's a pic, just because I know everyone loves so pics. He crashed as soon as I put him in the play pen after playing lol
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Post by Sherry on Apr 13, 2013 1:29:48 GMT -5
Squeeeee OMG he's SO precious Yeah, with the laundry you can always toss a cup of vinegar into the wash, and 1/2 cup baking soda into the rinse if you like I wind up using whatever's on sale most of the time
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2013 0:33:23 GMT -5
Today was liver day. I finally found a meat Javik does not like lol I watched him for a little bit this morning when I gave him his food... he ate a chunk, closed his eyes really tight in a grimace and it looked like he gagged or dry heaved at the taste lol. Poor guy, I can't blame him for not liking it, the stuff smells awful. He also got a chicken wing with his liver to balance the stool as you suggested, Sherry. As of tonight he has eaten most of the liver, probably only because he's starving :/ hasn't had much of the chicken wing, but he does eat a lot while I'm sleeping so in hoping he'll finish the liver and get a good amount of bone tonight. Today was also cleaning day for me. I was able to thoroughly clean my bedroom and ferret proof it. Now all that is on my floor is heavy furniture. His cage got cleaned as well, I was able to find enough scrap fabric to cover his bottom level, blocked off the top, and filled all of the corners. He was pretty frustrated with this and kept trying to move the litter box out of the corner (I zip tied it pretty tightly ). He hasn't spent much time in his cage today, but the few hours he was in there he went in the litter box twice, never anywhere else in the cage. His play pen, on the other hand, he did decide to poop across the area from his litterbox lol... looks like I'll have to take that training one step at a time. Yet another thing added today, I started giving him time outs when he was being too aggressive during play time. He also got to meet my puppy and cat face to face outside of the play pen for the first time today. I waiting until everyone was in a calm and sleepy mood tonight then let him out so they could all sniff each other. They were always arms distance from me and I never turned my attention from them as my puppy in particular has a record with being too rough with other animals. I don't think he understands how much bigger he is than the rest of them and a lot of the time trips over my cat while they play. This encounter went pretty well, my cat, Gus, was very tolerant as Javik crawled all over him, sniffing him, licking his ears, etc. The puppy, Logan, was good as well, but I could tell he was tensed up and ready to jump up and play rough so after a few minutes (and a picture-will post) I put Javik back in the play pen.
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Post by Sherry on Apr 14, 2013 9:50:21 GMT -5
Sounds like things are going very well indeed I understand about that "liver face" ;D With the dog- they may not ever be able to fully interact. All it would take would be a single paw slap when playing, or a grab(even when meant gently), and the result would be tragedy.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2013 10:25:12 GMT -5
Unfortunately, I know. I would never trust Logan to play safely with Javik, but he's been really curious, so I haven't decided to let him see and sniff Javik only when he is at his calmest. And even then, I always have my hand on him or his collar, or have Javik in my lap. I would never let the two of them play though, it takes very little for Logan to go from gentle to accidentally stepping on something. Gus, however is very calm and got along really well with my previous ferrets who he had been around since he was a kitten. I still wouldn't let him around Javik unsupervised (I don't even let ferrets out unless I will be supervising them continuously).
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