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Post by Heather on Mar 17, 2013 18:43:03 GMT -5
Name:Gabriel Rodrigues HF Forum Username:Gaberodriges14
1. Where did you first learn about natural diets for ferrets? Searched online best diet for them then found this wonderful forum what convince me it actually is the best for them.
2. Please describe the type of diet you would like assistance in switching your ferret(s) to. Be sure to include if you are interested in feeding whole prey (live or frozen-thawed) and if you are wanting to FULLY switch to a natural diet or PARTIALLY. If you are unsure what kind of diet you want to put your ferrets on, please express that and we can help you find the best type of natural diet for your ferret. I would like him to be on a FULLY natural diet consisting of eating live prey on some days and raw meat on the others.
3. Why are you interested in switching your ferrets to a natural diet? I know it is the best for them and they were made to eat raw not factory made food.
4. Do you understand that switching your ferret to a natural diet can be a lengthy, arduous process? Its not an overnight switch. It can be a commitment of several weeks or even months. Your HF Mentor will be more then happy to assist you in switchng your ferret(s) to a natural diet, but you need to be equally as commited. If you aren't willing to tough out a potentially lengthy switching process, or if you have major life changes approaching (baby on the way, moving, starting school, getting married/divorced, etc) then it might be a better idea to wait on switching your ferret's diet until you have more time. Are you willing to make the commitment? Yes i am willing to make the time commitment because i know it will be the best for him.
5. How many ferrets do you currently have? What are their names? Ages? Genders? Do they have any health problems? Are they overweight? Underweight? How long have you had each ferret for? I have one 2-3 year old Albino male named simon. He currently weights around 4 pounds.
6. What diet do you currently feed your ferrets? (Please include all treats, supplements, etc) He has been on a Zupreme grain free diet 42% protien 18% fat since i have got him (5 months ago) and no treats as he will not eat any and the lady that owned the organization that i rescued him from had told me he had never eaten them.
7. Have you ever tried to switch your ferrets to a natural diet in the past? If yes, what happened? I am trying right now, i gave him a live mouse and he made a clean kill then ate the inner organs.
8. What additional information about yourself or your ferrets would you like to share? I will do what is best for my ferret just need some guiding.
9. How often during the week do you have access to a computer? Everyday, I have my phone on me 24/7.
10. Please post a picture of each of your ferrets (if possible). Right now i dont have one like the ones you guys need so i will take one when he wakes up
Hi and welcome to the mentoring program . In a little while your mentor (Hurricanekatt) will introduce herself and you can get started on a new adventure in natural ferret care and diets. Please remember to post regularly (daily or as per arranged with your mentor) so that your mentor can assist you move along safely in this adventure. If you experience computer difficulties or are going to be away, please notify your mentor and most of all relax and have fun . Your mentor is here to help you on this journey. ciao
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Post by katt on Mar 17, 2013 18:55:36 GMT -5
Name: Katt HF Screen Name: hurricanekatt
Location: Anchorage, Alaska Skpye name: hurricane.katt – I am on Skpye a lot so feel free to pop in and chat, or ask questions you want a quick answer to.
I became a mentor because... I really like helping people (hence the whole wanting to be a doctor thing ) and animals. I am a strong supporter of a natural diet and probably bore most people that I meet to death ranting about raw diet and why it is the best way to go…this way I can rant to someone who actually cares!
About My Ferrets: Koda – male, Real Canadian, I got him when he was about 8 weeks old when I bought him in December 2009, Sable. I gave him raw the second he came home and he immediately ripped into it and started hissing to keep me away from his tasty prize! Neither of us has ever looked back. He is a real trouble maker and is pretty well known around the forums as such. He is my first ferret and he has forced me to learn and learn FAST! He has managed to eat several foreign objects, and is constantly finding new trouble to get into (his nose has a rubber detector in it). He had to have an emergency blockage surgery, which (we believe) ended up being the catalyst that resulted in his IBD. He loves digging the carpet up, or more recently chewing it, has a very serious oral fixation (if his mouth can stretch wide enough for his teeth to touch it – he will chew it), he will rearrange the room to reach things, has learned how to levitate, and is an all around little monster. He is also very strongly bonded to my boyfriend and I, and can be a huge love bug. When the endless energy is finally burned off, he will curl up in our laps, give us kisses, and fall asleep. As you can tell, I have this problem where I can’t stop talking about him or taking pictures of him… He has IBD which we struggled to get control of (and finally succeeded!) with diet. At about 18 months of age he started showing signs of juvenile adrenal disease. We began with monthly Lupron shots and eventually put him on Deslorelin.
Kneai: male, Silber/Black Roan Mitt. I brought Kenai home towards the end of November 2010 when he was about 7-8 weeks old. He is also eating 100% raw diet, whole prey, franken prey, meaty bones you name it! He was a tiny little bag of bones when I brought him home, but he eats like a pig and grows like a weed! He is now huge and rolly-polly! definitely a little porker - he can barely make it out of his rice box because he is so bottom heavy. lmao He finally started shedding some fur and a little winter weight and is slimming up, but he is still a clumsy critter. haha He loves, LOVES toys and is a loveable, goofy little guy and has been helping to keep Koda company and burn off each others energy! He's definitely a little spaz - I thought Koda was until I got Kenai! He's a bit of a simpleton. He has trouble finding the potty box a lot, and he doesn’t learn very fast. He also is much less physically adept at things – he has trouble climbing and getting into/onto/out of things. He is sloooowly figuring out how to control his floppy body, but he definitely has some developmental delays. But, we love him just the same.
About My Natural Feeding Experience: I've been feeding raw since December 2009 when I brought Koda home. Thanks to this forum, I was ready for a fuzzball to come home with my freezer stocked with meats! I gave him a raw chicken wing his first night home and that was the end of that! He is fed frankenprey, f/t rodents, and live prey. Unfortunately, his diet is somewhat restricted because of his IBD, but we've finally got a bit of variety back in. I have been reading and learning since before I brought Koda home and learned a lot from the people here on the forum. I am always on the forum, and various websites trying to learn more about ferrets in general, and especially raw diet. My boys are healthy, energetic, have super soft fur, and smell so good that people regularly comment, asking me what perfume or spray I sprayed them (esp Koda) with! I love telling them: Thanks to a raw diet - he just smells that good naturally! When Kenai first came home he had been eating Marshall's kibble and his poops were HUGE and smelled...awful doesn't even come close to describing it! Now he smells much better and his scraggly coat has been replaced by a luxurious pile of fur.
Type of Mentor: Full switches only! I feed frankenprey, raw meats, bone-in meats, ground meats, frozen/thawed rodents, live prey, and recently added (for treats and supplemental) freeze dried raw and commercially ground raw. I have never fed kibble so I can’t help with picking a good kibble…
My Specialty: Trouble makers! Especially only ferrets, and kits. I focus on full switches to raw – no more kibble!
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Post by katt on Mar 17, 2013 18:55:52 GMT -5
Welcome to your switch! Let's get started with a full run down of your current diet and feeding routine. When do you feed, how often, do you free feed or offer meals, exactly what are they each eating right now (part kibbble, part raw soupies, chicken and pork, etc etc)? The more details you can give me the better.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2013 19:03:54 GMT -5
Hello katt and thank you in advance I free feed Simon. He always has his bowl with zupreme grain free pellets. Every morning I take out what he hasn't eaten from the day before and put more in. That is all he is eating. He won't take anything else, not even treats!
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Post by katt on Mar 18, 2013 12:43:13 GMT -5
And what about Tank?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2013 20:26:00 GMT -5
Tank is great, As soon as i put it in his bowl he ran over and immediatly started eating. It was cute because he took it over to his bed, titlted his head, winked a eye, started chewing then swallowed. Im in love with him I wish simon was as easy to switch. He will literally rather starve to death than try something other than zupreme grain free pellets. Btw i have given tank cutup slices of pork, chucks of chicken, Chicken on a little bne, and chicken skin. I have not given him a whole chicken wing but i am going to put one in his cage tomorrow before school and hopefully get home to it all eaten(Except the bone as i think he is to young to crush and eat it)
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2013 15:41:17 GMT -5
Also when can i transfer him to all raw? Can i do it now? He eats it with no problem and seems to enjoy it
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2013 20:23:37 GMT -5
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Post by katt on Mar 20, 2013 1:01:27 GMT -5
Also when can i transfer him to all raw? Can i do it now? He eats it with no problem and seems to enjoy it Yes. As long as he eats it with no problems, you can put him on full raw. We will start working on a menu for him so that you can ensure that he is on a balanced diet. This will eventually be the same menu that Simon is on when he has switched. Have you tried organs? Heart? You mentioned the chicken wing, how did that go? The more you introduce him to while he is a kit the easier things will be down the road. Right now let's make sure he will willingly eat everything he needs, and then we will begin his menu making. You need him to eat chunks of heart, chunks of liver, bones, and a variety of proteins (check!). You have the proteins (3 minimum is the hard rule, but more is always better. i.e. pork, chicken, beef) so now let's try heart, organs (liver, kidney, spleen, brain, etc), and bones. You may need to break the bones up a bit at first to give him a starting point. It takes a little bit of time to build up the jaw and neck muscles to eat whole bones, and even then the bigger ones usually need to be broken such as chicken leg bones and turkey wings. Chicken wings are usually the easiest bone to start with. Try these and let me know how he does with each. Don't be sorry! That is exactly what I am here for! Feed Tank as MUCH as he will eat. Ferrets self regulate. A ferret that overeats on a raw diet is VERY rare. Kits are growing tummies with teeth! They eat a LOT more than an adult ferret. The best rule of thumb is to always feed so that at the end of the day (and night) there is a little bit left. That way you always know he got his fill. For each ferret (esp babies) this is different, though the average is I believe 2-4 oz of meat. I never weigh my meats, so I'm not super sure there. MY adult boys probably eat Roughly a half a cup of meat each per meal.
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Post by katt on Mar 20, 2013 1:06:05 GMT -5
Now onto Simon. Have you ever offered him kibble soup? This will be the first step - getting him used to the texture. You can make kibble soup by allowing kibble to soak in warm water for a few minutes (softens the kibble and preserves your blender while making a more homogeneous soup) and then blending it. Try hand feeding the soup first to see if he will eat it. If he seems reluctant, you can put some on your finger and gently scruff and stuff him. Once he eats it willingly off of your finger, progress to a spoon, then a bowl in your lap, then eating it on his own. Since this is the same food he is already eating, it usually isn't difficult and doesn't take long for them to eat on their own. Some do right away, and then there are of course the occasional stubborn ones. Give the kibble soup a try and let me know how he does. The more water you add the thinner the soup will be. They usually like it on the thinner side, but remember that we will eventually be thickening it back up, so if he will eat it at a pudding-like consistency that is good. IF he needs it more watered down than that that is okay for now. Give that a try and let me know how he does!
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Post by katt on Mar 20, 2013 1:06:26 GMT -5
And please do not hesitate to ask lots of questions. That is what I am here for!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2013 5:27:47 GMT -5
I have tried chicken liver and heart with tank. He ate the liver no problem but the heart wasn't his favorite. He ate one chunk then he moved the rest to the side. This morning I put a chicken there for him, it was almost like the back so it had a little bone but not super thick. Hopefully he can crush those and eats it. Then there is some more loose chicken chunks. For Simon I will try to make the soup, what ingredients do I need? I bet I have everything I just have never made it so I don't know :$
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Post by katt on Mar 20, 2013 5:44:50 GMT -5
Right now it's just kibble soup. Kibble and water. I want to see how he does with the texture change first. We'll start with one change at a time.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2013 5:47:51 GMT -5
Ok when I get home I will try that and let you know I thank you so much in advance.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2013 20:11:00 GMT -5
Something happened that i didnt expect, but not in a bad way. So when i put meat in tanks bowl i have to spread it with my fingers because if its just in a pile he thinks its just one huge chunk and wont even try eating it. My fingers had the smell and the taste of raw chicken on them. I leaned on Simons cage as i bent down to get something and he started licking my fingers viciously. Like he normally never licks them but today he licked and licked and wouldnt stop. I then thought "Hey, why not try something" so i grabbed a tiny chunk of meat offered him it and.....HE ATE IT!!!! but then...i gave him a little more. He tried to chew it but he couldnt (i dont know why it was small) so instead he liked it alot and then brought to his little sleeping place. He did this before when i tried gving him raw, he brings it to his place and never eats it. Now a question for tank, he seems to get intimadated when the meat is in 1 big pile or if i put a hole wing or leg in there. He wont even try it, but if i cut small chunks he eats it fine..
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