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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2013 0:08:49 GMT -5
I weighed Alto now just after he ate and I really had to make him eat just kept putting it on the spoon till he refused lol So he ate about 1oz of food. I also cut the pork into larger pieces and added it. About the size of my pinky nail and thicker. They didn't notice so that's good.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2013 0:16:43 GMT -5
I would love to take the bunch camping. We go tent camping but miss our babies so much! Someday I'd like to get a motorhome so they could come with us. That's the only way I would feel secure. For now they go to "camp" at the local ferret shelter (they all came from there so it's like going home for a visit).
If they are eating the majority of their food, lets give some variety a try. Keep with the same amount of chicken mush, but start increasing the amount of pork and reducing the amount of chicken chunks. Same small slivers of pork but more of them. Is Alto reverse seasoned by chance? the others seem to be doing well but he may want a different protein. So much chicken can be boring for them...you may find that he eats more of something else that has a better for texture to him.
While we are doing this for the next few days, lets discuss the other protein options. Can you remind me what other protein sources you have available to you? Also, one more piece of homework....if you can, over the next couple of days...sit and watch them eat. When they eat the chicken chunks, are they chewing with the side of their mouths? or just swallowing? At this point it's still okay to put a little water in with the chicken and pork. One step at a time! They will get there. They will always love soup, but eventually they will not need the water to eat the meal, or it will be replaced by the blood of whatever they are eating.
It sounds like they are progressing nicely! (dance)
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2013 2:08:53 GMT -5
Well that's nice you can take them to the shelter for a few days, at least you know they are safe! We are going to Hawaii in March for 2 weeks and I hope my friend can take them...she's had a couple ferrets before, but I don't know if she's willing to take on the raw feeding. I trust my ferrets with her so if she can't take them I have no idea what I'll do.
What do you mean by reversed seasoned? I don't think he is...he's a marshall ferret. The first 2 weeks he was eating raw, he gained just over 1 lb! I couldn't believe it. Now he's slowing down and not eating as much. So maybe he does just need a change. I'll slowly keep adding more and more of the pork.
As for other protein, we have pork, turkey, possibly duck (I seen a frozen duck on sale in the flyer I might get to try). I still have to call the Asian store and see about quail. And I think that's about it. I have been watching them eat at night when I feed them and can watch more and I know Mika chews off to the side for sure. Donut does sometimes too and sometimes chews slightly then swallows. And Alto chews off to the side if it's a bigger chunk, but mostly chews slightly then swallows. I don't know if hes swallowing whole or what. But I'll watch the chewing part more closely the next couple days and see how they all do it.
Donut's poops are still squirty at times. I checked one tonight and it looked like a small white chunk almost like a piece of fat or something in it and the rest was diarrhea. I've been adding about 1/2 tsp of eggshell to every 3.5oz meal. Should I add more? Is there a such thing as too much eggshell/calcium?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2013 15:39:57 GMT -5
When I took mine to the shelter for "camp" I asked if she would feed them. She said that I just needed to give her good directions and she would do whatever I wanted. I prepacked all of their meals and marked what day to feed what and when to wash the bowl. She was good with it. One thing I was thinking of though was "what if they don't want to feed raw". I got them used to an alternative food...I used Ziwipeak venison...it's a dehydrated raw food. They like it and it's good to have around in an emergency. It's not really great to give all the time but makes for good treats or some other kind of emergency.
Seasonally backward- some ferrets get winter coats in the summer. I believe that it has to do with when they are born. I have one of those and he was so fat all summer, he was just miserable! So for those fuzzies, they are now starting to lose their extra weight (at least in our part of the world anyway). You mentioned that Alto was gaining a bunch of weight when you first started feeding them raw. When was that? Do you have any weight history for him from before you started feeding raw? I'd be interested to know what he weighed this time last year.
They way they are eating is good! As long as they chew some on the side of their mouths, that means that they are using those side teeth to cut the food up. Keep watching for a little bit if you can...I find it fascinating to watch them. I noticed that mine even do that now if they eat an egg...they sort of cut it up using their side teeth rather than just swallowing. That is what they need to do in order to eat larger pieces of meat.
You can have too much eggshell, but it's more like their poos will become too hard and then it hurts them to pass their stool. Whenever you give them new foods, you can expect some runny poos. Is his poo brown rather than yellow now? We are changing things up a bit for them these days, so runny poo can be expected. I'm at work now so I can't check in my notebook about eggshell amounts and effects. Let me get back to you on that one when I get home.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2013 19:31:00 GMT -5
hmm..I don't think I've noticed Alto being like that, but it's not something that ever crossed my mind either. I know he was shedding pretty good about 3-4 weeks ago, way more than the other two. When I first started the raw it would have been the middle of July. I can't find the weight of him before raw, but I do have his weight for August 2 and it was 2lb 7oz so in grams that was 1224g. As for their weights last year I know I wrote them down somewhere I just can't find them. I'm gonna talk to the boyfriend and see what he thinks about the reverse seasoned. I know in febuary/march of this year he lost alot of weight for no reason. It's amazing how sharp those teeth are in the back! A couple chews and the chicken is right in half. Donut's poop is still a yellow slightly green color still. Sometimes it is a brown poop tho.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2013 21:01:32 GMT -5
By chance, do you know when Alto was born?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2013 22:13:37 GMT -5
January 2009 We got Alto and Donut at the same time
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2013 22:17:04 GMT -5
How old were they when you got them? I love those names. hehehe Donut makes me giggle.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2013 22:43:43 GMT -5
They were probably around 12 weeks old when we got them. They were just new at the pet store. The boyfriend named the boys Everyone laughs at Donut's name hehe it really is a cute name
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2013 23:59:33 GMT -5
I've been thinking about it and I've been wondering....Is Alto's fur getting sleek and shiny...a little shorter perhaps? Does he usually get fatter and fluffier in the summer and then slim down in the winter? Is he getting more playful now? More energy?
Lets try something.... Can you hand feed him (or spoon feed) tomorrow night...make just his favorite soup with no chunks. Measure what he eats...I want to make sure that he's getting enough food and the others aren't eating it all and leaving him not enough. BTW....I don't think that's what is going on. I really do suspect now, after all that you have said, that he's reversed seasoned. If that is the case, the weight loss is normal and we can continue along our path.
Thanks!!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2013 1:03:21 GMT -5
yes his hair is getting shorter! wow II just thought it was just a normal shed...didn't know there was a such thing as reverse seasoned ferrets. This would make sense tho. He's the only ferret that I notice that sheds so much. I don't notice more energy much yet...he has crazy hyper days and then sleepy days. I spoon feed him every night by himself but I'll make it soupier just for him tomorrow night.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2013 1:04:35 GMT -5
how have I not heard of this reverse seasoned before...? crazy
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2013 1:26:11 GMT -5
I know it's crazy, huh!?!?! Some ferrets, if born in winter rather than spring, get their seasons all mixed up. But the bonus is you always have one fat, fluffy one! I have one...Mickey he was HUGE this summer! Poor guy. LOL But I just love those big fat boys! They are so nice to cuddle. I bury my face in his fat little neck...so cushy! You will notice it more now that you are weighing them periodically. The great thing about that is next year, you know what to expect. It's a great way to keep tabs on them in case something goes wrong....you know right away. It doesn't always stay that way...sometimes they will correct themselves later on. But as long as you have a summer weight and a winter weight, you can tell what is going on. I have a diary that I keep all my ferret's weights in. I also keep notes on their behavior and medicines, and questions for the vet. It's a nice reference when I go to the vet...easier to remember things that way.
Yeah, if you could just note how much he eats tomorrow, that will also tell us what the others are eating out of the whole meal. By the sounds of it, Donut and Mika are regular seasoned so they will be picking up their food consumption now while Alto will be decreasing his. If you find your records on his weight sometime last winter, that will give you a point of reference for this coming one.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2013 23:07:16 GMT -5
My little Donut is always a fatty lol To me he's fat anyway, I've never had a chubby ferret like him, he's just so squishy haha.
Alright so I fed Alto with just chicken mush and added a bit of water and he ate it up good. It was 1.5oz of chicken but with the added water its 1.8 oz. Fed him till he was done and weighed what was left and it was 0.4oz. But when I normally hand feed him I feed him till he absolutely refuses so I'm constantly spooning any little extra mush there is on the plate, onto the spoon and he always licks it off. He probably would have eaten more tonight but just wanted to see how much he would eat till he wanted to run and play. So I didn't force him too much.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2013 23:37:00 GMT -5
Alto's really drooling like dripping drooling
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