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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2013 13:46:47 GMT -5
That sucks that they're delaying it so much!! I really hope you get it tomorrow, waiting the weekend for it would suck...especially since it's frozen meat.
I'm glad Skeeter is back to normal again. It definitely sounds like he has a sensitivity at the very least. The salmon oil reaction is normal, but chicken is usually the easiest meat for ferrets to adjust to so there's definitely something up there. Skeeter in general sounds like a sensitive little guy lol
Hope you feel better soon!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2013 16:36:07 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2013 17:12:44 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2013 15:54:41 GMT -5
Yikes! Sucks that the delivery is taking SO long, glad you were able to get some rad cat though! Everyone's looking great Especially Rufus! He looks fantastic! Trigger and Skeeter look like they can use some more weight, but I do see an improvement They just might be slower gainers.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2013 23:09:31 GMT -5
They weren't eating as much with the chicken. Trigger is back to pigging out again. Skeeter is eating more and Candy too. Their poops were all solid and HUGE today. Just by that alone I can tell they're eating more. Just like kids, they eat more when they like their food.
Skeeter wouldn't let me clip his nails again. Everyone else had full mani/pedi today but not Skeeter. I got one nail clipped on his right hand lol. Oh well, maybe tomorrow. He did give me kisses on my hand when I said goodnight. Or maybe he was cleaning it. Candy does like to wipe her face on me at least once in the process. Maybe I just tasted good.
I wish I could say I was feeling better. The bronchitis is still here. My fever is gone but my head cold is getting worse. Still can't fully cuddle my babies and it's killing me. Tomorrow I get to pull out the fouton and clean up all of the poops they left for me.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2013 12:52:10 GMT -5
I have noticed chicken wings is probably one of the least favorite meals for my guys. Thankfully I've got many other bone-in options so it's not a big deal, it's just the cheapest lol. Their favorite is probably duck, of course it's one of the priciest things on the menu You might need your husband to help with Skeeter then. Before I found the coconut oil solution with Theia I would have my boyfriend come over and hold her while I carefully trimmed her nails. She normally doesn't like being held but for some reason she didn't do too bad with him. I think she might like men more lol Yuck, I get bronchitis flare ups every time I get sick thanks to a really bad case of it when I was a child. It's probably the worst part for me, tears my throat to death and lasts long after the cold has run its course. Getting sick so shortly after getting your babies especially sucks Still hoping for a recovery soon for you!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 13, 2013 11:13:34 GMT -5
Whoo, well both my November and December MPC orders came in as of this week. I now have PLENTY of food. It turns out Skeeter is a pickier eater than I thought. No matter what, I have to have some form of poultry grinds (duck, turkey, goose) in the bowl. I tried all rabbit and he turned his nose up. I also noticed that they like the soupie part better when I put a touch of Olive Oil in. I don't know if it is the flavor or consistency they prefer, but they like it better. I also started feeding them smaller portions, about 4 times a day, rather than 2 large portions twice a day. Skeeter seems skin and bones to me in comparison to Rufus and Trigger. I'm really hoping that having a food he likes for a month straight will fatten him up.
I did notice that unlike his normal, eat, dig and sleep routine, he was playing with Trigger. They were pouncing all over each other. Its the first time I've seen him do that. So either he is happier now that his tummy is full or Trigger was bugging him and he was playing in his own defense. Trigger is a brute when he plays. Definitely Waardy. He reminds me of children with Down Syndrome who accidentally hurt others because they don't know their own strength. Since Trigger is also deaf, he can't hear them squeaking at him when they've had enough. Rufus was not at the screaming stage yet but was squeaking so pitifully that I had to intervene earlier. He was like "mama please pick me up and get me out of here."
I am still sick. We are having round 2 in this house. Shawn is sick again and he gave it back to me again, just when I was starting to feel a little better. So, since I can't play with the babies like I want to, I'm planning sewing projects. I've enclosed the top of the FN cage with a large dark blanket so that they have a "dark room" to go to whenever they want to during the day. The window down here doesn't put off too much light, but sometimes you just want to sleep in the dark, so they have it if they want and they seem to be enjoying it. I thought that with the inclusion of the "dark room" I would custom make a sleep sack that took up half of the top of the cage. They love snuggling up in the cubes but they can only really fit 2 of them comfortably.
We're still on the same diet, except as per your suggestion, I only bought whole ground animals and hearts for my December order. I do have a significant amount of organs (Liver, Spleen, Pancreas) and the Green Tripe. I figured I'd save those in the event that I have a grind order come in late again. This way, I can provide a well balanced meal using the organs and eggshells in the event that I don't have grinds. I was really upset with this UPS delay because I know they didn't eat as well as they normally do for that week and it made a huge difference. Skeeter is super skinny again and even Trigger and Candy lost weight. The only one not affected was Rufus because he will eat anything.
So, I know I owe you pictures and weight but I'm just so sick again. Its taking everything out of me to feed, clean, and keep nails clipped. I'll see what I can come up with for you this weekend.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 13, 2013 12:31:56 GMT -5
Don't worry about the pictures and weights, your descriptions are good enough for me to know where they are currently I think it would be a good idea to just keep them on a diet of their favorite foods for a while until everyone is at an even and consistent weight and body mass. Every once in a while, if you feel comfortable with it, you can add one of the less enjoyed meats to a meal and experiment with that to see if you can find a way to get them to eat it. Sometimes it just takes persistence to get them to like something, other times they just don't like something. It's hugely a trial and error process. Some days my guys devour their meal, others they ignore almost entirely. Javik is a Waardy, he definitely acts like that sometimes. He's very deaf (yet somehow he's always the first awake and greeting me when I walk into the room), sometimes Theia squeaks while playing with him, but she's very head strong and can get herself away from him pretty well when she's had enough. She's not really the playing type, and rarely dooks, which is one reason why I can't wait to get my next (and likely last) ferret in the summer. I was supposed to get a kit from a local breeder (Nancy Park of ferretown) but there were only two females available by the time I contacted her and they were both too good for her to let go of lol, so I'm first up on her waiting list for this up coming breeding season and get first pick I'm hoping for a slightly rambunctious boy who will play with Javik since I know Theia can hold her own against almost anyone. I, thankfully, have never hard a ferret scream yet, I'm hoping I never will. Getting sick back to back sounds awful! I'm glad you thought of something to do to occupy yourself though I love making bedding, but I unfortunately don't having a sewing machine anymore. My two LOVE their cuddle bed, it's a round, stuffed bed that they sleep in probably 85% of the time, the rest of the time they sleep in their deep corner hammock. Sometimes I even put a sleep sack in the hammock too make it even more appealing lol. I also cover the top half of their cage to use as a "bedroom", I think they enjoy it a lot. My room is almost always dark anyway though, but when I have the lights on it's nice to have a dark place for them to go. Oh, I also just wanted to let you know that the other day, for the first time ever, Theia let me trim her nails without a single fuss, with salmon oil on her belly no less! Just wanted to share that with you to show that sometimes it just takes them some time to get used to the nail trimming One day I'm sure you'll be able to trim all their nails no problem!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 13, 2013 13:24:01 GMT -5
Yay Theia! That gives me hope for Skeeter. I'm in nervous mommy mode because he's so skinny. I'm learning about him a lot though. I had to remove the squishy bed I got them, as well as all of the balls from the ball pit, and all of the crochet easter eggs. Skeeter's MO is this: He goes to sniff the food and tastes it. If he likes it, he chows down. If he doesn't like it, he lets me know by chewing on something inappropriate. Another thing is if one of the others gets in his way and he doesn't get to eat, he goes and chews on something he shouldn't. Today Trigger bumped him out of the bowl while he was eating. He immediately went into the cage and started grinding his teeth on one of the covered ramps. I take that to mean that his stomach is empty and he's uncomfortable. So when he does that I usually set him up in front of the food and make sure he gets to eat by playing with the others to keep them occupied. Then he eats and plays and goes to sleep. Every day I learn something new.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2013 12:44:28 GMT -5
Howdy. Skeeter is eating well but still looks malnourished. I'm not patient. I want him to be better/fatter now. His behavior is changed though. He is much more active, running around and even playing with Trigger in the Tunnel. He has started doing something that has me a little concerned. He is chewing on his tunnel, the blanket I have in the middle of their enclosure for carpet sharks, the ramps, the hanging cubes... every time he does it, I grab a spoonful of food and put it in front of his nose and he immediately stops chewing and starts eating. I don't see any missing pieces so I'm not too concerned about blockage and his poops and urination are all normal. Is he a chewer? Is this a phase? Could this be a sign of Adrenal Disease, even though he doesn't have the other symptoms? I'm paranoid but I worry about him so much because he behaves so differently from the others.
Trigger is feeling better now that we're fully back on MPC grinds. He's fat and happy. He's giving me kisses again. He plays like crazy and dooks so loud. He also is the only one made of solid muscle. He doesn't use the tunnel to get on the fouton but rather pulls himself up by the cloth. He is so darn strong!
Candy is definitely a hearing ferret. She comes when I call her name, or whistle or pretty much come near the ferret room. She eats so well and she is a partial carpet shark. She prefers to glide on the surface of the blanket, rather than tunnel under it. She has started to imitate Skeeter by chewing on the tunnel. However, she's only chewing on the velco areas. I read somewhere that they like to do this to clean their teeth and I notice she does this for a short while immediately after eating. Is she "brushing" her teeth?
Rufus continues to be the rock star of raw switch. He's fat, his coat is lush and he's a total momma's fert. However, his butt is so big now that he doesn't maneuver as well as he used to. He has difficulty jumping up onto the dig box. Granted I did put tunnels leading to the top so they can take the easy way if they want to. But I also notice that he has some issues going down the cage ramps... his back slides faster than his front and he's conscientious of this weight so he goes down ramps on his belly now. He gets around just fine but his butt gets in the way at times.
He gave me the greatest gift the other morning. So I'm guilty of oversleeping on Sunday. I'm still sick and my body let me know. So I woke up about an hour later than I usually feed them breakfast. I made their food quickly and ran to the enclosure and when Rufus saw me (with the food) he started bouncing and dooking and wagging his tail, which was fluffed in full bottle brush with excitement. When I put his food dish down, he kept wagging his tail while he was eating. It was the cutest thing. Boy, what a way to make mommy feel loved.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2013 13:02:16 GMT -5
There are a lot of different possible reasons for chewing. They could just naturally be chewers, they might chew due to anxiety/stress, they might just like the feeling of certain material, or if it's a new issue it might be due to dental issues. If possible, take a look at their teeth and see if there's any plaque or possibly bones between their teeth. Sometimes if their teeth hurt from dental disease they will chew things to ease the discomfort. That sounds adorable I bet it put a smile on your face for a while, I love it when I get greeted with such excitement from my pair.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2013 15:49:53 GMT -5
I seriously wish I had a 24x7 camera running. Everytime they do something completely adorable, my camera is no where in sight and by the time I get it they're done. My husband is thinking of getting a baby-cam that has a motion sensor and night vision. It hooks up to your computer and records whenever it senses motion. That would be neat to watch and see what they're up to at night. Might also help me to figure out who keeps pooping in the middle of the floor (although I suspect Trigger).
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2013 16:28:06 GMT -5
Haha that's funny, I was just thinking earlier today, if I WERE to win today's lottery (HA) I would get a house with a square spare bedroom for the ferrets and set up security-type cameras in all corners so I could always watch them playing. And of course I'd have a lot more than 2 ferrets if I could afford more, it'd be quite a party in there lol
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2013 16:58:16 GMT -5
If I hit powerball jackpot, I'm going to build a barn and start a Ferret Rescue of my own with a huge indoor garden (i.e. dig box galore) and a little wading pond for them to play in the water. Also, wanted to share these pictures. Trigger cannot possibly be comfortable like this.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2013 17:38:29 GMT -5
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