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Post by gfountain on Jun 19, 2014 18:39:58 GMT -5
LOL.. Minnie is actually doing good now. I can finally prepare meals and have the amount just about right. Sometimes I have to give a little extra snack, but mostly she's at 4-5 oz/day now. Slinkee eats 2-3 most days. I need to weigh her again. She feels heavy finally.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 19, 2014 19:05:01 GMT -5
Did you say 5 oz a day? I just want to confirm that's FIVE oz a day? Omgggg. Even still? We brought the kitty back and Ezra had fun running around Petco, but he hasn't touched the lamb. It'll get mixed 50/50 with chicken next time if he won't eat it, but I'll give him another night to figure it out first.
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Post by gfountain on Jun 19, 2014 19:32:30 GMT -5
five, 1 2 3 4 5... 5! Down from almost 15 (yes, that's a 1 and a 5) so I'm pretty happy, lol. My kids, even Minnie, don't particularly like lamb. But it's good for them, so they get it anyway. And it just sits there until they decide Mommee isn't giving them anything else, in spite of their boo-boo eyes. They've had it twice a week for a few weeks now and they're getting better about it, but it's not their favorite.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 19, 2014 19:43:47 GMT -5
Oh, that's good to know! So it's not just Ezra being a brat. I'll leave him alone with it. And I'll get his weight and a picture tonight too!
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Post by gfountain on Jun 19, 2014 19:48:28 GMT -5
A lot of fuzzies don't care for lamb for some reason, so you may need to do the 50/50 mix with it. Don't let him go too long without eating. You don't want him to think he can just leave something he doesn't want & you'll give him something better, so if you have to give him something else, mix it with the lamb.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2014 11:22:01 GMT -5
As we discussed on facebook, the past week we’ve skipped 4 or 5 total meals since he’s not eating the 1.5 per meal, so we’ll be cutting him back to 1oz per meal, while monitoring to be sure there’s still leftover, and will increase back to 1.5 oz if needed. I’ve got two weeks worth of menus here. You’ll find that they’re the same except for the liver he’ll get on the second Friday’s PM meal. I included both weeks just so you know (and anyone reading knows) that we’re balancing him over the course of 2 weeks with the liver and larger whole prey meals. I also found an easy way to do the meals: since whole prey can be left for up to 48 hrs (I’ve read 24 hrs in other places… but it doesn't matter because we won’t leave it as the only thing he gets for any longer than 24 hours), we’ll feed 2 oz of quail a couple of days a week, and if it’s gone by the PM, he’ll get a mouse. If not, we’ll simply have fed both meals in the AM that day, and the quail can be finished at his leisure. Makes it easy to remember when to give mice, as I’ll just always give him one in the PM if there’s no quail. I’m also only giving mice in the PM since I want to be sure they are less than half of his intake. In all the instances where lamb and cavies are listed, know that I’ll be mixing them with chicken at first, and then weaning him off of the chicken until he’ll eat them on their own. SundayAM | 1 oz course ground lamb PM | 1 adult mouse MondayAM | 1 oz chicken hearts PM | 1 adult mouse TuesdayAM | ½ adult cavie PM | 1 adult mouse WednesdayAM | 2 oz quail PM | skipped if quail is still out, 1 mouse if not ThursdayAM | 1 oz course ground lamb PM | 1 adult mouse FridayAM | ½ adult cavie PM | 1 adult mouse SaturdayAM | 2 oz quail PM | skipped if quail is still out, 1 mouse if not SundayAM | 1 oz course ground lamb PM | 1 adult mouse MondayAM | 1 oz chicken hearts PM | 1 adult mouse TuesdayAM | ½ adult cavie PM | 1 adult mouse WednesdayAM | 2 oz quail PM | skipped if quail is still out, 1 mouse if not ThursdayAM | 1 oz course ground lamb PM | 1 adult mous FridayAM | ½ adult cavie PM | 1 oz chicken liver SaturdayAM | 2 oz quail PM | skipped if quail is still out, 1 mouse if not So, to go over this (mostly for my own benefit!) we have (over a 2 week period): 1 meal of liver 2 meals of hearts 25 meals of whole prey Whole prey consumption includes (per 2 week period): 2 cavies (4 oz) 1 whole quail (8 oz) ground lamb (4 oz) No less than 9 and no more than 13 adult mice (total 8 to 12 oz) Is that balanced enough, in terms of the 4 proteins we’ll be using? Seems like he gets a lot of mice but they are rather small… Let me know what you think. And, like I said on FB, I’ll get weight and a picture up tonight. Sorry for the long post!
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Post by gfountain on Jun 20, 2014 14:49:13 GMT -5
Your lamb... is it whole lamb or just muscle meat?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2014 15:00:34 GMT -5
Whole lamb. The ingredients were, from memory, heart, liver, lungs, bone, meat, and something else I can't recall for sure. Maybe kidneys?
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Post by gfountain on Jun 20, 2014 17:42:00 GMT -5
OK, just double checking.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2014 19:50:31 GMT -5
Alright, here are our updated weights: 2 weeks ago: 2 lbs 12 oz (last spreadsheet update) 1 week ago: 2 lbs 11 oz (-1 oz) Today: 2 lbs 9 oz (-2 oz) And an updated picture, sans gross summertime shed coat this time! Edit: Just realized I forgot the dangly one! D'oh!
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Post by gfountain on Jun 21, 2014 14:37:44 GMT -5
I don't like that he's still losing weight. Weigh him again tomorrow or Monday if you can and let's see where he is.
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Post by gfountain on Jun 21, 2014 14:38:42 GMT -5
Has he tried the cavies yet? Does he like them?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 21, 2014 14:46:09 GMT -5
He still feels big, especially compared to other ferrets I've seen. I feel he's getting closer to the realm of normality. Even if he could stand to keep on more weight (which I don't think is the case, because he's still got a bulgy belly), I don't know what we'd do... He eats when he's hungry. He ate 2.5 oz of lamb yesterday, so that's cool... and a definite indicator that he's not starving himself. I'll weigh him tomorrow, though. I'm betting he's gained.
He hasn't tried the cavies yet. I gave him a rat today because it's similar to a mouse, and I'll try him with a cavie tonight... then it'll be Sunday and I'll start that menu I posted, so he'll get a cavie tonight, now that he's eaten lamb, and then again on Tuesday morning.
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Post by gfountain on Jun 21, 2014 15:02:06 GMT -5
Yeah, I don't really think he's losing TOO much, especially since he's still losing some of his baby fat. I just want to keep an eye on it, since he's eating so little. 2.5 oz of lamb.. that's good. I guess he's decided you're not trying to poison him after all, lol. On another note, I watched Heather's babies for a while this morning. One little sandy one really stood out to me.. don't know it it's male or female, but it is soooo cute and seems quite precocious.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 21, 2014 15:12:44 GMT -5
Yeah, I was surprised he took the lamb. I think he likes it chopped, instead of big chunks. Maybe you've spotted our Laney! I'm not able to tell them apart yet... I try, and then I realize I've lost track... Maybe soon, once their eyes open and their little patterns come in more.
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