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Post by mjbez on Aug 10, 2014 13:30:47 GMT -5
Wow!! Go Frisky! If he wants more feed him as much as he wants. I can hardly believe he ate soupie the first time! That is awesome. Next time defrost 2-3 cubes. You can always refrigerate what he doesn't eat. As for spitting out pieces - that is typical at this stage. He doesn't recognize them as food yet. We will work on that later But if he continues to eat well with soupie then let him eat soupie when you are home. Take away his kibble and if he is eating it, only offer it when you are home. Then when you go to bed or work give him his kibble back. Once he eats it 100% reliably out of his bowl with no prompting then kibble can be taken away all together. But we need to make sure he is ready for that when the time comes. I'm so excited he did sooo well! Ok- for the microwave I meant the soupie cubes. Because they contain egg shell. I honestly never use microwave with the ferrets because I find it too easy to accidentally cook the outer edges of the meat. Better to use water in the sink. In terms of chicken breast - its better to use thigh. Dark meat is more nutritious. But if you used breast in the first batch that isn't a problem. In the next batch use thighs but cut the meat off the bone. Keep the skin on as it contains fats, which ferrets need. (don't put bone in the blender unless you want to wreck it). The microwave won't grind anything. But it can cook bone, even slightly, which then makes the bone prone to splintering. This is very dangerous for ferrets to consume.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2014 13:32:10 GMT -5
Good morning!! Ok I already see I messed up in my last message to you. I did use chicken thighs. But they were boneless and skinless. Next time I will just get boneless so he can have the fat. And I'm glad to hear that I wasn't supposed to use bones cause I got worried for a minute. I'm so happy you're excited!!!! That makes me feel better, especially after reading everything you wrote. I was already thinking him hating the pieces was a bad sign. But I feel much better! So I have an update from last night. First I have to confess what I did wrong. I completely forgot until halfway through him eating that I was supposed to weigh the food. Sorry. But last night I defrosted 2 ice cubes. I mixed that in with about 1/3 of a the baby food jar. Only because that's what I usually fed him. When I got ready to feed him he was hungry and wanting food. He has me a little trained lol. He wants his soup at night! I put the bowl down and was expecting since he ate it last night that he would go right to it and it. That didn't happen. He sniffed it and walked away. So I sat back down with him and put some on my finger and rubbed that on his gums. After he tasted that he would then lick it off my finger. We did that for a little bit until he would eat it out of the bowl on his own. When he did that he ate most of it but I would say there was about a 1/4 left. I sat back down with him, put him on my lap while holding the bowl. He continued to eat. He ate it all except 3 small chunks of chicken. One of the chunks did partially get into his mouth. He chewed it a little but seemed confused. Not grossed out like he is with meds. But he kind of quickly got it out of his mouth. Now if he doesn't eat all of his soup and I refrigerate it, how long will it be good in the fridge?
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Post by mjbez on Aug 12, 2014 16:37:56 GMT -5
The fact that he didn't eat it right away is normal. He will in time. He just needs time to adjust to the smell and link that to the yummy taste he experienced! You are doing soooo good. I'm just thoroughly impressed that he will even eat it on his own. My guess of 2 cubes plus baby food would be close to 3oz. Don't stress that you forgot to weigh it. Just try to remember next time. I would keep soupie in the fridge for a couple days. But that being said, fresher soupie is better. So defrost about what you think he will eat at a time. It's easy to defrost more but if he doesn't eat it, throw it in the fridge for the next day. It will likely need a little warm water added, as it may get a little tacky. Do you have weekends off? If so, keep up what you are doing and on the weekend try giving him a full day of soupies. How is his energy? Poops?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2014 1:54:22 GMT -5
Hello,
So more updates for you. Last night I gave hime two cubes again and baby food. I let him sniff it as he was hungry and ready to eat. He didn't dig in. But I sat down with him and he started eating it. He ate most of it until there was a little left but not all gone. At that point I held him and the bowl. Then he continues licking the bowl but would not eat the pieces of chicken in the bowl. Tonight I put about the same amount of food in the bowl. The food plus the bowl weighed 9 oz. I sat down with him with the food again and he wouldn't touch it. He sniffed it but would not eat it on his own at all. I had to put food on my finger again and have him lick it off multiple times before he started eating the bowl of food on his own. I sat with him the entire time. He ate a lot of it but walked away when there was still a bit left. I picked him and the bowl back up and he ate a little bit more. But this bowl seemed to have more chicken pieces in it. When he was done the good and bowl weighed 7 1/4 oz.
I do have weekends off. So you want me to try and feed him soup throughout the day? Even though he's not really eating it without me sitting with him? Should I just always keep a bowl of it in his cage? If so it won't go bad after a few hours? Plus he doesn't seem to want it if it's not warm. If you could just explain how that would work it would be helpful.
His poops are a little darker and smaller than before but nothing too drastic. And none of his poops have been runny or explosions. His energy level hasn't changed. He's always been a lazy bum. He's really a cuddle bug and has been like that since the second or third day he lived with me.
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Post by mjbez on Aug 14, 2014 18:42:38 GMT -5
Sounds great! I was thinking when you are home take away his kibble, wait the 1-1.5 hours and start offering soup. I'm surprised he eats as much as he does at a time. I would expect his to eat between 2-4 (perhaps more at the start) ounces a day. He almost eats 2 at a time! haha. But if you are home, offer him some, let him eat what he wants (even if it isn't a whole lot and then leave it in the cage. Go back to him every 1.5 hours or so and check if food is missing, if not, offer him some more. It may be easier to have him around you to see if he is going to the dish on his own to eat. If it cools too much or gets a little tacky just add a dribble more of warm water. But remember, room temp is often an OK temp, its straight from the fridge or freezer that some don't like. Soupie is good for about 8 hours out. So on the weekend you could offer 2 fresh soupie meals throughout the day. (Ex. First soupie meal when you get up ex 9am. Offer this meal until around 4-5pm (assuming it lasts that long), then get fresh soupie and it will last until you go to bed.) If you run out early, just make more when needed. If you leave, give him kibble so he doesn't go without food. Make sense? Remember - If offering soupie over a longer period of time it is OK for him to only have a little at a time (say .5oz) because he will have more in a short time.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2014 1:59:56 GMT -5
Hello. So a little update on the last two nights. Last night I went to feed him. I sat down with him and he sniffed the food but wasn't interested in eating it. I then placed him closer to me with his bowl and he started to eat it. He ate about 3/4 of the bowl and then ran away. At that point he started to get sick and was trying to throw up for about 30 minutes. After that he was a little lethargic and just went to bed. He seemed fine in the morning though. I fed him tonight. His food bowl weighed 9 1/8 oz. At first he really didn't want to have anything to deal with it. I again had to put some food on my finger and put it in his mouth. He ate a little then wanted to stop. I did the finger thing again. He still didn't seem interested until I held him and the bowl of food. He's only a little bit spoiled lol. He then continued to eat and I know he got a few chunks of chicken in his mouth and he ate them!!!! Tonight he ate almost all his food. When he was done the bowl weighted 6 7/8 oz. Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day for me and I'm going to be gone for a good portion of it. But Sunday will be a better day for me to be home with him and try just taking feeding him soup and keeping his kibble away from him. Oh and I know he kind of eats a lot. He's a little chubby fatso lol.
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Post by mjbez on Aug 16, 2014 13:29:12 GMT -5
Looks good.
As for him throwing up it could be that he ate too fast - this is my thoughts since it was immediately after. This can happen from time to time, I found especially at the beginning when they act like little pigs! The other reason that comes to mind is if kibble and raw are fed too close together. But I don't think it would be so immediate
I look forward to hearing Sunday's update! You are doing so well with him! Keep it up!
PS. I'm amazed that he ate those chunks! What a trooper! (dance)
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2014 2:43:10 GMT -5
Hello and happy Sunday! Here is an update on the weekend. Saturday night I fed him his normal 2 cubes of food plus some baby food. He wouldn't eat it until I sat down with him and held him. He ate most of it but not all of it. This morning I fed him some soup. I used one cube with some baby food. It weighed 8 1/2 oz. Again he wouldn't eat it until I held him. He ate most of it. It weighed 6 7/8 oz when done. But since there was still some food in the bowl I left the bowl in his cage. He didn't touch any of the food for the rest of the day. I fed him again tonight with the normal 2 cubes plus baby food. It weighed 6 3/4 oz and when he was done eating it weighed 5 1/8 oz. he didn't eat all of it. Especially not the chunks of chicken and again wouldn't eat unless I held him. But I have left his bowl in his cage incase he gets hungry in the middle of the night. And his bowl of kibble has been away since early this morning.
He hasn't has anymore issues with throwing up.
I'm just concerned about putting the food in his cage and taking his kibble away since he's not eating the soup on his own at all, and only seems to eat it when I hold him. But I'm continuing to feed him and hoping that soon he will start eating it own.
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Post by mjbez on Aug 18, 2014 20:47:42 GMT -5
If he is going a few hours not eating that is a concern with me. Hence only doing this when home and you can be checking and encouraging to eat every couple hours. He's not ready to not have kibble when your not able to spend that time. Not until he eats on his own reliably. So make sure to give him his kibble. You might even want to weigh it as well to see how much he is eating when it's left with him. But don't let him go that many hours sans food if he won't touch it on his own. Since he wants to be held let's work on that. Start by holding him and then slowly set him beside you. Keep a hand on our near him to help assure him. Work on getting him started beside you instead of being held by you. I did this with a hand on the back and then add soon as they would eat i would remove my hand. Over time when they got more confident I would get up and leave and watch them eat from afar. This can take a while. Spoiled fuzzies love being held but it's important to slowly break the habit.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2014 2:06:19 GMT -5
Thanks for the info. I will work on weighing his kibble and slowly working on not holding him while he eats. I will let you know how that goes. So far he's still eating the soup but not really eating the chicken pieces and only eating while I hold him. But this information gives me more stuff to work on. Thanks!
Please let me know if there is any information I am forgetting to get to you.
And thanks for the advice on buying chicken hearts at an Asian store. I went to one in town yesterday and found an entire package of just hearts!!
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Post by mjbez on Aug 20, 2014 11:56:02 GMT -5
Yay! I'm glad you found hearts. It's so much easier than digging through a mixed package, and the ratio never seems favorable for what you want. With the things I give you to work on go at his pace, only pushing a little. Its more important that he is eating his soupie. But thats my job - to give you something to work towards until you hit the finish line You are both doing a great job. Do you mind updating this? 1. Ferret's weight (in brackets put weight gain or loss since beginning) 2. Amount eaten You do this for me every time you post, so that is wonderful. 3. Stools 4. Activity level 5. Weekly menu Same as above
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Post by Deleted on Aug 21, 2014 1:26:56 GMT -5
I fed him tonight. And made another batch of soup. Tonight the bowl initially weighed 9 oz and when he was done it was at 7 1/4 oz. I tried to get him to eat the food near me. He won't even touch it. I held him while he took a couple licks. Then I put him down to eat. He ate about half the bowl at that point, but then wanted to be done. At that point I picked him back up and he ate a little more. But he didn't eat all the food. However, I'm leaving the food bowl out at night to see if he eats any. He doesn't but he generally doesn't eat in the middle of the night. His stools haven't changed since the last time I reported. They are definitely smaller. But they've been the same consistency, no diarrhea, and no vomiting either. His activity level is pretty much the same too. He's lazy lol. But he still gets curious about things. I just had a new box on my bed and he was trying to get into it. He runs to my closet every time he hears the door open, and he wakes up at his normal times. So all of that is normal. I already put the scale away and I'm super tired so I will get his weight tomorrow.
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Post by mjbez on Aug 21, 2014 12:14:43 GMT -5
Well for him to eat some on his own was great. You could have probably left him with half the bowl eaten. That probably would have still be close to one ounce, which in a meal is a good amount. Keep it up, start with holding if that is what he needs at this time. To transition him you could even just hold is body beside or in front of you and see if he will eat that way. But it will take some time
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2014 2:30:41 GMT -5
I weighed him tonight. His weight was at 3 lb 3 1/2 oz. Tonight when I went to feed him he was actually sleeping. He should have been awake. But I found him sleeping in my bed. No.....he's not spoiled at all! lol. Anyway I think because he was so sleepy he wasn't too interested in eating. So he would not eat on his own tonight. I did have to hold him. Now I know for the future to make sure he is definitely awake and ready to eat. But he did eat most of the food in his bowl and I even saw him chew a small piece of chicken. He didn't want any part of the big pieces though. After he ate he went right back to bed. Tonight he seems a little more tired than usual. I'm going to keep an eye on him.
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Post by mjbez on Aug 23, 2014 12:50:27 GMT -5
I am being a nub and can't seem to skim properly to find his previous weight. I wanted to compare if he was gaining or losing.
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