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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2011 22:59:12 GMT -5
Sadie has maintained her weight this month. Though she looks like she`s gained. Has a tummy, and fur looks thicker, especially around the neck... looks like a muscle man when fluffed up lol Zeke is down an ounce. Neka is up 7 ounces. I`m looking forward to putting Sadie back in with the boys at night.  i feel bad her having to be in her own cage, but it`s the only way to be sure she gets food at night, as the boys eat her food before their own  Question... i know liver can cause darker stools.. but how long after eating it would it still be dark? Neka had dark looser stools today, and had liver last night. Seems too long, no? |
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Post by luci on Mar 4, 2011 15:20:32 GMT -5
Spring is here in ferret land, so some weight loss is normal. Is Neka starting to look overweight do you think?
Liver poops... it depends. Did he eat a lot? I feed my ferrets about a teaspoon of chopped liver three days out of the week 'cause more than that will make for gross poops for the next 3-4 visits to the box. What else did he have to eat? If it was something like beef with a lot of fat that would add to the dark, loose stools too.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2011 11:51:47 GMT -5
NO neka is not looking overweight. HE's at 3.3 now, he is a bigboy. He's as long as zeke and solid but no excess. Zeke doesn't look like my rolly polly boy either. he still has a good tummy on him but built very much like Neka.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2011 8:45:35 GMT -5
I left a chunk of quail leg mixed in sadies food, she dragged it to the other side of the cage... didn't eat it but at least acknowledged it lol. Got zeke to eat a chunk of kidney, by covering it with fish oil lol (other wise he will only eat it mushed) Sadie has a sore on her side. I'm not sure what it's from. It does not look like she scratched it, and is in a spot i don't think she could scratch. It's red, round and had fur matted to it. I trimmed the air around it to get a better look. There are no bumps, nothing ozing. It's weird. I put some cream on it, and will watch it to see if it changes . This little girl has always got something going on! lol Reposting the sore on themain board. |
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Post by luci on Mar 10, 2011 23:54:30 GMT -5
Could be a mast cell tumor. Super common on ferrets. Usually more of an annoyance than anything. Ghia had one on her tummy and it went away with topical steroid creme.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2011 0:14:45 GMT -5
Okay getting a bit frustrated and discouraged with sadie.
Her food is as thick as I can get it, yet she still refuses to touch chunks. All her food is ground. I've cut meat as small as i can get it and she still wont eat it. She'll chew it sometimes, but usually drops it out of her mouth.
I've tried her favourite, pork, covered in pumpkin and one in fish oil , and some in her regular mush and she wouldn't touch.
ideas? suggestions??
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Post by luci on Mar 15, 2011 1:26:36 GMT -5
Have you looked in her mouth to make sure she doesn't have sore gums or something? I know you've had her in to the vet a number of times, did he/she look in her mouth?
I would honestly just be happy with where she's at for now. She might be picking up on your frustration and kind of balking at being "forced" to try bigger pieces. Accept where she is for now and then we'll revisit it in a few weeks. They are the fussiest animals and also very sensitive. You may think you're being calm, but she might be sensing some urgency from you and she doesn't like it or is suspicious because of it. We'll approach it from another angle after some time has passed. What do you think?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2011 4:14:04 GMT -5
Yes he looked in her mouth, didn't comment on anything. Her teeth are pretty bad, lots of tartar on the back molars.Her front eye teeth are the worse, very yellow icky colour. I was hoping switching to raw bones would help, as it did amazing things for Zeke. I dont think they bother her as she has NO problem gnawing on plastic... ANY plastic,hard or soft she's a bit obcessive or it and spends all her time searching it out lol
I've fine with waiting a bit, I just feel bad that she is by herself all night, in her own cage. That and her teeth.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2011 21:29:12 GMT -5
ARGH, eating going well,but I'm considering some litter box bot camp. Zeke has been pooping all over the cage. Question about size of meat chunks... I got a good price on some pork. I cut some up for the ferrets, (about the size of a plum) Neka seems to have some trouble eating them. He doesn't use his paws to hold it like I thought he would, but throws it around. LOL He does finish them, just wondering should I cut it smaller? |
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Post by luci on Mar 23, 2011 16:03:23 GMT -5
Try it. My little girls LOVE little bite sized pieces. A lot of times it will get them motivated to try a bigger chunk. The biggest hunk I get them to take is about 1.5" cube. Anything bigger and they just don't know what to do with it. So I'm happy enough to cater to the size they like. It still takes a lot of chewing to get through a chunk that size.
Kibble raised ferts don't know that they can use their paws to hold their food because they never had to! Sometimes they figure it out by themselves.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2011 10:42:47 GMT -5
Ok about a week into bootcamp and no accidents. They look so sad on one floor of the big three level FN lol
I've been trying to give the boys mush mix for breakfast (ground meats, pumpkin, and organs or liver etc)with a few chunks of meaty pieces, like chicken hearts or chunks of pork etc.
For dinner they get something with bone, like a quail to split or chicken wings.
Does this sound like too much bone?
Poops have been good form for the boys, though one of the boys did have a ... pale? whitish poop?
sadie will still occasionally have a loose one, but not often or two many in a row to worry about.
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Post by luci on Mar 27, 2011 19:18:02 GMT -5
Not at all! Unless you start seeing dry, hard poops that sounds like a fine mix. I serve bone and organ every day and it definitely helps for more consistent poopies.
If it was just one pale poop once, it's nothing to worry about. Maybe he skipped the organ meal and just ate chicken or something that day. Was it still formed or was it a puddle?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2011 21:44:18 GMT -5
No it was still well formed. I haven't seen any since. nothing new here.  |
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Post by luci on Mar 28, 2011 23:39:59 GMT -5
How are you feeling about where they are? Do you feel like there is still progress to be made or do you feel that you're at a place where everyone is happy and this is something you can handle? It sounds like they're getting everything they need nutrition-wise. Maybe Sadie isn't getting all the dental benefits she could be, but if she's an older girl with tummy issues maybe we have to accept that this is where she's comfortable. What do you think?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2011 13:12:50 GMT -5
I'm good with where the boys are.
For Sadie I'm good with where she is at right now, though I will continue to try periodically to get her eating more chunks. I'm sure she will always need more pumpkin, and she occasionally still needs to be hand fed (about every few days) I haven't figured if it's just a dip in her appetite or something else bugging her tummy.
I think I can take it from ere if thats what you're asking. I still have the board if/when I come across something. In fact I was going to post today about her teeth and other ways to clean them since she's going to be off bone longer then I expected.
THANKS sooo much for your help and mostly your time commitment through all this! You've been invaluable!
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