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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2014 0:39:47 GMT -5
What do you guys think of Wysong's epigen 90 digestive support vs. drs foster and smith signature series premium ferret diet. I just discovered the foster and smith one and it looks like the ingredients are a bit better than the wysong one except for the brown rice as the second ingredient. I also noticed that the protein percentage of the foster and smith one is lower. Any insight that you might have would be helpful. I would love to do the raw diet but I just can't get my boy to switch so I really want to find the best kibble I can.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2014 0:49:31 GMT -5
How have you tried to give your ferret raw? It seems like it's impossible, but it's not, just difficult. Have you tried making the soup and just dabbing it on his nose every couple minutes during play time? You keep dabbing it on his nose and he'll keep licking it off. Then you offer it to him to lick it off your finger, once he does that, even if it takes a while, you try spoon feeding him, once he does that, you lower the spoon until he's eating out of the bowl. It can take weeks to get them to be willing to try it, but it's not impossible. As for the kibble, brown rice is a no-no, especially as a second ingredient. The first 5 ingredients need to be meat. Of course with kibble they're always somewhat dehydrated and they poop more, smell worse, coats are dry, teeth are dirty, and they have a higher chance of getting insulinoma. I'd keep trying with the raw.  |
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Post by raynebc on Oct 8, 2014 2:34:52 GMT -5
Epigen 90 DS is likely the best dry ferret kibble you can get, but after some time you may find raw isn't as difficult as you expected. I started with freeze dried raw, which can be mixed in with kibble while it's dry. I gradually increased the amount of FDR until I began feeding them a meal per day of re-hydrated FDR and escalated it from there until they were just eating wet FDR. Up to now, I've got them eating a mixture of raw chicken soup and FDR. It does get easier with practice.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2014 22:30:03 GMT -5
Where do you get the freeze dried raw food from?
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Post by raynebc on Oct 9, 2014 1:31:18 GMT -5
One of the high end pet stores in my area sells it, but I have been getting it on Amazon. With as much stuff as I order from them, the Prime membership easily pays for itself and most everything I order from them gets delivered with 2 day shipping. The two most popular brands of cat/ferret FDR is Wysong Archetype and Stella and Chewy's (branded for cats, but is suitable for ferrets).
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2014 10:39:16 GMT -5
It took me well over a month or more before I could get two of mine to eat soup on their own. I was very frustrated and discouraged, but I kept at it and now they happily chow down on quail, chicken wings, you name it, like they have been doing it for ages, and it was only a few weeks ago before they finally tried the soup. The initial switch can be a real pain but with persistence it will happen.
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