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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2014 22:11:55 GMT -5
I called about 7 butcher shops, none of them will give me anything, they say they use EVERYTHING they cut, and I even got a little snippy with one and said "So you're telling me there is absolutely nothing you do not use?" and he thoughts for a second and said... "... Yes..." LOL, that was the 7th one I asked. Grr! I really was hoping to get some. I'll start making my menu tomorrow, I'm going in the morning to get the organs at the Asian Market. I'll get pork organs and chicken organs if they have it. I know for sure or at least last time I went they had pork heart and liver but the only chicken I saw was chicken feet. I figured it up a few weeks ago on the cost. It's cut down a little since I stopped using organs. I have to buy those stupid tyson packs of hearts. $4 per pack, 3 hearts per pack, 4 hearts lasted 2-3 days. So it could be almost $20 worth of hearts sometimes, because a lot of times I didn't even get any hearts at all in the hearts and gizzards mix. So we'll say $15 a week for hearts. Okay then the chicken liver was cheap, $2 lasted about 2 weeks. Chicken thigh about $10-$15 per week maybe more. So if I spent $30 per week, that's $120 per month. So $240 in two months. Right now the pork I buy is $7 for 2 days. So maybe $28 per week, just a little less than I was previously spending. If my mother knew this, she wouldn't let me feed raw anymore. Because on kibble, I was spending $30 per month, she doesn't care about FUTURE health benefits, she understands, but she doesn't care, as long as she can pay the bills NOW. Which is understandable, I'm trying to bargain, I'm not good at it. My mother, would not take me to counseling. She would be so, so mad at me if I asked her about it, and give me the lecture on how good I have it, and how there is no possible way I would need a therapist, because of that. I don't deny, that I get practically everything I want, I have my ferrets, my dog, laptop, phone, tv, etc etc. I get many odds and ends and my designer clothes and so on and so forth. Which I'm VERY thankful for, and sure as heck have given up some things so I could afford other stuff for the ferrets, I had my phone cut off for 2 weeks, I told her not to pay it, because Neichei needed her medicine. I chose her diazoxide, prednisone, carafate and prolapse meds, over being able to text my friends, small price to pay, worth it. Okay Okay, I'll try not to be THAT hard on myself, maybe. I don't expect things from myself, as to not be disappointed when they don't happen. Trick you learn when there are too many disappointments over the years, don't expect it and it won't matter when it doesn't happen, or doesn't go the way you wanted. Today was a surprise, I gave them all 2 ounces for breakfast, Juliet NEVER finishes her breakfast, usually she leaves at the very least 0.5 ounces. Not this time, this morning she ate all of her breakfast, and then started eating Caillou's! I ran downstairs to look for more soup, but I was out of soup and out of pork meat so I gave her Marcie's last spoonful and she kept licking the bowls throughout the day, when my mother FINALLY came home with the pork meat I chopped up some tiny slivers and offered them to her. She didn't want them at first, but came back and ate a few. Marcie at 0.4 ounces of them happily, off and on. Caillou wasn't touching the poison (slivers). Cause you know, in his mind, if he ate them he would die. I don't know what got into her, but I was very happy she wanted to eat more. Hated myself for not having enough, I called my mom like 8 times and telling her to hurry up so I could feed Jules. They're all starting to go back and look for food and I think Marcie has lost a bit of weight so I'm offering them all double what they usually eat (so 4 oz instead of 2) and seeing what they do. They all looked for food today, when I get off here I'm going to make it, chop it up, blend, label, weigh, bag, give meds, feed them. I'll most likely have to help them eat the last bit, I always do, but I want to try and get them to eat all of it tonight, I have a feeling Juliet will.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2014 23:46:38 GMT -5
Well, the 4 ounces was a bust :face: LOL They all, not kidding, ate 2 ounces, out of the 4 oz I offered. I think Juliet ate 2.5 ounces or a little more but not all of it. Caillou ate the least, maybe right at 2 oz or a little less, Marcie ate I'd say 2.0-2.4 o or in between that. I made the soup a little bit thicker, still pudding like but it was kinda stringy, and Marcie wouldn't eat it like soup, she picked it up like it was slivers of meat and tried to chew it. Jules and Cai just suck it down, and Marcie was over there trying to hold pieces of chunky soup... hilarious, is the only word to describe her face when he gets pieces of meat in her mouth. I left all their leftovers in the cage though, I'm sure they'll go back for it. I made the soup and was ready to bag it, I got my sister to come into my room so the ferrets could keep playing, went down there and got my gloves on the the plate and scale ready and realized, I didn't have any bags left. I was sort of relieved, I didn't want to bag it. I had one left and put it all in there. I only had 6 oz of meat and 8 oz of meat made 12 oz of soup so I should be able to just give them all about 3-4 oz in the morning, so not a waste thankfully. On the flip side, Juliet and Marcie were playing! (dance) I introduced them earlier today, much butt sniffing going on with Juliet, but they initially didn't care about each other. Marcie bugged her for a while and Jules just wanted to sleep. Juliet, feeling much better tonight, decided what the heck, and got in the tunnel and they were having a blast! They did that thing where they would open their mouths and just kinda over over each others faces, not biting, just pretending to bite, it was so cute and so funny. Marcie is also a tail wagger, and enjoyed playing with Juliet. Jules is an old woman though and doesn't play for long, for about 15 mins they seemed to really like each other. Maybe it IS meant to be with Marcie.. hehe. Told my mom in excited-ness, she obviously did not care at all but she pretended to, lol. I was too happy about it, it was awesome seeing them play. My biggest worry was Juliet hating her, or vise versa. As long as Marcie doesn't come int Jules's cardboard box, they're fine. Maybe Marcie will keep her on her toes and give her a little more will to play. I think Juliet having a snack in the middle of the day helped a lot. I'll try and keep some soup thawed in the fridge, so I can warm and refill. Now that I know they WILL go back and eat it, I don't worry about it being wasted, my little piggies. Uh-oh, Marcie went into Juliet's box. Man can Juliet kick freaking butt! For a little sick old lady she sure can fight. She ran Marcie out of their quickly, Marcie is dooking and Juliet is hissing and screaming. So, Marc thinks it's fun, and Jules thinks it's completely unacceptable. I think Jules may be dooking a bit too, yippee! All the ferrets have been happier since Marcie has been here. Caillou dooks A LOT more, even when he's not with her. All in all I think Marcie was a wonderful addition to my business of ferts. She has brightened it up , and with all the sickness, death and depression lately we much needed some light around here. Sorry all my posts are so long. I know you guys are busy, I hate to make it harder, I just love talking about them, they make me proud to be a ferret owner, and sometimes make me want to rip my hair out and completely give up, either way you guys are here for me and I appreciate that Their log for the day shall complete this historically long post, that is if you're including the one above, lol. What they ate each meal: AM & PM Caillou: Pork soup pudding consistency Juliet: Pork soup pudding consistency Marcie: Pork soup pudding consistency Roughly how much they ate each meal: AM: Caillou, Marcie & Juliet- 2 ounces PM: Caillou- 2.0 ounces Juliet- 2.5 ounces Marcie- 2.2 ounces Any additional supplements: Caillou- .13 ml of Baytril 100 Juliet- .15 ml of pediapred What their poops are like: Caillou- small, light brown, more formed Juliet- small, light brown, more formed Marcie- small, dark brown, well formed, very smelly (detox) What their energy is like: Caillou- a little laid back today, but playful Juliet- playful at the night time, slept all day Marcie- a crazy, clumsy freak like normal Extra info: Caillou was extra-chewy today. He was biting on everything, mostly his tunnel, but also his carpet hide out cat tower and he didn’t chew his packing peanuts but he picked them up one by one and dropped them outside of the box. He wouldn’t stop chewing the tunnel so I had to eventually put him in his cage.
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Post by katt on Oct 30, 2014 23:47:20 GMT -5
The menu should follow this format:
Monday: am: pm:
Tuesday: am: pm:
etc for the entire week. Each meal should say what protein, and what type of meat (e.g. chicken liver, boneless beef chunks, pork heart, quail wings bone-in). Just like the daily log you have been keeping, only you will be planning the week in advance. For now, focus on the meats that you have on hand.
NOW onto some very important things. I have a few concerns to address.
1.) FEEDING AMOUNT AND TIMING It is VERY important that all 3 ferrets are getting AS MUCH food as they can and will eat. If they empty their bowls, they are not getting enough food. There should always be 1-2 bites leftover by the next meal. It is also CRUCIAL that they have food available 24/7. This is super, super important for Juliet who MUST eat every few hours or she is at risk of going into an insulinomic crash - even controlled and on meds. I cannot stress this enough. Make sure that you are always leaving food out. Check their dish 2-3 times a day and if it is empty or really low, top it off. This is really, really, really important. From what you have described I really don't think Caillou is eating enough if he is trying to steal Juliet's food. Males typically need a lot more to eat than females. This could be why he is still chewing too. It could also explain his weight loss and his lack of energy. When people frequently refer to "2oz a day" that is an average and does not apply to all ferrets. I know that this is confusing and we have actually taken some steps to start stopping people from using the "2oz rule" anymore for this exact reason. Think of it this way...I'm 5'1" and ~100lb and my dad is 6' ish and probably 200lb...imagine if I fed him the amount of food that I eat... Same thing goes for ferrets. Most raw fed ferrets will NOT overeat - if they want more, give them more. With very, very few exceptions they are very good at self regulating.
This is super, SUPER important. So please make sure in your next comment to note that you read this. Feed them as much as they will eat and make sure food is always available.
2.) Caillou's Next Protein
It sounds like you have a lot of chicken on hand, and we know he will eat that so let's do that next. His next meal make the pork soup as you have been doing, and add in just a few slivers of chicken meat. You can keep a chicken thigh in the fridge in a ziplock bag and it will stay good for a few days. Over the next few days you can cut bits off of that vs thawing new meat every day. Start with maybe a quarter sized amount (so maybe 1/2tsp-1tsp) of tiny chicken slivers mixed into his pork soup. Do this for 2 meals tomorrow, and let me know how he does and we will take it from there. This is your first trial protein!
Please read an acknowledge above.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2014 23:50:05 GMT -5
Oh shoot sorry Katt I forgot to do the thigh slivers! I promise I will write it down and give it to him tomorrow. I'll start sticky-noting above where I prepare their food, or beside their cage.
I understand, I need to leave food in there. They have around 2 ounces to last them the night, I doubt they will eat it all but they might, they have discovered they now like to snack at night after meals, they used to wouldn't dare eat cold soup or eat without me offering but they will now. Progress (dance)
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Post by katt on Oct 31, 2014 0:39:03 GMT -5
Just wanted to make sure you saw it bc it is important, and it's easy for stuff to get buried in long posts. Is that 2oz between the 3 of them or 2oz each? And don't worry on not doing the chicken tonight, I intended for you to do it tomorrow anyways as I wasn't sure if you'd even be on this late. It's 10:30pm here. RE Marcie and Juliet that is great news. For the fighting I know it is hard but try to sit back and let them sort it out. The "golden rule" with ferrets is No Poop, No Blood, No Foul. They need to figure out their hierarchy and interfering will only make that process longer and enable things to escalate more.
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Post by katt on Oct 31, 2014 1:12:26 GMT -5
I called about 7 butcher shops, none of them will give me anything, they say they use EVERYTHING they cut, and I even got a little snippy with one and said "So you're telling me there is absolutely nothing you do not use?" and he thoughts for a second and said... "... Yes..." LOL, that was the 7th one I asked. Grr! I really was hoping to get some. Bummer. Well, it was worth a shot. Did you ask if they sell heart meat by chance? I'll start making my menu tomorrow, I'm going in the morning to get the organs at the Asian Market. I'll get pork organs and chicken organs if they have it. I know for sure or at least last time I went they had pork heart and liver but the only chicken I saw was chicken feet. I figured it up a few weeks ago on the cost. It's cut down a little since I stopped using organs. I have to buy those stupid tyson packs of hearts. $4 per pack, 3 hearts per pack, 4 hearts lasted 2-3 days. So it could be almost $20 worth of hearts sometimes, because a lot of times I didn't even get any hearts at all in the hearts and gizzards mix. So we'll say $15 a week for hearts. Okay then the chicken liver was cheap, $2 lasted about 2 weeks. Chicken thigh about $10-$15 per week maybe more.Okay so I really think the hearts may be your biggest issue here then. What did you do with the gizzards? I am assuming by 4 hearts lasting 2-3 days that means blended up in soup? You definitely need to find either a better source of heart ASAP, or buy some taurine. 10% of their diet should be heart and you really can't utilize THAT many extra gizzards. Boneless meats ate only 2-4 meals a week once you get into bigger chunks/frankenprey...even if all of those meals are gizzards you are still going to have way too many gizzards than you can use. For chicken - look in the freezer section for the big bags of frozen breasts or thighs. It will be much cheaper. Once they are eating bigger chunks and BONES you can buy whole chickens and divide them up and it will be even less expensive. OH and like Steph said keep your eye out on turkey! Black Friday all of the leftover turkeys the store didn't sell go on sale super cheap! You can often buy half-turkeys too that are already partially cut up (aka part of the work is done for you). I always stock up on turkey after Thanksgiving. Even if they won't eat it yet, if you have the freezer space you can buy it while it's cheap and they WILL eat it eventually. So if I spent $30 per week, that's $120 per month. So $240 in two months. Right now the pork I buy is $7 for 2 days. So maybe $28 per week, just a little less than I was previously spending. If my mother knew this, she wouldn't let me feed raw anymore. Because on kibble, I was spending $30 per month, she doesn't care about FUTURE health benefits, she understands, but she doesn't care, as long as she can pay the bills NOW. Which is understandable, I'm trying to bargain, I'm not good at it. What type of pork are you buying? For ~$15 I can buy a huge pack of cheap pork chops that makes at least 6 meals for 2 fat males. Not a huge difference, but still - buying the bigger package is worth it to save a few dollars. Could be the difference in meat prices between AK and TN, but usually food in AK is MORE expensive than other states, not less. Also look for pork roasts - LOTS of meat and they are often cheap. My mother, would not take me to counseling. She would be so, so mad at me if I asked her about it, and give me the lecture on how good I have it, and how there is no possible way I would need a therapist, because of that. I don't deny, that I get practically everything I want, I have my ferrets, my dog, laptop, phone, tv, etc etc. I get many odds and ends and my designer clothes and so on and so forth. Which I'm VERY thankful for, and sure as heck have given up some things so I could afford other stuff for the ferrets, I had my phone cut off for 2 weeks, I told her not to pay it, because Neichei needed her medicine. I chose her diazoxide, prednisone, carafate and prolapse meds, over being able to text my friends, small price to pay, worth it. That was very selfless of you. It always makes me happy to see someone who loves their ferrets so deeply. <3 Okay Okay, I'll try not to be THAT hard on myself, maybe. I don't expect things from myself, as to not be disappointed when they don't happen. Trick you learn when there are too many disappointments over the years, don't expect it and it won't matter when it doesn't happen, or doesn't go the way you wanted.THAT is not a good life attitude to have Missy! You'd better change that before college you know. To get into a program as competitive as Vet school you have to really push yourself and you MUST expect great things from yourself. You are a very intelligent and capable person, you need to start seeing that in yourself. I have struggled with low-self esteem my whole life. As a kid, I had pretty severe social anxiety and I didn't have many friends. I was constantly doubting myself. I still, and probably always Will struggle with this - but I ALSO found my confidence. Find what you are good at and what you enjoy and immerse yourself in it (that's just what you are doing here). Remind yourself of your good traits - in fact, make a list and read it to yourself daily or tape it next to your bed. You are very intelligent, you are selfless, you are more than capable of handling this switch and the menu, some day you WILL get into vet school....leave no room for the doubts and fears and self-depreciation. You have to look those emotions in the face and then push them out of your life. It is hard, they will try to sneak back up, but the more you focus on your successes and your abilities, the more your confidence will grow. Being a teenager is hard. Really, REALLY hard. You have more hormones running rampant in your body that any living being should ever have any right to. ROFL You have family conflicts. You are moving towards becoming an adult, developing your own ideas and dreams and independence, but still stuck at home as a "kid." It's rough - you couldn't pay me enough to go back to being a teen! But guess what? You will survive it and soon you'll be an adult out in the wide world fending for yourself. And to DO that, you have to EXPECT that you can do that, you have to BELIEVE that you can do that. You can. And you will. Today was a surprise, I gave them all 2 ounces for breakfast, Juliet NEVER finishes her breakfast, usually she leaves at the very least 0.5 ounces. Not this time, this morning she ate all of her breakfast, and then started eating Caillou's! I ran downstairs to look for more soup, but I was out of soup and out of pork meat so I gave her Marcie's last spoonful and she kept licking the bowls throughout the day, when my mother FINALLY came home with the pork meat I chopped up some tiny slivers and offered them to her. She didn't want them at first, but came back and ate a few. Marcie at 0.4 ounces of them happily, off and on. Caillou wasn't touching the poison (slivers). Cause you know, in his mind, if he ate them he would die. I don't know what got into her, but I was very happy she wanted to eat more. Hated myself for not having enough, I called my mom like 8 times and telling her to hurry up so I could feed Jules.
They're all starting to go back and look for food and I think Marcie has lost a bit of weight so I'm offering them all double what they usually eat (so 4 oz instead of 2) and seeing what they do. They all looked for food today, when I get off here I'm going to make it, chop it up, blend, label, weigh, bag, give meds, feed them. I'll most likely have to help them eat the last bit, I always do, but I want to try and get them to eat all of it tonight, I have a feeling Juliet will. It sounds like they are all doing fairly well. Let us know how the chicken slivers go over tomorrow. Try to hand feed them each some (esp Caillou).
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Post by katt on Oct 31, 2014 1:14:35 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2014 3:10:39 GMT -5
They had 2 oz each, Juliet 2 oz, Caillou 2 oz, and Marcie 2 oz, LEFTOVER, I offered 4 oz. It sure is hard to watch them fight, they roughed it out pretty good today, I don't like it because Juliet is so sick and it worries me a little, but she's a pretty tough old lady. I was buying either pork sirloin roast (lots of meat) or pork chops (not a lot, lol) pork roast was cheaper looking at how long it would last, but you know my mother has to get what is cheaper, no matter if it saves money in the long run. Sigh... I want to buy in bulk, I really do, she won't let me. I'll give it a shot and ask, but chances are she'll want me to pay for it myself. Yeah, I run right over to Sam's with *ALL* this money I have, being a teenager I'm practically rich. Totally selfish though (according to her). LOL. When I get money, it's because I ask other people for it. I don't like taking money from people, I actually hate it and would rather go without, but when it comes to my ferrets sometimes I have to swallow my pride and do it. You find yourself doing a lot of things you never thought you would, when you love something so much. I never thought I would lose 2 ferrets within 3 years or have 3 out 4 with cancer, but hey, I'm still here, must be doing something right! Has anyone ever told you, that you're a very inspirational person? More of a "SAVE THE WORLD!" attitude I better do good in Vet school, actually it's BEFORE vet school, my parents can't afford the college I want to go to (lol I'm expensive, not gonna lie) so I need a full scholarship, we'll see how that goes.. we'll see.. I still have 3 years, lets hope and pray they don't get my records for last year it's more like Science- FAILED History- FAILED Public Speaking- PASSED - almost English- PASSED- FLYING COLORS Math- -get this child away from me.- As a 6th grader I tested as an 11th grader in English/reading/reading comprehension. It's the only thing I'm good at, but I'm excited to start biology, I LOVE biology, I mean, could it get any awesome-er than to dissect a cows eyeball? Nope, nothing better. (giggle) I dissected a shark last year, and I wanted to squeeze the liver and get all the fish oil out, for the ferrets. Oh gosh, I'm obsessed. LOL. I will try and order that taurine powder. Yes all the hearts were for the soup. 2 hearts per 8 oz of meat I made 2 separate batches so 4 hearts and it lasted 2-3 days tops. All the gizzards? Do you want some cause I have about 800 of them in my freezer, I have I think 10 gallon sized ziplock bags packed full of them. I threw a few bags away but I'll thaw some out and give them to my dog, only one out of 4 of our dogs will touch raw, our little Chihuahua, he'll eat anything and everything and when I'm making the ferrets food he sits at my feet and begs for a bite. He loves chicken wings. But I'll chop up some gizzards and put them in the furry trash disposal... hehe There is a 4 hour time difference. Right now it is 4:00am here, it's 12:00am for you. I don't sleep, like ever, I'm usually up most of the night anyways. Okay, PHEW- took me like an hour to type this haha. I won't be on much tomorrow I assume, going in the morning the the market then after a few hours going over to my grandparents house after watching my siblings trick or treat, will be at my grandpas house for several hours, I bought new fabric and I'm making a bedding set for the ferret nation, for Marcie. And coming home and watching Halloween H20 like we do every single year. And of course eating candy until my heart gives out. Gonna go sleep for a few hours, if possible. Or just stay up and watch Bones.. I'll be on a little tomorrow probably not tomorrow night. :wave2:
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2014 22:19:00 GMT -5
What a day! I hope you guys had a great Halloween. I stayed at my grandpa's house while my family went trick or treating. I don't have a sewing machine but he does, and I had bought 4 yards of fabric and wanted to make a bedding set. It took several hours and I now regret it as I have immense muscle pain. Biofreeze, hot bath with herbs, more biofreeze, NSAIDS, pain pills. Nothing really helping, I obviously over-did it but I have to say I'm quite proud of the turn-out. I'll set it up and take pictures later. Bought pork shoulder, 4.15 lbs for $8.60 so should last 7-8 days or so which is MUCH cheaper than the chops I was getting previously. It does have bone but it's not a big bone. I also went to the Asian Market and got 2 lbs of pork heart and 2 lbs of pork liver. I'll have to sit and hand feed them this.. I don't know if I physically can sit in the floor hunched over feeding them for over an hour but I can try. Marcie didn't touch any of the 3 oz of soup I left in the cage for her, so she hasn't eaten at all today. I don't know why, Juliet ate immediately and I think Caillou may have eaten a little after I left but I don't think so. At least they'll be hungry and eat better for me tonight. I gotta go make their soup, blend, label, weigh, bag, prepare, meds, feed. Will post how they ate, daily log and my bedding set pictures either tonight or maybe in the morning.
:halloween: :bat: :happyhalloween: :halloweencat: :witch:
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Post by Deleted on Nov 1, 2014 1:31:20 GMT -5
The fact that I have not completely given up today is astounding. Pork shoulder- NEVER AGAIN. I can't buy meat with skin, it tears up my blender. If my magic bullet even works anymore, I have to attempt the soup making again tomorrow with some SKINLESS pork meat. It was terrible. It took my like 20 minutes to saw through the frozen solid heart and liver, and then after getting everything ready I put it in the blender and there it is. My blender beating the crap out of itself and a burning smell. I spent 45 minutes off and on pulling skin off the blades. Frustrated and tired I get the drainer and a bucket and drain all the thing soupy and separate it from the huge chunks of skin and meat. I put the chunks (1.4 lbs) in a ziplock bag and throw it in the freezer. I only had enough for tonight and in the morning, bagged 3 bags of 2 oz of soup and filled up their bowls, cleaned up the huge mess from the blender splattering soup everywhere and went to feed them. OF COURSE none of them wanted it. I put a few drops of ferretone in and Marcie and Caillou had half their face in the bowl but Juliet wasn't convinced. So I hold her and spoon feed her for like 15 minutes. Milky consistency, their absolute favorite, there is nothing they love more than thin soup, and then I left about 1-2 spoonfuls of soup in each of their bowls. Pictures!!!!! It looks kinda crappy I realized and I messed up the demensions pretty bad but hey, I'll do better next time. This is a better picture of the pattern, they're sugar skulls. Thought it fit Marcie perfectly. and on the back is this And Juliet is approving of the hammock And here is the mess that was made as I was cleaning their cage, they thought they'd help make the mess bigger Their log for the day- What they ate each meal: AM- They got the normal pork soup, pudding consistency PM- They got a milky consistency unbalanced soup, attempted to blend pork skin and meat, pork liver and heart together, it was supposed to be balanced but this soup was not. I drained the chunks. Roughly how much they ate each meal: AM- Caillou didn’t want to eat and I’m not sure if he did or not Marcie did not eat anything at all Juliet ate about 1 oz PM- They all ate 2 ounces of soup, about 1 spoonful left in each bowl maybe a little more. Any additional supplements: Caillou- .13 ml of Baytril 100 Juliet- .15 ml of pediapred What their poops are like: Caillou- small, dark brown, the usual Juliet- small, light brown, kinda stringy looking Marcie- small, dark brown What their energy is like: Caillou- very energetic today, he even played with me! Juliet- not very playful, just slept most of the day Marcie- crazy like normal And I have a concern about Juliet. Sometimes she acts like it's hard to go potty. I don't know if it's to pee or to poop, I think to pee. For a few weeks she would occasionally (just 1-2 times a week more less) would jump in and out of the litter box several times before going. I figured she was just being weird and didn't want to use her litter box. But today I noticed, she got in the litter box and got out and got back in and stood there for 1-2 minutes, which is way longer than she is usually in there. She peed and pooped, her poop was a long thin poop, sometimes they're like that. She didn't whine but she looked like she may have been straining a little, I'm not sure, when Neichei strained with her prolapse she whined a lot, Jules didn't. Should I worry about this? What does it mean? Oh, and their urine is like really clear, it has maybe a tiny itty bitty almost un-noticeable tint of yellow but mostly clear, I think it's been like this since starting raw but they usually use the litter box and I didn't notice until Caillou peed on his cage pan and I wiped it up. It's 2:30 am so I'm hitting the sack. Tomorrow I have to go get litter and new pork meat. Will probably just mope around and eat candy all day. My mood tomorrow will probably be a little like LOL. Night.
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Post by katt on Nov 1, 2014 2:18:20 GMT -5
Woot! The bedding looks great and yay for the pork heart and liver! (dance) For hand feeding them, try sitting in a chair or the edge of your bed instead of on the floor and hold them in your lap. Also if you can, hang out in your room and keep a bowl of a few slivers nearby. Do your homework, read a book, browse the forum - while they run around the room and play. Whenever one runs by, pick them up and finger feed them a little sliver. You can drizzle a little olive oil on them if they like that. (Keep some hand sanitizer or something nearby so you don't have to leave and wash your hands every time. ). This is something I wanted to make note of RE your schedule too. It sounds like you have to let them out for pretty supervised playtime, but even with a chewer you really shouldn't need to do that IF you can multitask. What I do is let the boys out in the ferret proofed room I am studying in. There are cords out, and of course Koda always finds something new to chew. But Shane and I have gotten very good at always keeping our ears out for smacking/chewing noises and we keep a peripheral eye out for any sketchy looking behavior (sneaking around, being too quiet when we know they aren't asleep....LOL). Get a cheap spray bottle (or even a squirt gun) from the dollar store and keep it next to you. When they are getting into trouble across the room just say No! and spray them. If after 2-3 times they keep going back to it (within a short time period, not if they leave and come back later), put them in time out for 3 minutes. Before you let them out do a once-over and make sure anything that is chewable or not ferret safe gets put away that can be, and remember where the other things are that couldn't be put away (e.g. a cord that couldn't be unplugged) and keep your eyes/ears out for ferret mischief in that area. For Juliet that is a bit concerning. You said this has been going on for a few weeks? When did it start? Any chance she could have ingested something? Do you have any canned pumpkin on hand still? It almost sounds like a partial blockage, but with being so careful with Caillou I can't imagine what she could have ingested. Any chance she is eating the starch peanuts? :/
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Post by katt on Nov 1, 2014 2:22:52 GMT -5
Okay I will probably NOT be on tomorrow or Sunday. Cardio final is Monday so it's crunch time.
If I get a good study break I'll try to peek in and see if there is anything urgent.
If you can tomorrow, try putting some chicken into their soup. Either soup or sliver form. If you do slivers do about 1/2-1tsp of chicken slivers in the pork soup. Otherwise do maybe 1/4 chicken instead of pork for the soup (so 2oz chicken 6oz pork). Do that for 2 meals in a row. If Caillou seems fine (no new redness on his gums, no weird poops, no sudden increase in chewing), then on Sunday make the meal a little more chicken - about half. I should be back Monday.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 1, 2014 11:59:02 GMT -5
I'll be here and keep checking in. I have to go offline for a little while and then I'll be back on.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 1, 2014 12:01:10 GMT -5
Jules and Caillou won't eat slivers out of my hand, even with oils on it. I try every time I have slivers out, Marcie will, she'll take several from my hand, but they won't unless it's in their soup and I'm holding them, they hate slivers with a passion I've been meaning to buy a spray bottle for weeks. Going to the store today so I'll make a list and get it. I don't know if Marcie likes water, Caillou and Juliet when they are taking a bath just stand there completely frozen but Cai loves tipping over things with water or drinks in it and licking off the floor. For a few weeks she will occasionally jump in and out of the litter box, but Marcie does that too and sometimes Cai also, they'll get in and out several times before finally going potty, mostly in their cage if they want out, it's like if the get in the litter box they're afraid the door will close or something. But I just noticed last night Jules may have been straining. Her vulva is very swollen and it blisters over and I have to clean it with a warm rag almost every day. I'll do blockage protocol and see what happens, just in case, there is a good chance she could have eaten the peanuts, she LOVES sleeping in them and I don't supervise her during play time, because I've never, ever seen her chew anything and she never gets into trouble, but she could've discovered she likes the taste of her favorite bedding item. I'm sorry I didn't give them chicken last night, I was really frustrated and had forgotten to thaw the chicken. I'll add some into their soup tonight and also some slivers, Marcie hasn't had slivers in a few meals and I do NOT need her getting used to that. I need her on frankenprey... LOL. Crunch time! Haha, you'll do great.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 1, 2014 13:44:40 GMT -5
Stef, either Juliet or Caillou had a black, tarry looking stool sometime last night or this morning. It was kinda thick and jello-y in consistency and when I pulled it apart it was a little green inside.. I don't know who it belongs to, haven't seen anyone but Marcie poop yet but one of them pooped a normal (long a little thinner than a pencil) poop, don't know who.
They're all acting fine. Juliet just wants to sleep like usual, she wasn't very interested in her food this morning but Cai and Marc weren't either, I had to put 1-2 drops of ferretone in to get them started but didn't for Jules, I held and spoon fed her and she ate all but 2-3 spoonfuls.
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