Post by Heather on Nov 8, 2014 0:14:17 GMT -5
Name: Allison Johnson
HF Forum Username:PearlAndBeasMom
1. Where did you first learn about natural diets for ferrets? I had never heard of raw diets until someone invited me to the Holistic Ferrets Facebook page. I believe I was invited by someone in the Minnesota Ferrets Facebook page or maybe the Ferret Owners of Rochester Facebook page. I don't exactly remember how I was introduced to the page but I've been following it for months and have learned so much about raw diets and overall health of ferrets and am ready to dive into the healthiest lifestyle for my babies!
2. Please describe the type of diet you would like assistance in switching your ferret(s) to. Be sure to include if you are interested in feeding whole prey (live or frozen-thawed) and if you are wanting to FULLY switch to a natural diet or PARTIALLY. If you are unsure what kind of diet you want to put your ferrets on, please express that and we can help you find the best type of natural diet for your ferret. I want to fully switch my girls to a raw diet. I have a really hard time with the idea of whole prey and absolutely know I personally can't handle live prey. It would be pushing it to do frozen-thawed but I'll keep an open mind about that. I foresee a full switch to a raw diet but am just unsure at this point about anything to do with whole prey. I just don't think I can stomach it but like I say, I have an open mind and will do just about anything for the well-being of my girls.
3. Why are you interested in switching your ferrets to a natural diet? I care immensely for the health, happiness and well-being of my girls. I have been through tremendous heartache watching ferrets fall ill in the past. I can't, in good conscience, continue to offer them processed kibble, "vitamins", and treats now that I know what I know about the correlation between health issues/quality of life and nutrition. I am generally very careful about what I put into my body for the sake of my health and quality of life. I love my girls with all my heart and want to offer them the best life I possibly can.
4. Do you understand that switching your ferret to a natural diet can be a lengthy, arduous process? Its not an overnight switch. It can be a commitment of several weeks or even months. Your HF Mentor will be more then happy to assist you in switchng your ferret(s) to a natural diet, but you need to be equally as commited. If you aren't willing to tough out a potentially lengthy switching process, or if you have major life changes approaching (baby on the way, moving, starting school, getting married/divorced, etc) then it might be a better idea to wait on switching your ferret's diet until you have more time. Are you willing to make the commitment? Yes. I am ready. I have waited for several months to make sure this is not just something I'm excited about and the excitement will pass but something I'm actually excited about, agree with, and am commited to.
5. How many ferrets do you currently have? What are their names? Ages? Genders? Do they have any health problems? Are they overweight? Underweight? How long have you had each ferret for? Currently, I have two ferrets. I have Pearl and Beatrix. Pearl is three years old. She does not have any health problems. She has been healthy for her entire three years with us. She is a Marshalls ferret so I fear that poor breeding practices could catch up with her someday. She is deaf but it does not hold her back! I believe she has Waardenburg's syndrome. She did just lose her left canine tooth so I hope this will not pose any trouble for her when she starts to dig into all that yummy raw meat! We have had Pearl in our family since she was about four months old. She is not overweight or underweight. She is just right We also have Beatrix. Beatrix will be four years old in April. She is also a Marshalls ferret although unlike Pearl, we did not adopt her from the pet store. Beatrix, Bea for short, had lived with another family since she was a baby. We adopted her about a year and a half ago. Bea did not get very much outside the cage time in her previous family. I believe it is because of this that her body compostion is quite different from Pearl's. Bea does not have the muscle mass that Pearl does and she is a tad overweight. Her veterinarian is not concerned but does say she is a little overweight. She does not have any health problems and has not as long as she's been in our family. She does get hiccups when she plays due to being slightly overweight This has diminished quite a bit since she came into our lives because with plenty of playtime, no treats, and NO DR. PEPPER, she has slimmed down a little bit. (Her previous family said her favorite treat was Dr. Pepper! Ahh!)
6. What diet do you currently feed your ferrets? (Please include all treats, supplements, etc) Do they already eat some form of soup? My girls have never touched raw food before. They currently eat Marshalls kibble. Our veterinarian prescribed Science Diet Hairball Control cat food (I know, I know. Cat food?!) for one of our ferrets who passed away about a year and a half ago not for its content but because he felt the shape of the kibble would help scrape off the plaque on his teeth. Now that I know what I know, I do not give this to them anymore. I've also stopped giving them ferrevite as I've learned how terrible it is since becoming part of the facebook page. They do occasionally get ferretone mixed in with AD wet puppy food recently as it was what was suggested by the emergency vet when we went in for Pearl's broken off tooth. The ferretone was the only way I could get her to eat the wet food.
7. Have you ever tried to switch your ferrets to a natural diet in the past? If yes, what happened? Never tried.
8. What additional information about yourself or your ferrets would you like to share? Nothing for now.
9. How often during the week do you have access to a computer? everyday.
10. Please post a picture of each of your ferrets (if possible).
11. Have you met the requirements for this program? Do you have your scale, a place to access meats, hearts, livers, etc? I do not have my scale yet. I plan to make this purchase while waiting for a mentor. I have some thoughts as to where I'd get my meat and organs and whatnot but have not asked these places as of yet. I figured I'd do this while waiting for a mentor as well.
Hi and welcome to the mentoring program . In a little while your mentor (Bitbyter), will introduce himself and you can get started on a new adventure in natural ferret care and diets. Please remember to post regularly (daily or as per arranged with your mentor) so that your mentor can assist you move along safely in this adventure. If you experience computer difficulties or are going to be away, please notify your mentor and most of all relax and have fun . Your mentor is here to help you on this journey.
ciao
HF Forum Username:PearlAndBeasMom
1. Where did you first learn about natural diets for ferrets? I had never heard of raw diets until someone invited me to the Holistic Ferrets Facebook page. I believe I was invited by someone in the Minnesota Ferrets Facebook page or maybe the Ferret Owners of Rochester Facebook page. I don't exactly remember how I was introduced to the page but I've been following it for months and have learned so much about raw diets and overall health of ferrets and am ready to dive into the healthiest lifestyle for my babies!
2. Please describe the type of diet you would like assistance in switching your ferret(s) to. Be sure to include if you are interested in feeding whole prey (live or frozen-thawed) and if you are wanting to FULLY switch to a natural diet or PARTIALLY. If you are unsure what kind of diet you want to put your ferrets on, please express that and we can help you find the best type of natural diet for your ferret. I want to fully switch my girls to a raw diet. I have a really hard time with the idea of whole prey and absolutely know I personally can't handle live prey. It would be pushing it to do frozen-thawed but I'll keep an open mind about that. I foresee a full switch to a raw diet but am just unsure at this point about anything to do with whole prey. I just don't think I can stomach it but like I say, I have an open mind and will do just about anything for the well-being of my girls.
3. Why are you interested in switching your ferrets to a natural diet? I care immensely for the health, happiness and well-being of my girls. I have been through tremendous heartache watching ferrets fall ill in the past. I can't, in good conscience, continue to offer them processed kibble, "vitamins", and treats now that I know what I know about the correlation between health issues/quality of life and nutrition. I am generally very careful about what I put into my body for the sake of my health and quality of life. I love my girls with all my heart and want to offer them the best life I possibly can.
4. Do you understand that switching your ferret to a natural diet can be a lengthy, arduous process? Its not an overnight switch. It can be a commitment of several weeks or even months. Your HF Mentor will be more then happy to assist you in switchng your ferret(s) to a natural diet, but you need to be equally as commited. If you aren't willing to tough out a potentially lengthy switching process, or if you have major life changes approaching (baby on the way, moving, starting school, getting married/divorced, etc) then it might be a better idea to wait on switching your ferret's diet until you have more time. Are you willing to make the commitment? Yes. I am ready. I have waited for several months to make sure this is not just something I'm excited about and the excitement will pass but something I'm actually excited about, agree with, and am commited to.
5. How many ferrets do you currently have? What are their names? Ages? Genders? Do they have any health problems? Are they overweight? Underweight? How long have you had each ferret for? Currently, I have two ferrets. I have Pearl and Beatrix. Pearl is three years old. She does not have any health problems. She has been healthy for her entire three years with us. She is a Marshalls ferret so I fear that poor breeding practices could catch up with her someday. She is deaf but it does not hold her back! I believe she has Waardenburg's syndrome. She did just lose her left canine tooth so I hope this will not pose any trouble for her when she starts to dig into all that yummy raw meat! We have had Pearl in our family since she was about four months old. She is not overweight or underweight. She is just right We also have Beatrix. Beatrix will be four years old in April. She is also a Marshalls ferret although unlike Pearl, we did not adopt her from the pet store. Beatrix, Bea for short, had lived with another family since she was a baby. We adopted her about a year and a half ago. Bea did not get very much outside the cage time in her previous family. I believe it is because of this that her body compostion is quite different from Pearl's. Bea does not have the muscle mass that Pearl does and she is a tad overweight. Her veterinarian is not concerned but does say she is a little overweight. She does not have any health problems and has not as long as she's been in our family. She does get hiccups when she plays due to being slightly overweight This has diminished quite a bit since she came into our lives because with plenty of playtime, no treats, and NO DR. PEPPER, she has slimmed down a little bit. (Her previous family said her favorite treat was Dr. Pepper! Ahh!)
6. What diet do you currently feed your ferrets? (Please include all treats, supplements, etc) Do they already eat some form of soup? My girls have never touched raw food before. They currently eat Marshalls kibble. Our veterinarian prescribed Science Diet Hairball Control cat food (I know, I know. Cat food?!) for one of our ferrets who passed away about a year and a half ago not for its content but because he felt the shape of the kibble would help scrape off the plaque on his teeth. Now that I know what I know, I do not give this to them anymore. I've also stopped giving them ferrevite as I've learned how terrible it is since becoming part of the facebook page. They do occasionally get ferretone mixed in with AD wet puppy food recently as it was what was suggested by the emergency vet when we went in for Pearl's broken off tooth. The ferretone was the only way I could get her to eat the wet food.
7. Have you ever tried to switch your ferrets to a natural diet in the past? If yes, what happened? Never tried.
8. What additional information about yourself or your ferrets would you like to share? Nothing for now.
9. How often during the week do you have access to a computer? everyday.
10. Please post a picture of each of your ferrets (if possible).
11. Have you met the requirements for this program? Do you have your scale, a place to access meats, hearts, livers, etc? I do not have my scale yet. I plan to make this purchase while waiting for a mentor. I have some thoughts as to where I'd get my meat and organs and whatnot but have not asked these places as of yet. I figured I'd do this while waiting for a mentor as well.
Hi and welcome to the mentoring program . In a little while your mentor (Bitbyter), will introduce himself and you can get started on a new adventure in natural ferret care and diets. Please remember to post regularly (daily or as per arranged with your mentor) so that your mentor can assist you move along safely in this adventure. If you experience computer difficulties or are going to be away, please notify your mentor and most of all relax and have fun . Your mentor is here to help you on this journey.
ciao