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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2015 20:55:50 GMT -5
Week 1| Weight | 1/29/15 | 1/30/15 | 1/31/15 | 2/1/15 | 2/2/15 | 2/3/15 | 2/4/15 | | Moses | ~680 g (1 lb 8oz) | ~680 g (1lb 8oz) | ~680 g (1lb 8oz) | ~680 g (1lb 8oz)
| ~680 g (1lb 8oz)
| ~680 g (1lb 8oz) | ~652 g (1lb 7oz) | | Elisha | ~793 g (1lb 12 oz) | ~739 g (1lb 12 oz) | ~739 g (1lb 12 oz) | ~739 g (1lb 12 oz) | 900 g (2 lbs) | 900 g (2 lbs)
| 900 g (2 lbs) |
- Soupie made for ferrets consisted of 8oz Rad Cat Raw (Turkey), a whole egg, and 1/4 of their kibble intake.
- Moses & Elisha both took well to the soupie. Soupie was typically 3-4oz.
- Elisha ate more oz than Moses. Estimated around 3 - 3.5 oz. Moses estimated ate 0.5-1 oz.
- Moses prefers being finger fed. She will eat more if allowed to eat from the bowl first, then finger fed afterwards.
- New batch of soupie made on 2/3/15. Less kibble. Moses & Elisha were hesitant to eat it, but accepted it via spoon feeding.
Week 2| Weight | 2/5/15 | 2/6/16 | 2/7/17 | 2/8/15 | 2/9/15 | 2/10/15 | 2/11/15 | | Moses | ~652 g (1lb 7oz) | ~652 g (1lb 7oz)
| ~652 g (1lb 7oz)
| ~652 g (1lb 7oz)
| ~652 g (1lb 7oz)
| ~652 g (1lb 7oz)
| ~652 g (1lb 7oz)
| | Elisha | 900 g (2 lbs) | 900 g (2 lbs)
| 900 g (2 lbs)
| 900 g (2 lbs)
| 900 g (2 lbs)
| 900 g (2 lbs)
| 900 g (2 lbs)
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- Soupie made on 2/6/15. Soupie had zero kibble in it and consisted only of Rad Cat Raw and a whole egg. Ferrets were extremely reluctant to eat it. Finger feeding and spoon feeding were necessary. The next day, they were more willing to eat it on their own.
- Significant decrease of pooping has been noted.
Week 3| Weight | 2/11/15 | 2/12/15 | 2/13/15 | 2/14/15 | 2/15/15 | 2/16/15 | | Moses | ~623 g (1 lb 6 oz) | ~623 g (1 lb 6 oz) | ~623 g (1 lb 6 oz) | ~595 g (1 lb 5 oz) | Row 2 column 7 | | Elisha | |
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| Row 3 column 6 | Row 3 column 7 |
- As of 2/13/15, Moses has begun refusing food.
- List item 2
- List item 3
Today is the day we finally started our journey on transitioning to a raw diet. The plan is to transition them and my two cats, Gabriel & Zephon, to Rad Cat Raw diet. Moses & Elisha were exposed to their first soupie today. My soupie held a mixture of their Rad Cat Raw free-range turkey meat, kibble, and a whole egg. I added EVOO in it to entice them to taste it. Both ferrets lapped up the soupie from the dish and would also lick it off my finger. My cats, who I am also transitioning, did not touch the very tiny piece of meat I offered as a treat. This leads to the final score for the night of: Ferrets: 2, Cats: 0. Good job, fuzzies. <3    
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2015 18:47:36 GMT -5
It looks like you are off to a good start.
Moses and Elisha are so cute.
(dance)
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2015 19:20:58 GMT -5
They're both such cuties! Good job! but a note, it seems you have a LOT of EVO in there, remeber that they're only supposed to have 1/3 tsp every 3 days. A few drops to get them going is okay but it's just a couple drops.  |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2015 22:59:03 GMT -5
Today the ferrets again happily ate their soupies. They received one during the day and one at night. No EVOO was added to either.
Cats are still refusing. Ferrets again score a point. Ferrets: 2, Cats: 0.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2015 22:33:40 GMT -5
Both still take soupies quite well. Moses will eat from the bowl, but prefers to be finger fed. We finger feed her afterward to make sure she gets enough. I'm concerned with Moses and her adrenal. Her vulva is swelling again. (It swelled for a time, went down, and now is swelling again). Elisha has gained weight! She is now 900 g or 2 lbs! She's my fatty girl. <3  Some top shots: Elisha  Moses  |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2015 11:55:39 GMT -5
Both of them are doing well. They all like hand feeding in the beginning. You might try picking up some little baby spoons. Finger feeding must take forever. I would take Moses in to the vet and get her vulva looked at. I haven't dealt with this, but I would think it must be a little uncomfortable. Here is a thread that talks about this: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/9683/lylas-vulva-red-swollen |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2015 20:31:15 GMT -5
Both of them are doing well. They all like hand feeding in the beginning. You might try picking up some little baby spoons. Finger feeding must take forever. I would take Moses in to the vet and get her vulva looked at. I haven't dealt with this, but I would think it must be a little uncomfortable. Here is a thread that talks about this: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/9683/lylas-vulva-red-swollenYes, it does take some time! But neither one likes the spoon idea. I've already tried.  Silly ferrets. At least they will eat from the bowl on their own...they just tend to eat more if I use my finger. Moses is adrenal, thus the swelling. I've been working with my vet for some time on getting her a DES implant and we've recently been exchanging emails. Fingers crossed something will be worked out soon! |
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Post by Celene on Feb 3, 2015 20:51:46 GMT -5
What I did with my girls was let them eat off my finger when they were hungry, and had the food in a spoon and made sure they could see the food they were eating off my finger was coming from the spoon. I kept it really close so when they got impatient that I wasn't "refilling" my finger fast enough they went straight to the source! I don't need to worry about my Mocha, she's much fussier but also a little piggy. I still feed Nova on my lap sometimes and hold the dish for her and she eats quite a bit more that way. In regards to the implant, you might want to check out this thread I created earlier. The AFA (American Ferret Association) is petitioning Virbac (the implant manufacturer) to stop dragging their feet and get the implants shipped out already. They are looking for ferrents with adrenal ferrets who need the implant to tell their story so that they can show Virbac just how many people really really want them. In the meantime, does Moses get lupron shots? I've never had to deal with adrenal but we helped someone who was poor and not ferret knowledgeable get their bald (adrenal) ferret to the vet so he could be treated and the lupron shot really seemed to help him. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2015 23:12:27 GMT -5
The ferrets have done very well in eating all the soupie presented to them. Their bowl has been emptying. Moses has lost a tiny amount of weight, but Elisha remains consistent.
Moses loves being spoon fed now. She will eat from the bowl, but she likes being spoon fed at the same time. Elisha will spoon feed, but does extremely well on eating on her own.
This soupie has hardly any kibble at all in it. Just a small amount. They definitely noticed the difference at first.
A small update on Moses and her adrenal disease. The DES implant is supposedly available for us in 3-4 weeks at the soonest. She will remain on an oral melatonin regiment until then. We're really excited to finally be getting her an implant!
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Post by Celene on Feb 6, 2015 0:10:22 GMT -5
I'm so happy to hear that Moses will hopefully be able to get her implant soon! Way too many babies have crossed the bridge waiting for it  In case you haven't heard, the AFA (American Ferret Association) is lobbying the manufacturer to do a better job making it available. To support their case and show Virbac just how many people want/need it they are asking people who have/have had adrenal ferrets to post stories on their page dedicated to it and fill out a survey. I posted the links in this thread: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/17451If the weight loss is minimal I wouldn't worry too much as long as she stays at a healthy weight. If she seems to be eating a good amount it might be that the soup is thin enough that she's filling up on water. If she'll still eat it you can try thickening the soup and/or feeding her more or more often. Spoon feeding her is alright I think as long as she doesn't get lazy and come to expect it. My Nova never seems to eat enough on her own so about 30 minutes after she walks away from the bowl I usually pick it and her up and hold both on my lap while I watch her eat. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2015 0:14:04 GMT -5
I'm so happy to hear that Moses will hopefully be able to get her implant soon! Way too many babies have crossed the bridge waiting for it In case you haven't heard, the AFA (American Ferret Association) is lobbying the manufacturer to do a better job making it available. To support their case and show Virbac just how many people want/need it they are asking people who have/have had adrenal ferrets to post stories on their page dedicated to it and fill out a survey. I posted the links in this thread: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/17451If the weight loss is minimal I wouldn't worry too much as long as she stays at a healthy weight. If she seems to be eating a good amount it might be that the soup is thin enough that she's filling up on water. If she'll still eat it you can try thickening the soup and/or feeding her more or more often. Spoon feeding her is alright I think as long as she doesn't get lazy and come to expect it. My Nova never seems to eat enough on her own so about 30 minutes after she walks away from the bowl I usually pick it and her up and hold both on my lap while I watch her eat. Already sent the email and did the survey.  Moses goes up and down in weight, so it's not abnormal. She's anywhere from 1 lb 5 oz to 1lb 9 oz at any given time. So I'm not too concerned. She actually gained weight from her last vet visit (1.5 lbs), so I'm thrilled about her being 1.7 or 1.8! |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2015 14:07:56 GMT -5
We get alot of ferrents who begin a switch to raw at the beginning of the New Year. Just like a New Years resolution to go to the gym.
Then a few weeks into the switch, their ferrets start losing their winter weight and it frightens the ferrent, who thinks that their eating raw is causing them to starve and lose weight.
So, don't panic over a few ounces here or there. Moses is at a very nice weight for a female.
Have you noticed any changes in their coats yet?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2015 20:58:40 GMT -5
We get alot of ferrents who begin a switch to raw at the beginning of the New Year. Just like a New Years resolution to go to the gym. Then a few weeks into the switch, their ferrets start losing their winter weight and it frightens the ferrent, who thinks that their eating raw is causing them to starve and lose weight. So, don't panic over a few ounces here or there. Moses is at a very nice weight for a female. Have you noticed any changes in their coats yet? I had them on a mixture of high quality kibble before switching. Their furs became thicker, softer, and more lavish than when they were on a lower quality kibble. Their coats became even nicer once I started giving them raw egg alongside their kibble. Their smells also significantly decreased. So no, I've not noticed any difference since switching on raw. But I think their coats were absolutely gorgeous BEFORE I started. Elisha...I just wanna rub her coat all over me, because it's just so soft. The thing I have noticed is far less poop. That's been nice! |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2015 23:00:01 GMT -5
Elisha and Moses are eating their all-meat soupie reluctantly, but are eating it. I tried to trick them into eating ground beef, but no dice. Elisha did chew on it a little, then ran off and stashed it. Moses vehemently refused.
My cat Zephon ate some ground beef, though! I'm finally making progress with the cats.
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Post by Celene on Feb 8, 2015 23:34:04 GMT -5
I would mix the ground beef into the soupie to start, and then slowly decrease the amount of soup in the mix. Of course you still need to make sure they're getting the right balance of organs and calcium too.
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