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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2015 16:04:12 GMT -5
I'm sorry that it took me awhile to get back to you.
We often end up with one stubborn little fellow. Your Moses might not have caught on to the fact that this is actually food yet. It sounds like you are really going to want to work with Moses on the soup. This is a great time to bond and you will find a few more snuggles will come your way.
First, sit on the floor with Moses, a towel and a spoon and the soup. Put Moses in your lap and place your other hand under her, just so that she knows it's there. Not to scare her and hold her in place. Then dab your finger into the soupie and wipe it on her lips. She has to lick it off. Then take the spoon and put a little soup on it. Offer this to her and talk nice, but don't let her down until she has a few bites and then try for just one more. If she begins eating the soup, stay with her until she has had some. Then at the next meal, if she is eating the soup, try lowering the spoon to the plate and let her eat off the spoon on the plate. Coaxing and hand feeding will go a long way towards making her feel secure and success with the soup.
The other trick to success is finding out how she likes her soup. Usually in the beginning, it helps to make it thinner and thicken it a little each serving. Some prefer it warm (that also releases the smell). Some need a drop of oil on top. Sometimes, you can also trick them by crushing some kibble into a powder and sprinkling it on top. That makes it smell familiar.
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Post by Celene on Feb 15, 2015 16:10:57 GMT -5
Have you weighed them recently? I would keep a close eye on Moses to make sure she's not losing too much weight, especially with her adrenal. I would say just continue trying to get food in her every couple hours or as often as you can. Does Moses like egg yolk? If you haven't tried it with her yes, rub a bit on her gums.
Both my girls LOOOVE egg and will basically eat ANYTHING I top with egg. The bonus part is that egg yolks are very nutritious on their own and high in protein/fats. Don't be surprised if she has crazy yellow poops the first couple times she has egg though.
PS - ferrets can eat the yolks alone, or a whole egg whipped together, just not whites on their own. Yolks are awesome during shedding season for preventing hairballs too. The reason I suggested just yolk is that my girls definitely like them way more than the whites/whole egg.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2015 17:17:58 GMT -5
I'm sorry that it took me awhile to get back to you. We often end up with one stubborn little fellow. Your Moses might not have caught on to the fact that this is actually food yet. It sounds like you are really going to want to work with Moses on the soup. This is a great time to bond and you will find a few more snuggles will come your way. First, sit on the floor with Moses, a towel and a spoon and the soup. Put Moses in your lap and place your other hand under her, just so that she knows it's there. Not to scare her and hold her in place. Then dab your finger into the soupie and wipe it on her lips. She has to lick it off. Then take the spoon and put a little soup on it. Offer this to her and talk nice, but don't let her down until she has a few bites and then try for just one more. If she begins eating the soup, stay with her until she has had some. Then at the next meal, if she is eating the soup, try lowering the spoon to the plate and let her eat off the spoon on the plate. Coaxing and hand feeding will go a long way towards making her feel secure and success with the soup. The other trick to success is finding out how she likes her soup. Usually in the beginning, it helps to make it thinner and thicken it a little each serving. Some prefer it warm (that also releases the smell). Some need a drop of oil on top. Sometimes, you can also trick them by crushing some kibble into a powder and sprinkling it on top. That makes it smell familiar. It feels odd to me that Moses would be eating the soupie so well for almost 3 weeks, then suddenly stop because she thinks it isn't food, though. She has been eating it without any kind of spoon feeding or hand feeding up until last Friday. Then she has started to refuse. Oil has helped me get her to eat something, but not a lot. And today I managed to coax her into eating some of her soupie off a spoon, but only 2 spoonfuls. I'm worried it may be more a health concern that she has stopped eating... On one note, though, Moses does prefer her food warmer than Elisha. Elisha will eat it right out of the fridge. Moses likes it to get to room temperature, I feel. EDIT: @poncesmom I should also add, that lately when Moses is eating she is shaking incessantly. I have no idea why.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2015 17:19:43 GMT -5
Have you weighed them recently? I would keep a close eye on Moses to make sure she's not losing too much weight, especially with her adrenal. I would say just continue trying to get food in her every couple hours or as often as you can. Does Moses like egg yolk? If you haven't tried it with her yes, rub a bit on her gums. Both my girls LOOOVE egg and will basically eat ANYTHING I top with egg. The bonus part is that egg yolks are very nutritious on their own and high in protein/fats. Don't be surprised if she has crazy yellow poops the first couple times she has egg though. PS - ferrets can eat the yolks alone, or a whole egg whipped together, just not whites on their own. Yolks are awesome during shedding season for preventing hairballs too. The reason I suggested just yolk is that my girls definitely like them way more than the whites/whole egg. I've honestly been busy and fallen behind on consistently weighing them. Though, Moses has been weighed recently at 1 lb 6 oz. I plan to weigh her again today and make sure she hasn't lost any more weight. We have been rubbing the soupie on her lips every couple of hours. She licked some off my SO's finger, but not a lot. Moses does love egg! Both of mine do. I knew all of that about the egg. I mix a whole egg in with my soupies. :3 I may try tonight to give her some egg independently and see how she reacts to it.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2015 17:39:44 GMT -5
@muse, you're right that if Moses has been eating the soup and stopped, then it's not a matter of her not recognizing it as food. I had two open windows and should have gone back and reread the beginning of your thread. I apologize.
Shaking is usually due to cold or excitement. Are you waking her to eat? Was she already up and then started shaking while she eats. You also said that the only thing different was you used chicken instead of turkey. Was this her first time eating the chicken grind?
From rereading your thread, she was eating well and has only refused to eat well for a day or so, right? She might not be too hungry, but I'm thinking it was the new flavor. Definitely try an egg tonight.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2015 17:55:40 GMT -5
@muse, you're right that if Moses has been eating the soup and stopped, then it's not a matter of her not recognizing it as food. I had two open windows and should have gone back and reread the beginning of your thread. I apologize. Shaking is usually due to cold or excitement. Are you waking her to eat? Was she already up and then started shaking while she eats. You also said that the only thing different was you used chicken instead of turkey. Was this her first time eating the chicken grind? From rereading your thread, she was eating well and has only refused to eat well for a day or so, right? She might not be too hungry, but I'm thinking it was the new flavor. Definitely try an egg tonight. Sometimes she is just waking up to eat and I'm not worried about that shaking. But other times she's been awake for a while and will just start shaking as soon as we try to get her to eat. It makes me worry that maybe eating is causing her pain. Pain would be a good reason for her to refuse eating. The chicken is new-ish, but she actually took to it quite willingly. We started her last Thursday on chicken, I believe? If I'm not mistaken, though, Moses has been refusing the turkey we had leftover, too. I laid an egg down today and she ate at it. She didn't eat as much as she usually does, but she did eat some of it. Elisha came to finish it off after Moses ran away. Fatty Elisha.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2015 18:01:52 GMT -5
Pain, nausea and meds can all make her not hungry. I haven't seen shaking as a sign of pain. Shaking can mean excitement. But that doesn't make sense if she is excited and refusing food. They do have food preferences like we do. They may not like the chicken as much as the turkey and are holding out for the turkey. Moses also may be waiting for you to hand feed her and hold and spoil her. It's also possible that she is slowing down on her eating. They will eat less in the spring. Even though it doesn't look anything like spring, the signs are there. I saw my groundhog in the yard, lol. I'm tagging gfountain to see what she thinks.
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Post by gfountain on Feb 15, 2015 18:05:34 GMT -5
My brats aren't eating well either, and several others are saying the same thing. I really think it's the seasonal thing, at least with mine. How is her weight? Activity level? Poops?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2015 18:27:16 GMT -5
My brats aren't eating well either, and several others are saying the same thing. I really think it's the seasonal thing, at least with mine. How is her weight? Activity level? Poops? She used to be 1lb 8 oz and is now down to 1lb 5 oz. This has been her lowest recorded weight at the vet. She's always been between 1.5 and 1.8, so her weight is still not incredibly unusual for her. It does concern me, though, that she has lost these couple of ounces rather quickly. I figure this could also be seasonal as well, right? Her activity is actually fine. She's still as high-strung as she's always been. She has taken to licking all over my arms and biting me. She has never done that as often as she is doing it now. So I have no clue where this is coming from. Moses has never been one to poop a lot, which always gets to me. As far as I'm aware, she is pooping fine. They look okay to me. I'll keep a look out tonight.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2015 18:47:43 GMT -5
If her weigh hovers around 1lb 8oz and 1 lb 5oz, I wouldn't worry yet. Watch her over the next few days and see how her appetite is. Girls will frighten you with how little they eat. That's where keeping a weight journal can help. Take a look also at her ears, paws and nose. Are they a nice pink? Moses doesn't poop alot, huh! Have you looked under the couch or in the closet, lol. Maybe she saves it for when she is out of the cage and running around. With five free roam ferrets, I'm always on poop patrol. Just when I thought everyone was doing so well, I found a new spot. I'm so pleased to tell you that it is right under my side of the bed, directly above my pillow. Fingers crossed I can fix that quickly.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2015 19:00:50 GMT -5
If her weigh hovers around 1lb 8oz and 1 lb 5oz, I wouldn't worry yet. Watch her over the next few days and see how her appetite is. Girls will frighten you with how little they eat. That's where keeping a weight journal can help. Take a look also at her ears, paws and nose. Are they a nice pink? Moses doesn't poop alot, huh! Have you looked under the couch or in the closet, lol. Maybe she saves it for when she is out of the cage and running around. With five free roam ferrets, I'm always on poop patrol. Just when I thought everyone was doing so well, I found a new spot. I'm so pleased to tell you that it is right under my side of the bed, directly above my pillow. Fingers crossed I can fix that quickly. I wish I'd known this before ending up with two girls! Not that I had a choice. Moses chose me and Elisha I saved from starvation. I love my girls, but they scare the heck out of me sometimes. She really doesn't poop a lot. It's always been a concern of mine, especially when we got Elisha and Elisha poops A LOT. I guess she just...doesn't need to do the do as much. Moses is weird. She's always been weird. She is like an antithesis of a ferret. She doesn't like shiny things, she doesn't poop a lot...When I first got her, I was like "was all the information I read on ferrets a lie? D:" There are 3 spots my ferrets favor pottying in my tiny studio apartment. 1) between the computer desk and cat litter box, 2) the furthest kitchen corner near the trash can, and 3) beside the bathroom door near their cage. I wish I could have free-roamers, but I'm so paranoid when I'm not home what they might be doing. With only one room between us all, it's hard to really proof very well. BUT...they will get their day. Once I'm done studying (I'm a Junior in university), I am moving back home and we have an empty room that will be dedicated to the ferrets. I will have a photo of her nose, ears, and paws here in just a moment to show. I think they look pink and good, but will see what you guys think. (And I do hope you fix that new pooping place soon! Silly ferrets!!)
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2015 19:50:18 GMT -5
gfountain @poncesmom Incoming pictures of nose, paws, and ears! She was woken up for this and had much displeasure.
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Post by gfountain on Feb 15, 2015 20:59:22 GMT -5
Moses sounds an awful lot like my little Minnie. Varying appetite, little poops, a little hyper (or a lot). The loss of appetite I would chalk up to seasonal change unless you see other concerning signs, lethargy, funky poops, extreme weight loss.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2015 0:00:18 GMT -5
I definitely am hoping it is seasonal change. I put food down just now and she actually ate some on her own. Though she didn't each much and was fussy, so we finger fed her a little more (just because we mix her melatonin in her food. That's all we made her eat). So yay for Moses, she's eaten more today than she has the past 2 days!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2015 12:42:13 GMT -5
She is just adorable. She has a lovely healthy pink nose, ears and paws. I don't think you have anything to worry about. Appetites come and go and she did eat well on her own last night. The average grown girl will eat around 2 ounces a day. That's such a small amount.
Her colors are unusual and so pretty. You've had her for almost two years now, have you seen alot of color changes? I know in your intro that you mentioned she had changed from almost all white. You will probably see alot of color changes with her.
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