Post by Celene on Feb 20, 2015 22:34:26 GMT -5
NV Instinct and Blue Wilderness are good as far as kibbles go - I would cut the Zupreem immediately as I have heard of so many ferrets getting health issues (particularly bladder/kidney stones) while eating it. Ferretvite is also terrible for them as ferrets' digestive systems are not designed to process sugars and puts them at a high risk of insulinoma (a type of cancer). Ferretone isn't as immediately dangerous, but I'd skip it anyway. It sucks to throw away food and treats you've spent your hard-earned money on, but trust me when I say you'll save so much more money in vet bills down the road!
One thing to remember is that ferrets will ALWAYS have crazy, nasty, weird poops when switching foods. They also imprint on their food which means if you've gone "cold turkey" from cat food she was used to to her current kibble, she may not recognize it as food. One thing you can try is soaking kibble in warm water and mixing it into a paste and rubbing it on her gums so she tastes in and gets used to the flavour. When ever I try and give Mocha a new food she looks at it as if I'm offering her poison and squirms and resists until I can finally get some in her mouth, then suddenly she's like "hey, this is good!" and starts eating it. I call it "green eggs and ham syndrome".
If she's only been with you a week she is probably also stressed which is another leading cause of funky poops. You have to imagine being suddenly plucked from the life you're used to and dropped into a new home with new people with absolutely no explanation! Ferrets can get funny poops from the smallest of stresses, and this is a rather big one.
Of course you do need to keep a really close eye on her because it also could be an illness (not only are we random people on the internet and not vets, but we don't even observe her so it's really all speculation) so trust your instincts and take her to a vet if necessary/possible.
PS - A healthy and tasty alternative to ferretone/ferretvite is salmon oil. Ferrets go CRAZY for it. It might be harder to find (I ordered online) but you can also give them olive oil. Raw egg (either the whole egg whipped or just the yolk, but not just the whites) are great for ferrets and fantastic for fattening them up and giving them a thick, soft, shiny coat. Again, they will probably resist at first so dab a little on their nose and when they lick it off they'll realize it's actually quite yummy.
One thing to remember is that ferrets will ALWAYS have crazy, nasty, weird poops when switching foods. They also imprint on their food which means if you've gone "cold turkey" from cat food she was used to to her current kibble, she may not recognize it as food. One thing you can try is soaking kibble in warm water and mixing it into a paste and rubbing it on her gums so she tastes in and gets used to the flavour. When ever I try and give Mocha a new food she looks at it as if I'm offering her poison and squirms and resists until I can finally get some in her mouth, then suddenly she's like "hey, this is good!" and starts eating it. I call it "green eggs and ham syndrome".
If she's only been with you a week she is probably also stressed which is another leading cause of funky poops. You have to imagine being suddenly plucked from the life you're used to and dropped into a new home with new people with absolutely no explanation! Ferrets can get funny poops from the smallest of stresses, and this is a rather big one.
Of course you do need to keep a really close eye on her because it also could be an illness (not only are we random people on the internet and not vets, but we don't even observe her so it's really all speculation) so trust your instincts and take her to a vet if necessary/possible.
PS - A healthy and tasty alternative to ferretone/ferretvite is salmon oil. Ferrets go CRAZY for it. It might be harder to find (I ordered online) but you can also give them olive oil. Raw egg (either the whole egg whipped or just the yolk, but not just the whites) are great for ferrets and fantastic for fattening them up and giving them a thick, soft, shiny coat. Again, they will probably resist at first so dab a little on their nose and when they lick it off they'll realize it's actually quite yummy.