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Post by Deleted on Oct 27, 2015 21:52:03 GMT -5
Hello there! My name is Mariana and I have a 4 year old male (at least that's what I think based on the age previous owner said) I got him off Kijiji with a female mate (who passed shortly after I got them from Cancer ) He was eating kitten kibble with the previous owner and 8 in 1 Ferret diet since I got him in June 2014, I have him on 50% 8 in 1 and 50% Go! fit and free cat food right now. He eats one egg every weekend as a treat and I also give him freeze dry treats. He is adrenal and currently being treated with Lupron (waiting for the implant to arrive) his only 2 symptoms were that he was losing some hair from his tail and the itchiness. The hair is back but he still itches like crazy Otherwise his fur is nice, not oily and not patchy. His stool is fine but a bit mucousy (we had a partial blockage a few weeks ago). He's sleeping a bit more since the temperature dropped (after the blockage too but may be a coincidence). His current weight is 880 g. (1.9 lb) but feels and looks like he's getting chunky (winter weight?) Today it is his second day having raw soup as dinner (eats kibble during the day) Yesterday and Today I managed to give him 1 oz and 2 hours later a bit over 1 oz more so at least 2 oz of the raw soup for dinner. Near the end he would try to get away but I do some more convincing and he eats it all good boy! I leave the kibble accessible to him all night and all day. Due to work schedule, I am unable to give him soup as breakfast for now since he decides to wake up just before my alarm and start munching on kibble. I will give him soup for breakfast this weekend.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2015 6:27:40 GMT -5
Happy switching When he does make the switch, you can leave meat over night for him--mine like to eat late in the night . Sometimes I leave cut up quail or a mouse each.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2015 19:36:45 GMT -5
Happy switching When he does make the switch, you can leave meat over night for him--mine like to eat late in the night . Sometimes I leave cut up quail or a mouse each. Thanks!! I am super excited, he's taking on soup really well I noticed he starting peeing a bit more than usual is that normal? -Mariana
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2015 19:44:12 GMT -5
It makes absolute sense as he is taking in more fluids with soupie and will with raw chunks as well.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2015 23:32:20 GMT -5
Today is day 3 of soupie dinner:
His weight this morning was 915g. I think winter fatty Rino will show up soon hehe.
He ate about 3 oz of soup tonight! yay! (still split into 2 feeding sessions about 2 hours appart)
He's been sleeping more than usual for the past 3 days, he got his lupron shot on sunday so maybe that's why? He's also been very itchy still, poor thing. His fur looks fine but he's been grooming a lot, maybe due to the itchiness.
His poops are smaller, not smelly, still firm (still eating kibble in the morning and afternoon) but are a bit mucousy.
A couple of days ago I thought he had a partial blockage because I saw what looked like either a small piece of fleece or a flat hair ball in one of his poops so I gave him pumpkin/laxative a couple of times and he pooped it out just fine with more of the same "material" so I thought we were on the clear. But today, he pooped another one of those again, I can't decide if it is very thin white fleece (he does not have any white fleece stuff) or it is hairballs so I am giving him laxatone to see if that helps.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 29, 2015 5:35:15 GMT -5
You can take that fleece or hair and put it in some water. In a little while it will break apart and you will be able to see if it is matted hair or what. I have done that before.
My first babies shed really bad, and i had to change hammocks frequently, but i had 3 at the time.
One reason we do not give laxatone is because it has molasses and malt in it(full of sugar),so it contributes to insulinoma. On forum , people will whip up an egg instead and feed that once a week. Some say two a week in shedding season. Be prepared for funky stools.
Have you put your name in the pot for a mentor?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 29, 2015 23:01:46 GMT -5
You can take that fleece or hair and put it in some water. In a little while it will break apart and you will be able to see if it is matted hair or what. I have done that before. My first babies shed really bad, and i had to change hammocks frequently, but i had 3 at the time. One reason we do not give laxatone is because it has molasses and malt in it(full of sugar),so it contributes to insulinoma. On forum , people will whip up an egg instead and feed that once a week. Some say two a week in shedding season. Be prepared for funky stools. Have you put your name in the pot for a mentor? Hi! Thanks for the reply, I have not put my name there because I don't meet the requirements yet. I will soon though. The one laxative I give him does not have molasses or malt in the ingredients and I really just started giving it to him when we had the blockage last month (pumpkin protocol). Ever since I got him I started giving him one egg a week and last year we did not have hairball problems but this year seems to be the case, this is why I decided to use the laxative this time. I will definitively only do for a few days and then drop it, I would never use it on a regular basis, he enjoys his egg just fine I did run one of the pieces under water and after looking at some pictures online, I am convinced it is hairballs. I've been also looking in every single hiding spot and blanket he has to see if I can find anything chewed up and nothing Thanks sweetie! Mariana
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Post by Deleted on Oct 29, 2015 23:08:48 GMT -5
This is day four of our transition. Today he had almost 3 ounces of soup for his 1st dinner feeding (around 7pm) and another ounce for the second feeding (around 10 pm) for a total of 4 tonight. The second feeding was super exciting because he just found the bowl on the floor and started eating on his own (had been hand feeding the past few days). His activity level is still low but again, seems to be winter hibernation since he is eating and pooping well. Since yesterday I noticed that he pees more than he used to... and also, I may be wrong but looks like he is not drinking as much as he was last week, still drinking a good amount but just not as much, maybe because of the soup? I am still a bit weirded out because his poops look smaller, not thiner but just smaller... I made my second batch of soup and put it in the freezer right away. Tomorrow I will try giving him soup for breakfast too -Mariana
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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2015 4:51:50 GMT -5
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Post by Heather on Oct 30, 2015 11:35:41 GMT -5
Urine output will increase as your ferret becomes properly hydrated (a ferret spends most of it's life at the point of dehydration on kibbles). Ferrets like most carnivores derive their hydration from the foods they eat. On kibbles they must drink huge amounts of water to make up for the diets lack of proper hydration. On raw they are processing the food the way they're supposed to. Hydration comes from their food. Stools will become smaller and looser as the ferret actually processes it's food instead of pooping it out (garbage in--garbage out). Sounds like you're getting a positive on all factors of your switch ciao
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2015 23:58:56 GMT -5
Day five:
Breakfast: about 1 oz of soup (maybe 1.5)
Dinner: again 2 feedings, 2 hours apart for a total of almost 4 oz.
Small poops, not smelly, they look darker now
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Post by Deleted on Nov 1, 2015 0:08:15 GMT -5
Day six (saturday) He ate kibble at around 4 am. For breakfast at 7 am, he ate around 1.5 oz of soup I took the kibble away for the day and left the remaining of the soup (about 1.5 oz) in his cage, when I came back home, he had eaten 2 thirds of it. I fed him dinner again in 2 feedings, about 3 hours apart for a total of 3.5 oz. I was planning to add some silvers for dinner today but got home a bit later than expected so I had no time... will do tomorrow. The new batch of soup turned out to be thicker than the first one to the point he feels like he has to grab a piece of it and chew it hehehe... he did that several times, but I am happy to see he eats his mousse (soup) willingly, I just place him infront of the bowl and he starts eating Tomorrow, it's egg day His activity level is super low but, winter is just around the corner, as long as he eats and drinks I am happy. I noticed that he pooped a really dark poop last night, almost looked like there was blood in it, could it be blood from the soup? We did a stool test for occult blood about 2 weeks ago and it came back negative.
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Post by Heather on Nov 1, 2015 17:52:32 GMT -5
The best thing if you've got poop questions...take pics and post them here. We will look at them and see if you've got problems or see if they need to be tested for blood. Raw poops on a new switch are all over the place. Sometimes they're really scary but I also don't want to tell you they're ok when they're not. It sounds like his appetite is good 3.5 oz in a day is good. Thicker is good especially if he's having to chew. It's getting him ready to eat chunky soupy. I would be concerned if his activity level has dropped huge, even if it's winter. He should be showing interest and checking things out. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2015 0:32:02 GMT -5
I would be concerned if his activity level has dropped huge, even if it's winter. He should be showing interest and checking things out. ciao Hi Heather, Thanks for always checking out my posts. He is sleeping all day long but really early in the morning, he wants to wonder around the house and seems to want to play as he chases his ball toys, it is the time I have to get ready for work so I cannot really play with him all that much. Also, during the day, he will wake up from time to time and wonder around the house for a bit before going back to bed. The longest time we've seen him play in the past 2 weeks is 20 minutes at a time. Could it be that he's depressed? I took away 2 of his favorite hiding spots because they were not safe and also took away all of his plush toys a few weeks back because he was chewing on them and eating pieces . I plan on adopting a playmate for him from a shelter in 2 more weeks but I assume I'll need to have her under quarantine before they can hang out. Thanks! Mariana
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2015 0:50:30 GMT -5
The best thing if you've got poop questions...take pics and post them here. We will look at them and see if you've got problems or see if they need to be tested for blood. Raw poops on a new switch are all over the place. Sometimes they're really scary but I also don't want to tell you they're ok when they're not. Here are some of the poops. This first one was one of his last ones when he was still eating only one raw meal and kibble for the rest of the day: This one is very small, really dark and is how his poops look like ever since he started having raw for breakfast and dinner (even if he ate a small amount of kibble mid-day). The only difference if he ate a bit of kibble is that the poop would not be as loose. Excuse such large pictures but the direct upload here was not working so I had to upload externally and insert it here. Thanks! Mariana
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