|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2015 1:53:15 GMT -5
Enzo is a 3yo Gibb who has been on cat food his whole life. Tonight (11/08/2015) that ends.
When I came home, I let Enzo out of his habitat (a 3x2x2 enclosure with 3 levels) to play with the cats in my ferret-proofed living room as I whipped up a soup mix.
This is what I used:
7oz raw chicken thigh
2 chicken hearts
2oz beef liver (could not find chicken, will obtain tomorrow (11/09))
3/4 tsp dried and crushed eggshells
I blended these together, and while I was working I noticed Enzo poking around his empty food dish. I wasn't quite done with the soup so I offered him a small piece of chicken thigh - he ate it. I took this as a good sign and made the soup more of a stew, very thick. I figured I could water it down if needed later.
I sat down with Enzo and a spoon, and after I rubbed a bit on his muzzle, he started licking and eventually eating small chunks. He ate maybe half a tsp until he decided he wanted to play, so I let him down to clean his dirt and type this up.
Once all done here, I am going to try and convince him to eat some more. If he does not want to eat with me would it be okay to leave a few tsp in a bowl in his enclosure overnight?
I've also added some pictures for reference. Please forgive me for the quality but he does not want to sit still. Somehow these were seriously the best I could get. I will try again tomorrow.
 
** 11/12/2015 EDIT, changed title to reflect this is an unofficial switch. Not sure if it matters |
|
|
|
Post by raynebc on Nov 9, 2015 14:02:05 GMT -5
The traditional raw soup recipe on the forum calls for 10% liver, but the ultimate target in frankenprey is 5% liver and 5% of another secreting organ. Given that I usually find chicken hearts are closer to 1/3 oz each depending on size, the soup you mentioned is going to be along the lines of 20%+ liver, which is more than Enzo should ideally have. Short term this may not make a difference, but if he's on the soup for several weeks or months it would be a concern.
If possible, consider adjusting the soup recipe to:
8 oz chicken thigh
1 oz heart
1 oz liver
3/4 tsp of egg shell is fine
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2015 14:06:39 GMT -5
This morning's soup was more of a hit than last night. I did choose to leave the remaining soup in his enclosure but he did not eat it. This morning we sat down with a few tsps and he went wild. He even ate a few chunks (although he DEMANDED I put him down so he could eat the chunks under the coffee table). There's only about 3/4 a tsp left and we must've started with 3 or 4. I noted his fecal matter is more loose, but he is releasing waste fine. Got a few better pictures this time.    |
|
|
|
Post by Heather on Nov 9, 2015 21:39:21 GMT -5
His stools might indeed be a little loose as raw fed fuzzums stools are much looser than a kibble fed ferret (they're not dehydrated  ) Sounds like you're off to a great start ciao |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2015 21:43:59 GMT -5
His stools might indeed be a little loose as raw fed fuzzums stools are much looser than a kibble fed ferret (they're not dehydrated ) Sounds like you're off to a great start ciao Yes, I was weirdly pleased to see that.  I made a real mess out of my first soup batch and it only ended up making a few cubes, so I will be remaking it tonight with the correct amounts. Perhaps this time I will leave some thicker pieces for Enzo and see if he's ready to eat those. He is being a champ with this. |
|
|
|
Post by msav on Nov 9, 2015 22:15:03 GMT -5
Try feeding him on a plate and not out of a bowl. I started out feeding in a bowl as well and had much better success when I switched to a plate.
They seem to fuss more when you feed them out of a bowl. Not sure why
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2015 22:22:53 GMT -5
Try feeding him on a plate and not out of a bowl. I started out feeding in a bowl as well and had much better success when I switched to a plate. They seem to fuss more when you feed them out of a bowl. Not sure why I will try that! Do you know how much he should be ingesting each meal? I need to weigh him when I get home but I want to make sure he is eating enough. |
|
|
|
Post by Heather on Nov 10, 2015 1:00:04 GMT -5
An average gibb will eat 3 to 6 oz of meats per day
ciao
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2015 2:19:05 GMT -5
Well, Enzo did not seem to prefer a plate over a bowl. But he did prefer eating a chunk of heart rather than his soup? He was eager to eat so I gave him a piece of heart, a good chunk, thinking maybe he'll lick at it while I am making the rest. He ate the whole thing! Then when we sat down to eat his 2.5 oz of soup he only ate about half. The rest was put on a plate in his enclosure.
His dirt is now almost completely liquid, it was a greenish color and smelled like a bokke gat. I hope this is normal. Tomorrow I think I will offer him just some small meat chunks and see if he'll start on that. I am impressed with his wanting to eat!
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2015 6:53:03 GMT -5
Wow---great transition going on there! Usually we are daubing ferret's mouths as they r trying to get away. It took me several hours to get one to finally relax and eat several bites of soupie off my finger.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2015 13:57:59 GMT -5
Wow---great transition going on there! Usually we are daubing ferret's mouths as they r trying to get away. It took me several hours to get one to finally relax and eat several bites of soupie off my finger. I've been reading other transitions and not everybody seems to have such a willing ferret. I put chunks of thigh and liver down for him (about 1.5 oz) and he ate a bought .5 oz of it before he got too busy playing. If he doesn't eat what is left today, perhaps we will go back to a little more soup.     |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2015 14:49:47 GMT -5
Nice.
When I was just doing frankenprey, mine would not eat organs unless it was a soupie of lamb liver and kidney. So u r very lucky.
|
|
|
|
Post by msav on Nov 11, 2015 1:01:42 GMT -5
I am still at soup and slivers with Al and Gypsy, I have been at that stage for almost 7 months, They are really stubborn.
you are quite fortunate to have such a willing fuzzbutt, that is not a kit.
I find mine will go for the heart and liver if they have not had it for a while. I think their bodies start to crave it.
my other 5 are mostly whole prey so they get 1 heart and liver meal per week to offset the 2 frankenprey meals they get, the rest of their meals are whole prey, chicken, quail, mouse, guinea pig,and asf rat.
your ferret is doing great. keep up the great work. If only all were that easy to switch.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2015 2:03:26 GMT -5
I am still at soup and slivers with Al and Gypsy, I have been at that stage for almost 7 months, They are really stubborn. you are quite fortunate to have such a willing fuzzbutt, that is not a kit. I find mine will go for the heart and liver if they have not had it for a while. I think their bodies start to crave it. my other 5 are mostly whole prey so they get 1 heart and liver meal per week to offset the 2 frankenprey meals they get, the rest of their meals are whole prey, chicken, quail, mouse, guinea pig,and asf rat. your ferret is doing great. keep up the great work. If only all were that easy to switch. Yes, he is being quite the champ about it. However we are struggling tonight to get much eaten. I made another batch of thick soup with the correct measurements and a little less chunk since Enzo isn't too keen on that quite yet. He is doing well though, weighed him tonight at 3lb 2oz. What is the normal weight for an adult gibb? |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2015 14:30:21 GMT -5
This morning I woke up to an empty plate in Enzo's cage, for the first time. I was having a busy morning and set a cube of frozen soup on his plate to defrost, since it was in his cage I figured he would ignore it (since he normally only eats when I have it on a spoon for him). Boy I was wrong!! When I went to check if it was defrosted, 1/4 of it was already gone and he was happily chewing on the frozen meat. I watched him eat it until there was only about 1/3 left. We played for a bit before he crawled into his sleeping sack. So he ate about 1.5 oz of the frozen soup.   |
|
