|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2016 7:23:27 GMT -5
My furries have been getting raw soup for a little over a week now. They are to the point where they eat it willingly off of my hand, but they need coaxing still to eat it off of a plate/bowl. One of them has insulinoma so I am still giving them kibble in the cage at night for fear that he won't eat the soup since I won't be getting up at 2 in the morning to coax him to eat the raw soup. I know the plate isn't the issue - they eat oil off of the plate and I used to make slurry and put it on a plate and they were fine with it. I'm guessing with continual and consistent coaching, they should get the hang of the plate hopefully within the next few days.
I've read other places on the forum that switching between the kibble and the raw can irritate their stomachs so the fact that they have diarrhea makes sense. I'm wondering though if some ferrets just get diarrhea because of the change in general? Once they are off the kibble all together how long will it take for the diarrhea to go away? How concerned do I need to be with the diarrhea beyond checking for dehydration?
Secondly, how much should they be eating? The girls don't seem to eat much at all. The male with insulinoma is on pred so he eats like a beast and has been gaining weight so I feel I need to start restricting how much he eats. I thought I had seen some guidelines but when I went to look intentionally, I couldn't find anything.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2016 8:01:53 GMT -5
Changing ferrets onto a raw diet shouldn't give them diarrhoea at all, you might be giving them too much of one sort of meat. Which meats are you giving them?
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2016 10:01:30 GMT -5
Ferrets changing from kibble to raw will give you some funky poops for awhile.
How much dried eggshell powder is in your soupie? Each ferret has different needs so if you are seeing loose stools up the amount of eggshell powder in the soupie. We usually suggest 1/2 tsp per 8oz of meat, but you can up it to 3/4 tsp and see if that firms up the stools.
Loose poops for too long may lead to a prolapse of the anus. But expect funky poops as you introduce new proteins. This will stop before too long. Dry white chalky poops mean too much eggshell powder or bone.
If you are offering oil to coax them at every meal, this will also cause loose poops. Organs in the soupie already make for loose poops so try to keep the oil down to 1/2 tsp to 3/4 tsp every 3 days.
With Insulinoma, the main thing to be concerned about is spikes in his Blood Glucose. That's what you want to avoid in order to properly manage his Insulinoma and buy him more time.
Kibble will spike that BG and that is tough on your little one with Insulinoma. Soupie can be left in the cage overnight.
The theory on mixing raw and kibble is that wet versus dry digests at a different rate and may cause an upset tummy or bacterial overgrowth. It's not proven but one of those things that have been observed over time by various ferrents. We suggest removing any kibble for a few hours prior to feeding raw. Sometimes a really picky ferret can be tempted by a kibble powder over the top of the new soupie but then you want to keep a careful eye on the poops.
I have found and also learned from others that sitting with them, coaxing and spoon feeding goes along way in the beginning of a transition. Not forever but they need some reassurance in starting stages.
I bought colorful plastic baby spoons and sat on the floor. I pick someone up and offer the spoon. Once they taste the soupie, then I put them down next to the plate and offer some on the spoon but leave the spoon on the plate. Then I just sat there until everyone ate enough.
Ferrets don't eat alot overall. If they are full, then they leave or try to stash the spoon. The average grown female eats so little that it's scarey sometimes but if the energy level is good, poops are coming and they have nice healthy pink noses and ears, we know they have eaten what they want.
A plate also makes a difference. Ferrets have a natural instinct to watch for predators (like other animals do) and a bowl cuts off their line of sight.
A grown female eats 2-3 ounces in a day and a grown male eats 3-4 ounces. They eat a little more in the Winter then in the spring.
I leave food out at all times and mine graze through out the day. Two of mine eat best at night when no one else is around. We're free roam here.
I pick up anything left over from breakfast at night and put out dinner. Then that is picked up in the morning and a fresh breakfast is put out.
A ferret with Insulinoma should have access to food at all times. Are you familiar with signs of low BG? Staring into space or hind leg weakness are the main symptoms that you will notice.
If yours crashes, a little karo syrup on the gums will help bring his BG back up.
Insulinoma cannot be cured but managed. At some point look into Diazoxide to also help along with the Pred. Is it Prednisone or Prednisolone which is easier on their little body.
Also now that you have been doing this for a week, begin introducing tiny slivers of meat into the soup. Only one protein at a time so that you know if anyone has any allergies or intolerance to a meat. The idea is to get them use to the little pieces and work your way up in size and amount until they are eating all slivers. Then we move them onto the next stage and introduce them to the basic Frankenprey diet.
You have 3. What are their names and what are their personalities like? We love pictures here, pretty please.
:wave3:
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2016 22:09:54 GMT -5
Is a prolapsed anus something that would be visible to me?
The girls over the last 2 days don't really have diarrhea now, but the volume of their poo has shrunk significantly. Is that normal? Catty still has diarrhea but he also just had a dental yesterday so I'm going to wait another day or two to panic because I imagine the anesthesia would mess with his system.
I've been using bone meal rather than egg shells. We don't usually have eggs in the house. I do a rounded 1/2 teaspoon. This last batch I did a little more so we will see what happens. I was only offering oil in the mornings as a chaser to the pred but I haven't given that to them in several days to help the diarrhea.
I do sit with them and coax them to eat the soup. That's the only way they will eat it. That is why I leave kibble overnight - I don't think Catty (the one with insulinoma) will eat the raw if that is all that is in the cage without me there to encourage him. During the day, I leave the plate out with food on it at all times and pull the kibble first thing in the morning.
Catty is on prednisolone. I made sure of that as I know the other is harder on the organs.
So Catty is our male. He is on the left of my profile pic. We think he is 6 or 7. He's really intelligent and I struggle to keep him occupied. He's a super sweetheart though. The most cuddly of the three. He's certainly slowed down in his old age. Pixi will be 5 in February. She is in the middle in my profile pic. She has adrenal disease - she just got an implant a month or so ago. She is the only one of the three that dooks regularly. She has certainly matured from her days as a kit, but she still has a lot of energy. Lilly, the one on the left, will be 4 in April. She still acts like a kit. She's crazy and the most ferret like of the three. I walk around the house and she follows me then lunges at my legs and grabs me like a tree trunk - cracks me up. She also tries to crawl up pant legs. All three are rescues and we've had them for a little over 4 years.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2016 22:33:36 GMT -5
Is a prolapsed anus something that would be visible to me? The girls over the last 2 days don't really have diarrhea now, but the volume of their poo has shrunk significantly. Is that normal? Catty still has diarrhea but he also just had a dental yesterday so I'm going to wait another day or two to panic because I imagine the anesthesia would mess with his system. I've been using bone meal rather than egg shells. We don't usually have eggs in the house. I do a rounded 1/2 teaspoon. This last batch I did a little more so we will see what happens. I was only offering oil in the mornings as a chaser to the pred but I haven't given that to them in several days to help the diarrhea. I do sit with them and coax them to eat the soup. That's the only way they will eat it. That is why I leave kibble overnight - I don't think Catty (the one with insulinoma) will eat the raw if that is all that is in the cage without me there to encourage him. During the day, I leave the plate out with food on it at all times and pull the kibble first thing in the morning. Catty is on prednisolone. I made sure of that as I know the other is harder on the organs. So Catty is our male. He is on the left of my profile pic. We think he is 6 or 7. He's really intelligent and I struggle to keep him occupied. He's a super sweetheart though. The most cuddly of the three. He's certainly slowed down in his old age. Pixi will be 5 in February. She is in the middle in my profile pic. She has adrenal disease - she just got an implant a month or so ago. She is the only one of the three that dooks regularly. She has certainly matured from her days as a kit, but she still has a lot of energy. Lilly, the one on the left, will be 4 in April. She still acts like a kit. She's crazy and the most ferret like of the three. I walk around the house and she follows me then lunges at my legs and grabs me like a tree trunk - cracks me up. She also tries to crawl up pant legs. All three are rescues and we've had them for a little over 4 years. Yes, you would notice a prolapse. I'll look around for a picture of one to show you. They all sound darling. You're doing everything right and I'm sure they are all happy and secure in your love. I would work on getting Catty on the soupie so you can loose the kibble. As I mentioned, it will make his BG spike and that's what you want most to avoid. I've noticed that my girls are all much more vocal in nature. Juliet never stops honking/dooking when she is awake. Keller makes the most darling munchkin sounds when she is up and busy and Mika has this deep little dook but is not as vocal as the other two. The boys both have to be worked up to dook much. I wonder if it's some kind of natural instinct as females to make more noise to let babies know they are close by? That might make for an interesting thread, hmmm... |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2016 7:51:06 GMT -5
I don't think I've ever heard Catty dook! You may be on to something w/ the males. He just kind of makes this breathing hard noise, almost like a pug but w/o the snorting noise mixed in.
So are the small poops ohk, as long as they are poops?
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2016 8:58:30 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2016 19:31:55 GMT -5
Thank you for posting the threads on the prolapsed anus.
Is the diarrhea that causes that always watery diarrhea, or can it also happen just from soft stools?
|
|
