Chibisaurus' Switching Thread / Poncesmom

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Ron is a baby and will sleep alot and then play like crazy after which he will crash and sleep some more.
The poop picture looks normal. Nothing to worry about there from what I can tell.
His poops after vaccination will look a bit light and you can see on the poop chart what to expect.

Hermione is such a good girl. She's moving onto slivers nicely and I don't think we are going to have much trouble with her and this switch.

I would take the kibble out now and don't offer it again. Ron will eat what you give him and she loves her soup. Perhaps you could do two plates. One with soupie and one with slivers. Count the slivers and see how many she and maybe Ron will eat.

Ron sounds like he is going to be a snorkler. Some simply love water and will stick their whole heads in a water bowl. My Wynstan is like that.

Yesterday was the Super Bowl and Denver Won! We went out to a sports bar and got home late so I'm feeling very lazy and just slightly hungover. I don't usually drink so a few glasses of wine made me feel crummy.

Their report card looks good and they both are doing fine.
I keep meaning to tell you that brains do have a good amount of Taurine but tongue is a better substitute. Any muscle tissue provides Taurine but we choose Hearts and Tongue because the more the muscle moves then the more Taurine is provided.

Happy Monday and I'll check back in later.

:wave3:

[Deleted]

I have been looking around to find some tongue here in vegas.
Might have to take a drive across town, seems to be the only butcher who provides it.

So I should completely remove the kibble from there cage (even ron's)?
and just have them both eatting soupie / slivers?

I shall do that today!

[Deleted]

So, I did what you suggested. Had a bowl of soupie (for baby) and a small bowl of slivers, Hermione went straight for the soupie, but Ron went for the slivers, and just started going to town on them!

Kibble has been removed. And it's not going back in there!!

[Deleted]

That's wonderful news. Ron is a tummy with teeth and will eat what you give him.
They both need calcium to grow so let's start adding chicken wings to their cage at night.

I'm thrilled you have ditched the kibble. They don't need it now and we want them to stay away from it and eat the healthy food.

They're young and not use to bones so you will want to smash up a wingtip.
Cut it once lengthwise and twice width wise without going all the way through.
The bigger end of the wing will be too hard for them to chew through but you can include it and see if they gnaw on it. Give each of them one so they don't tussle over it. Kits can be very territorial over their food.

You're moving along fast so let's have a lesson on the basic Frankenprey diet.
Frankenprey is designed to mimic eating whole prey. It's carefully balanced and you should stick with the basic menu once they move onto to it.

Hermione might need to be introduced to each new food since she won't recognize it as food.
Ron is a baby and just like a baby, you want to coax him and be patient but I think he's going to be fine and happy to have a diet that isn't hard and crunchy plus his little body will crave those nutrients.

holisticferretforum.com/natural-diet/raw-diet-the-meat-of-the-site/basic-frankenprey-menu/

Take a look at this menu on the link.
This is what we will be eventually moving towards.
We can talk more about it later as we move along, but I'd like you to get familiar with it and ask any questions that you might have.
We will be talking alot about it and I'll go into more depth later.

What I did in the beginning was to buy a small whiteboard and I wrote it down and put it on my fridge. That helped me because I saw it everyday.
Once mine were on it fully and I learned what they liked, I adjusted a few meals to fit my schedule.
It's still there and I can just glance at it and know that today is beef day.
The night before I take out the preportioned meals and let them defrost it the fridge and in the morning breakfast is ready to be put out.

With five of them, I keep an eye out to make sure that everyone eats enough since some of them don't like beef and some don't care much for organs. If I see someone is avoiding something then I sit with them and hand feed the first few bites to make sure they do eat.

Ron is going to want to eat alot. Hermione will also eat alot now but females eat less and baby boys eat alot. It's hard to estimate how much a baby may eat but some of them eat almost their entire body weight some days while they are young.
If the plate is empty then put more out and feel comfortable leaving food out for them at all times.

You mentioned perhaps feeding whole prey at some point. You can try buying some frozen pinkies from a pet store and see if they like them as a treat.
Pinkies or any other baby animal do not have the nutrients that a grown animal does so they will be considered a treat.
If they don't like them, you can cut a small slit into the belly and add a drop of oil.

Quizz question:
I mentioned earlier in another post that it's important to have a red meat meal once a week. Do you remember why we want a red meat meal for them?

You're doing just fine and so are Hermione and Ron. Are you having fun with the two of them?
How does Ron like getting to run around and play with Hermione? Are they sleeping together now?

:wave3:

[Deleted]

Hey there! Sorry for taking so long to answer, Today was a busy day!

I do have some questions;
Wing Tip (Chicken) Directions for this please (I'm visual if there is any)

"If the plate is empty then put more out and feel comfortable leaving food out for them at all times"

How long is it safe to leave the food there? 6 hours? 8? Overnight? They both seem to eat at different times.
(She lets him eat first...)

"If they don't like them, you can cut a small slit into the belly and add a drop of oil."

What type of oil?

Quiz:
I honestly.. Don't remember talking about red meat? Either Im blind, or I can't read correctly (I even read back the posts!)

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Red meat is very high in Iron and Vitamin B.
They need one red meat meal a week. Beef liver is a great choice but beef is a strong flavor and may take some persuasion. Mine still aren't crazy about it.
Lamb is a red meat and with Spring coming up, it should go on sale soon.

Here are the guidelines for leaving raw food out:
Soups 8 hours,
chunks 12-24 hours
Bone in meats are good for 24 hours.
Whole prey can be up to 48.
So regardless of the raw stage you are at you can leave raw in all night.
*probably quiz question*

In theory a ferret will not touch meat that has gone bad. A starving ferret might but yours are well fed and you are fine leaving food out.

Oils ideally are Wild Salmon Oil. Grizzly brand Salmon oil is terrific. You want wild as opposed to farm salmon.
Olive oil can be used but most ferrets don't care for extra virgin olive oil, I can only use plain old Olive oil but I use the fish oil because it's not plant based.

You could also add a drop of egg or plain vegetable oil but I'd rather see you use Fish oil than vegetable oil.

I'm not aware on any pictures with the wing tip sliced but we should be having wings tomorrow and I'll cut one and take a picture for you.
I'm a visual learner also and know how that can help.

Can you please take a picture of Hermione and Ron from a dangling angle.
I want to see how they look from a full body angle.
What I'm looking for is to see if they are too thin. I don't think they are but it's nice to have that picture to look back on later and see the changes.

I also need their report card.
Ferret's name
Weight
Activity levels
Poop report
How much they are eating at a a meal.

Take a teaspoon and fill it with water or even peanut butter. Put it on a plate so that you can see approximately how much a teaspoon looks like. You'll develop an eye for this with time.
Watching them and seeing how much is offered and how much is gone from the plate will get easier.
We want to make sure that each one is getting a nice amount of food each day.

Remember with Spring coming, they will eat less and lose some weight. Don't worry about this coming from raw, it's part of their natural cycle. They're both young though so I wouldn't expect much weight loss and Ron especially should still be in his Tummy with Teeth stage, eating alot and growing so this Spring will be probably not find much of a change in weight.

A Ferret is considered too thin if you can feel their ribs but not see them.
They should not be so thin as to have a waistline.
Kibble Fed Ferrets are more pear shaped but you can still recognize a waistline.
*probable quiz question*

Once on raw, they become lean and muscular. Lean come first and then the muscles will develop as long as they have alot of time to run and play and use those muscles.
Their fur will change fast and you should see softer silkier fur before too long.
Then comes the Grape Kool-aid smell. When Mika was a baby, even her urine smelled like grapes.
Keller's ears still smell like Grape.
Not all Ferrents report that Grape smell but mine all had it.

[Deleted]

I hope this is what you ment (Photo wise) Hermione was a bit ehh about hanging like this, but ron loved it. Haha



I knew I forgot something last night when I posted.

Ferret's name Hermione
Weight 1 pound 8.2 oz
Activity levels Mostly playful and active, Monday she was a bit lazy. Figured she was just tired.
Poop report Normal Poops, Haven't noticed anything wrong..

Ferret's name Ron
Weight 13.3 Oz
Activity levels Very active when out of pen. Does like to cuddle and sleep though. High energy during
early night hours (From about 8pm-10pm)
Poop Report Nothing out of the ordinary here either, He has been having solid poops.


How much they are eating at a a meal.
I haven't been weighing / measuring (I have just been going by # of cubes.. But I will start weighing every morning. I'm also Not 100% sure how to tell who ate what (After I leave it with them) So this is food between the two of them
Sun - Soupie 3.5 cubes , Baby kibble (she got into rons food) , Chicken Slivers (Hand fed) (Ron only had kibble, and a few licks of soupie)
Mon - Soupie 4 cubes, Baby kibble , Chicken slivers (Ron ate almost all the Slivers + Baby kibble
Tue - Soupie 6.5 cubes , Hermonie Refused slivers, Ron ate all the slivers.

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They both look lovely and healthy. They don't look skinny at all and they're both beautiful.

It's hard to tell without watching them the entire meal to see who eats what.
Ron doesn't need any kibble. He's young enough to eat his soupie and it's better for him. Plus you don't want him acquiring a taste for kibble. That will just make switching him harder.
Plus he's willing to eat soupie and slivers so go ahead and ditch that kibble.

Their report cards, ( (giggle) look terrific. I'm glad to see that.

Try sitting with them during their meals a bit more. It's reassuring to them and will help get one or two more bites into them.

Females are very opinionated and that's why scruffing a female usually makes them angry. Boys are more laid back and easy going.
The dangling pictures were just what I was looking for.

[Deleted]

I completely removed all kibble from the pen yesterday morning when I was cleaning their pen up.
(I had found some stashed under their blanket!)

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@poncesmom

Before I purchase, Is this the oil?
(and is there a better place to get it online?)
Here is one I found

[Deleted]

That's the right one. The EBay price is better than the Amazon price so I'd go with that one.
It's going to be smelly and they may or may not like it right away.
If they don't then take a small amount and like the soupie, dab it on their mouth and let them lick it off.
It may take a few tries but they will come to love it.

Oil will make for loose poops so try to keep it to 1/2 tsp or 1/3 tsp every 3 days.
You can use it as a reward for teaching them tricks or for when you clip their nails. Just put a drop on their belly and while they are occupied, it's easy to clip their nails.

*quizz question hint*
Salmon oil has important fatty Omega Acids.

[Deleted]

All purchased
Should be here in a few days (Hopefully!)
Now to go get some wings and frozen feeder mice.

[Deleted]

It's Friday and let's have a small quizz to see how you're understanding all this new info.

1. What is a good substitute for heart?

2. Is heart a muscle meat or an organ?

3. Why is a red meat meal important?

4. Is liver Fat soluable or Water soluable.

5. What Vitamin does liver contain?

Try to answer without looking back and if you can't then you may go over your notes.
You know these and I'm sure you'll do fine.

:wave3:

[Deleted]

So sorry it took me awhile to respond!
I was really sick yesterday!


1. What is a good substitute for heart?
Tongue or Supplemental Taurine Powder.

2. Is heart a muscle meat or an organ?
Muscle Meat

3. Why is a red meat meal important?
High in Iron and Vitamin B

4. Is liver Fat soluable or Water soluable.
Fat Soluable

5. What Vitamin does liver contain?
Vitamin A

[Deleted]

Ferret's name Hermione
Weight 1 pound 4.3 oz
Activity levels : Playful when out of pen, Likes to run around in the living room
Poop report : Her poops have gotten a little liquid around it

Ferret's Name: Ron
Weight: 1 pound
Activity Levels : Wild and crazy (lol)
Poop report : all seems normal

Food Report;
Wend : 1lb 1.1oz soupie 7.1 oz slivers
Thur: 1lb 8.3 oz soupie 13.7 oz slivers
Fri : 1 lb 6 oz soupie 10 oz slivers