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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2011 23:59:38 GMT -5
Any updates?
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Post by gnarlysalamander on Apr 25, 2011 20:42:52 GMT -5
everyone's eating the wings well and i remembered to get the pumpkin today. i'm going to try giving them a whole wing before i go to bed and see what it looks like in the morning. tomorrow we're going to try some pork chops. the ultimate goal is to get sammy and jaydon moved in with everyone else on friday, but it's a little bittersweet cause jaydon's slept in here since i got him.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2011 20:47:41 GMT -5
Aww that's great news! So let me know on the pork chops tomorrow!
So how many proteins is everyone eating successfully? What about organ and heart meats?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2011 15:44:55 GMT -5
Any updates?
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Post by gnarlysalamander on Apr 28, 2011 15:03:16 GMT -5
sorry, i've been seriously sidetracked this week.
everyone is successfully eating chicken [bone included], chicken hearts, and pork chops. they've also learned to like the pumpkin i add in. the liver isn't exactly a favorite lol. frankie and bandit will eat beef, but jayjay doesn't like it so i'm going to have to come up with another source because pork beef and chicken have been my staples with the other two...
sammy officially has scrubbed off all of the tarter on the right side of her mouth; and the other side is fading fast! i'm thrilled because although her teeth weren't terrible to begin with, hers were the worst of everyone's.
i'm going to the reptile show on saturday so i'm thinking i may pick up a few pinkies for cheap just for the heck of it.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2011 15:43:27 GMT -5
Wooo! Finally That is great news. So they everyone is eating 2 proteins, 1 of which is bone in, heart and liver. You're right about finding another protein. Some suggestions of easy to find stuff: Turkey necks (favorite here), ground turkey (also a fav), turky wing tips, cornish game hen( they are pricey but the bones are perfect for little ferret teeth), duck (bones similar to chickens), goat, lamb, goose, etc. If you could get a steady supply of adult mice, that could be your other protein. Also, can you find any other organs, like spleen, thymus, pancreas, kidney, etc? That is GREAT to hear about her teeth. Mine had mild tartar before raw, now they're pearly white! Chicken gizzards are also great for cleaning teeth Nice and chewy
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Post by gnarlysalamander on Apr 28, 2011 22:01:42 GMT -5
the only organs ive been able to find was the liver [and that's even all the asian market had unless they've updated since the last time i went]. i can't find turkey necks either? it sounded like something they'd enjoy though... i don't really want to do the mice, especially not the adult ones. my mom would lose her mind if she found guts on the walls... the pinkies i just thought would be fun because i can get them at the show for like 25 cents as opposed to $12 for 6 from work that way it's not a big loss if they don't eat them [but i'm sure sammy and jaydon will]. monday is going to be my next shopping day, so we'll see about some turkey.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2011 23:26:11 GMT -5
So since you can't find Amy other organ, feed 10% liver instead. Let me know what other meats you find
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Post by gnarlysalamander on Apr 29, 2011 16:57:29 GMT -5
well, today's the day, sammy and jaydon and moving in with the others. i'm glad to be able to get them back in the bigger cage, although i admit it was a HUGE pain in the butt to put the third level up, especially since it's like 3 inches from the ceiling and didn't really provide a lot of room to maneuver. i'm gonna miss waking up to the kids staring at me every day when my alarm goes off and disturbs them in the morning ... one advantage though, the reptile show is tomorrow so having the ferret cage out of my room provides plenty of room for a new terrarium i'm a terrible daughter, my mom specifically said i could get the geckos if they "didn't take up any more space"... well, technically it's trading the space, but i'm sure that wasn't her intended message. i think she was looking for more of a dresser pet, which in my defense they WOULD fit on, but it's too tall of a dresser to be able to get to easily. ok, getting back on track... i found a turkey thigh from a while ago in the back of the freezer so that's what we're having for dinner. it works out well that i lost it in there, because the last one went bad before they could eat the whole thing because it was only the two of them [even after cutting it up and having it in separate bags in the fridge - guilty, i waited too long after buying to freeze] hopefully jayjay will eat it, but i think he will when he sees EVERYONE else enjoying it... AND back in the day he was the first one who took to the ground turkey. sammy is so funny, i don't know what happened. one day she was her normal self, the next day she totally changed colors and VERY strongly resembles a badger. it cracks me up every time i look at her. is it normal for them to get a little chunky a few months after switching? i've never seen her this big since i've had her, but she was very much on the thin side when she came to live with me so this isn't as bothersome to look at. and i think part of it is her fur, it's gotta be a good 2 inches long now which is crazy. it turns out bandit REALLY likes bones. with the nice weather i'd been letting them play outside, and today is the first day back in my room since switching [looks like it might rain]. he's running around finding all of sammy and jaydon's stashes and eating all the bones they left behind. frankie's so upset. my dog is playing with jaydon and even as he's running at her and biting her ankles and climbing on her, she's totally ignoring him and only plays with jaydon. something about the j names... she loves jaydon and jayjay and couldn't care less about the others.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2011 17:35:03 GMT -5
Wow sounds like everyone is having a blast. I hope everyone enjoys the turkey thigh Ohh definitely post pics of your lizard!!! Yayy
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Post by gnarlysalamander on Apr 30, 2011 21:47:15 GMT -5
i'm very sad to not have the fuzzies in my room anymore, but i'm okay with it after seeing all of them ignoring every single hammock and sleeping in a huge pile on the blankie in the fn. everyone liked the turkey, and there wasn't a speck of liver or pumpkin left =] as opposed to cutting up the food like i had planned, i decided to just make two separate feeding stations since i had the extra water bottle from the other cage anyway. so far so good and no one gets grouchy. the ferrets ended up budgeting me at the reptile show... they hid $60 and by the time i realized it was missing i had to leave the house so we didn't get any mice. no big deal, there's another show in june and the pinkies are like $10 for 50 of them so maybe i'll do that and considering incorporating them in the diet on a regular basis. would pinkies alone count as a protein source, or would it not be complete unless i used different sizes? or do different sized mice each count as their own source? also, i don't think i could bring myself to use rats, but out of curiosity would they be their own source, or would it still count as mice? i don't think they're too different other than size? ended up with two geckos they're awesome! i'll get pics asap once they're settled in. the kritter keeper is no good to take pictures through so i'll have to wait till they can sit in my hand without climbing away to get some pics.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2011 22:01:53 GMT -5
Great news!!! Glad everyone is eating well. Baby mice are snacks, so they won't count as a protein unless you feed mostly adults. Mice and rats are separate proteins, but again you'd have to feed adults. So what I'd like you to do is set up a weekly schedule of what you feed during a week. Like this Monday: AM turkey boneless PM Chicken wing Tuesday: pork boneless Etc. Try to include whether each meal is bone in or out. Then I'll pass it over to Heather and she will make sure everything is balanced.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2011 22:02:58 GMT -5
Can't wait to see your geckos!!! Do they have names yet?! Awesome!
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Post by gnarlysalamander on May 1, 2011 20:33:44 GMT -5
ok, for the most part i try to stick with one protein per day because for a while i was worried sammy was sensitive to beef so i wanted to see what caused what type of poop, and that's just kind of how i've stuck with things... uhh, just a rough estimate.. and even when i list one item, it's broken up into two meals. also, they get pumpkin every day, it was the only way the poop will stay manageable. i need suggestions of bone-in meats that they can digest. sherry said it was alright if they were only eating chicken bones, so is it ok that most bone-in meals are wings? i give them thighs and drumsticks and whatnot, but they don't normally make too much of a dent in those bones, just eat the ends. monday - chicken wings, one heart each tuesday - pork chops wednesday - chicken wings, one heart each thursday - beef chunks friday - chicken wings, one heart each saturday - 1 meal liver, and one meal of an odd item [chicken backs, gizzards, drumsticks, whatever is freezer burned and my parents forgot about that would otherwise be garbage ] sunday - chicken wings, one heart each that's based off of what jaydon and sammy have been eating. as of now for the group i guess replace the beef with the turkey i found. suggestions welcomed! i STILL can't find other organs. i tried the asian market again and they said there wasnt enough demand to carry anything else, and i'm not trying to order a 50lb case of spleen. i don't have the freezer space the geckos names are Spyro and Haku. two points to anyone who knows where Haku came from i'll post pictures in the other pets section
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2011 20:38:11 GMT -5
So do you have access to whole chickens? Then you can use ribs, spine, necks, etc.
What about Cornish game hen? Duck? Small pork ribs? Turkey necks? Those are just some examples of easy to eat bone in.
So when you list chicken wing, you're feeding 2 meals of chicken wing?
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