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Post by Heather on Mar 23, 2017 1:11:03 GMT -5
Application: Name: Rose HF Forum Username: RoseTheJinx Please confirm that you are 18 years of age or older: February of 1981 1. Where did you first learn about natural diets for ferrets? I came across it when I was doing research for our cats and dog. They have not switched yet due to hubby. Then I cam across it again when I joined a ferret group on FaceBook. The ferrets will be switching to raw. I am adopting 2 that are already on a raw diet. So switching the 2 I have makes sense. 2. Please describe the type of diet you would like assistance in switching your ferret(s) to. Be sure to include if you are interested in feeding whole prey (live or frozen-thawed) and if you are wanting to FULLY switch to a natural diet or PARTIALLY. If you are unsure what kind of diet you want to put your ferrets on, please express that and we can help you find the best type of natural diet for your ferret. I want to fully switch to a raw diet. I would like to feed whole prey as well as other meals that are not whole prey. I actually plan on raising my own quail for the ferrets too. I have had them in the past and they are easy to raise. 3. Why are you interested in switching your ferrets to a natural diet? I believe it is better for them. This is what they would eat if they were not pets.I hope that my husband will see how well the ferrets that we currently have (not the 2 I am adopting in 2 days who are already on the raw diet) are looking better, stinking less (not that they stink bad), and are healthier on a natural diet and agrees to start transitioning our cats (and hopefully dogs) next. We have a cat on a prescription diet for crystals. I have read so many good things about cats who are on a raw diet with this problem. We already spend $67 or so a month on feeding them this special cat food. 4. Do you understand that switching your ferret to a natural diet can be a lengthy, arduous process? Its not an overnight switch. It requires a commitment of several months at minimum. Your HF Mentor will be more then happy to assist you in switching your ferret(s) to a natural diet, but you need to be equally as committed. The switch takes time and effort every single day. It can also be extremely frustrating at times. If you aren't willing to tough out a potentially lengthy switching process, you have major life changes approaching (baby on the way, moving, starting school, getting married/divorced, etc), or limited time due to work, then it might be a better idea to wait on switching your ferret's diet until you have more time. Are you willing and realistically able to make the necessary time commitment? Yes. I can make that commitment. I know that switching my 6 year old ferret will be difficult and full of ups and downs. I have a child with autism. At one point he was down to only eating 4 food items. With children like him, there is no "if they are hungry they will eat". We worked very hard with therapists and the school (in class eating to help kids like him) and we over came it. I still need to do "upkeep" and constantly offer things he does not like, insist on the 2 bite "no thank you", and work with his sensory and texture issues with food. So yes, I KNOW I can do this. 5. How many ferrets do you currently have? What are their names? Ages? Genders? Do they have any health problems? Are they overweight? Underweight? How long have you had each ferret for? I currently have 2. By the time I have a mentor I will have 4. S'more Age: under a year No health issues. Weight is good I have had her for a month and a half, almost 2 months Hi and welcome to the mentoring program . In a little while your mentors (Klarissa & Katt), will introduce themselves and you can get started on a new adventure in natural ferret care and diets. Please remember to post regularly (daily or as per arranged with your mentors) so that your mentors can assist you move along safely in this adventure. If you experience computer difficulties or are going to be away, please notify your mentors and most of all relax and have fun . Your mentors are here to help you on this journey. ciao
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Post by katt on Mar 23, 2017 1:37:37 GMT -5
Hi @rosethejinx ! I'm excited to work with you and Klarissa ! Rather than copy the whole Meet your Mentor spiel...a little about me - I'm a medical student in my 4th and final year - just 2 months left (woot). I'm from Alaska but in Washington right now for school, and soon residency. I had 2 adorable boys named Koda and Kenai who have been raw fed since I got them as kits. Kenai passed away this past October due to lymphoma at the age of 6. Koda is 7.5 years old now and hanging in there like a champ. I've been mentoring now for over 6 years! (yeesh, time flies!) haha And I love it! I will be taking a back seat on the switch; Klarissa will be running the show (she's fantastic!!) but I will be checking in periodically. Excited to work with you.
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Post by Klarissa on Mar 23, 2017 17:27:31 GMT -5
Hello @rosethejinx! I'm excited to help you transition your brood to raw! A little bit about me - I own a menagerie (7 ferrets, 2 dogs, 3 leopard geckos, 1 crested and 4 snakes). I am incredibly passionate about animal husbandry & aspire to become a vet. I am in my 4th year of undergrad. I am a mentor in training, and have been an HFF member for 2 years this June To start, I see in your application you've added 2 ferrets to your family . So if you could post a short blurb about each ferret (age, health, weight & diet) as well as a picture of the ferrets body dangling
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Post by Klarissa on Mar 26, 2017 6:20:48 GMT -5
@rosethejinx
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2017 9:06:54 GMT -5
Hi!
I am sorry, I have to admit that I suffer from anxiety and I have been having problems with it. The root cause is the 4th ferret I will list.
Here is a quick about us as of now. I have 4 ferrets. All rescues. I have a mix of Wysong and Wellness Grain free in the cage.
S'more - About a year old. She came from a couple who really loved her but did not have the time they thought for her. He is a guard at a prison and she is a nurse. She was healthy (vet confirmed) and was being fed Marshall's food. She was a bit of a nipper, but is doing well with that.
Itty Bitty - I adopted her from Second Chance Dooks. She is around 6 years old. I am told she came in pretty poor shape. She is a small ferret. They believe she was fed super cheap cat food. She is borderline Insulinoma. The vet says her numbers are in the grey area. So far no staring off or lots of shaking. She goes back to the vet in a month and a half to be rechecked and have some blood work done. She has had some nice weight gain since we adopted her.
Panda & Furret- These 2 were also adopted from Second Chance Dooks. Both are about 3 years old. We were told they on a raw diet and liked rabbit. At the rescue it was hard to get them to eat, it was mainly ground when they did eat. They came from a house with small children and I am told their cage was pretty icky. Panda also had a fear of other ferrets when they had her in a semi enclosed space or in a pouch, cube, tube... She would make this horrible scream. Even to her own sister. The owner of Second Chance Dooks and I had been talking about me adopting another pair because Itty is older and S'more is young. So we were waiting to be matched up. I was willing to feed raw and they were matched up with us. Although there was the problem of eating. As time progresses, the concern was they may not be eating because they were around many more ferrets, so I adopted them early and the rescue and I kept in contact daily. Panda (screamer and never wanted to eat) was my original problem child. She was about 15oz when she came home with me. Since then (a month? Month and a half?) she has gained a little bit of weight and she does not scream any more. I have not heard it since day 3 here. Anyway, neither ferret wanted anything raw to eat and they did not want kibble either. Although, one of my young kids sat really close to the cage one day (living room) and one of them stole her ham from her sandwich. No, this is not encouraged. I had gone to the bathroom since they were busy eating.
Furret is my new problem child. She does not want to eat unless she is held. I have to continually bring her back to food. I want to say (without looking) that she was 1lb 3-4oz when she came to me. Skin and bones just like her sister. She actually dipped down to right above 14oz at one point. This is with me trying to get her to eat every 3 hours. She did go to the vet. It was decided that she needed to stay with me and add some carnivore care into the meat soup (recipe from this forum). It was felt if they admitted her and force fed her that she would pass away from the stress. Especially what they had been through already. As of now, she is eating a little better. She still needs me to hold her in order to eat. So every 3 hours I do that. She will eat on her own though.
Current weights will be added once they wake up. They are currently sleeping. It is spring break here and I have all 6 kids home with me and my bonus child is also here. So 7 kids 9 and under. Needless to say the ferrets get a workout.
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Post by Klarissa on Apr 4, 2017 9:42:42 GMT -5
Don't worry - life happens, and ferrets can certainly be stressful! Better late than never It sounds like Panda is deaf! Deaf ferrets often vocalize inappropriately, and their sounds don't accurately portray the situation. Five of my seven ferrets are deaf, and it sometimes sounds like Ferret Fight Club, but when I go in they aren't even touching each other. I even have one who banshee screeches during play , lol. It's great she hasn't screamed recently, but when it happen again try to focus on the behavior & not the sounds Your ferrets are lucky to have found a dedicated furmom! So, the jist I'm getting is only Furret is currently eating raw meat soupie (with CC)? And the other 3 are eating the kibble mix? I'm actually meat shopping for furbrats right now, lol. So when I get a chance to sit down & organize my thoughts I will post again, (after you've posted their weights.) If you could post some pics of them as well that's be fantastic! I'm so glad you posted & look forward to working with you.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2017 9:56:55 GMT -5
Right now, most of my concentration has been on keeping Furret alive and getting her to eat. Although, I have been putting the raw soup into the cage and also kibble. The younger 3 kids (2-5 years in age) have been watching me with Furret (problem child). They wanted to "feed our babies" too. I figured why not! They had been watching me finger and spoon feed Furret, so they knew what to do. So they have been finger feeding the others raw soup (see picture). Yesterday the ferrets did not really eat their kibble. Instead they suddenly decided to eat the soup I had in cage. :-D The raw soup recipe we are using: Soup for switch: 8oz chicken(or other meat) 1oz liver (about One half chicken liver) 1oz heart (about 2 chicken hearts) 1/2 to 3/4 powdered egg shell We are only using chicken at this point. Tomorrow I was going to beef. Next rabbit. Furret is just starting to willingly eat very small pieces. It is more the size of my pinky nail. Although she will not solely eat that size. That is ok, we will not give up! When we went to the vet last (all 4 came. lol) everyone had their teeth looked at and they were fine. So there is no teeth issues. I also have to warn you that my days tend to run together. Hence the vagueness on dates. I do try.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2017 10:36:42 GMT -5
1. Ferret's name: Furret 3 years old 2. Ferret's weight: 1lb 1.5oz 3. Health: Very underweight. Doesn't feel like eating unless held. She has been checked out by the vet. 4. Ferret has eaten 1/8 - 1/4 cup amount on average per meal (I will do better about measuring it) 5. Stools on various proteins. - Normal. 6. Activity levels: Hyper 7. Weekly menu: This week it is chicken soup with finger nail sized chunks. I am going to start to introduce beef soup this week too. 1. Ferret's name: Itty Bitty 6 years old 2. Ferret's weight: 1lb 12.9oz 3. Health: Borderline Insulinoma. We are monitoring her and she sees the vet every 3 months (more if needed) 4. Ferret has eaten Unknown amount on average per meal 5. Stools on various proteins. - Kibble and raw and it is normal. 6. Activity levels: Hyper 7. Weekly menu: This week it is chicken soup with finger nail sized chunks. I am going to start to introduce beef soup this week too. 1. Ferret's name: Panda 3 years old 2. Ferret's weight: 1lb 3.1oz 3. Health: Underweight, but she has been gaining weight. 4. Ferret has eaten Unknown amount on average per meal 5. Stools on various proteins. - Kibble and raw and it is normal. 6. Activity levels: Hyper 7. Weekly menu: This week it is chicken soup with finger nail sized chunks. I am going to start to introduce beef soup this week too. 1. Ferret's name: S'more 1 year old 2. Ferret's weight: 1lb 12.6oz 3. Health: Good 4. Ferret has eaten Unknown amount on average per meal 5. Stools on various proteins. - Kibble and raw and it is normal. 6. Activity levels: Hyper 7. Weekly menu: This week it is chicken soup with finger nail sized chunks. I am going to start to introduce beef soup this week too.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2017 10:42:34 GMT -5
I should say that yesterday I went through 1 1/2 cups of soup! S'more, Panda, and Itty have suddenly taken more of a liking to it and are eating what I leave in cage. Since I was concentrating on Furret eating while I hold her (the way she eats) and trying to get her to eat in cage too, I was not really keeping track of the amount everyone eats. Yesterday I refilled the plate several times with food. I did not have to fill the kibble bowl at all. I saw all 3 of the other ferrets eating the raw.
Edited to 1 1/2 cups. Not 2 1/2 cups. lol Finger slip that I did not catch.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 5, 2017 12:55:43 GMT -5
Last night we had chicken breast. So I cut up some slivers and put them on their plate. I also had some coarse ground beef with Liver and chicken heart. The ground beef... Pudding soup? was received well. The chicken slivers by them-self, not so much. I was up early (3am) and the chicken slivers were gone when I went to remove them from the cage. Today I gave them some more of the rough grind beef mixture. I also added a raw scrambled egg. Furret (problem child) likes it. So does Panda and S'more. Itty wanted to go back to sleep. Tonight will be some more of the rough grind chicken mixture and I am going to add in slivers of thigh meat, heart, and liver (same ratio as the soup). Does that sound ok? Moving too fast? Klarissa, How do you suggest I do the feedings to measure how much each ferret eats? Furret is easier because she will mostly only eat one on one and then a little in the cage. The others never eat at the same time except in the morning. Also, Itty needs food in cage all the time because she is borderline Insulinoma. I can do 4 different bowls, but I have noticed that they tend to ignore a bowl or two and congregate around a bowl together.
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Post by Klarissa on Apr 5, 2017 21:27:04 GMT -5
I typed up a reply, but didn't hit "send" When feeding a group, it's not necessary to know how much each ferret is eating - it's an impossible task. Weighing the whole meal before you serve it, then again after you take it away gives a good guideline. There should always be a few bites left over, to make sure they all get their fill. There's not really such a thing as moving too fast when switch to raw If they eat it willingly, then they're going the perfect speed. If they're eating the raw soupie willingly, then it is time to remove kibble altogether
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Post by Deleted on Apr 5, 2017 23:57:49 GMT -5
Ok, I will weigh the meal. I was looking to see how long each type of meat can sit out. I am so grateful that everything is on the forum. I will start weighing the meals tomorrow. Tonight I fed them chicken breast slivers (meat we had) and some beef soup? I need to look at what it is called again. It is the thicker rough ground before you go to the wet ground look. So like a pudding. They were a little not interested in it. But Furret ate it off my fingers and then my spoon. She ate 2 spoon full and then decided that she could eat it off the plate after all. Silly ferret. Right now I can see 2 ferrets (I am sitting in our dark living room) eating. It is a lighter one and a darker one. I can't tell which... and I have 2 lighter and 2 dark. lol
Since we will be home all day tomorrow (storm), I am going to leave a little kibble in and make sure there is raw in there. Like I said, the one is borderline Insulinoma. So I want to be sure that she is eating raw and this is not just a day or two fluke. Does that make sense? I was mainly working with Furret because she supposedly was on a raw diet with Panda, but they would not eat anything... They ignored kibble and it took some work to get them to eat a little raw. Then Furret lost weight. She went down to 14oz and change. She was 1lb 3 or 4oz when she came here and was clearly underfed. She has yo-yoed around a pound and back down to under a pound several times. She just wants to stress me out. lol Or maybe prove my love for her. So I was just making sure she was eating and gaining and then maintaining before I started on the others. Them deciding to eat it is all on them though. It makes me happy. Very happy though. Yeah!
I have another question, if I can find pinky mice locally, when would be an appropriate time to add it in? When they are at the 1/4-1/2" stage?
Should I feed all new meat (well, maybe not mouse) in a thick rough grind first since it is easier to make sure they will eat it over cutting it into pieces?
Thank you!
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Post by katt on Apr 6, 2017 1:58:31 GMT -5
Welcome back!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2017 9:54:10 GMT -5
Thanks @katt!
THURSDAY 4/6 - Will add to this post as day goes on.
Thursday AM: rough ground beef and organs. 5oz total. 10am there was 4.2oz left. 12:45pm - Furret ate the last of it. I put 4.3 oz of beef pudding mix in
Furret had a weight check and he is 1lb 2.4oz! Also, I noticed that Furret is eating when all the others are interested in the bowl. She will leave if there is only one other ferret. Yet she will eat if there are 2 or 3 other ferrets. Interesting. She also keeps food interest longer (actually eating). Maybe this is the solution to her eating issue?
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Post by Klarissa on Apr 7, 2017 10:39:49 GMT -5
I'm going to post about insulinoma in this post, and follow up post for your other questions:) Ferrets are like kids, that if you give them the opportunity to choose what they eat, more likely than not they will choose the high carb, low nutrition junk food. Leaving kibble in, is like leaving froot loops with a 2 year old, lol. Even if Itty Bitty is only willing to eat the soup, it is important that the kibble is removed. Insulinoma is when the pancreas releases too much insulin --> the insulin removes too much glucose from the blood--> ferret needs to eat again, sooner (left too drop too low, a crash). Kibble because it is high in carbs cause the blood glucose to spike, then drop in a very short time span (why kibble fed ferrets need food 24/7). Raw on the other hand, creates a muxh more stable increase/decrease in blood glucose levels, and the ferrets can actually go longer between meals. Quick diagram, lol I completely understand your trepidation - it's frightening. However, right now Itty Bitty is borderline Insu. the longer on kibble, the more she will move towards Insulinoma. But you & Itty Bitty got this! Start by removing the kibble overnight - you're home! You can (and you probably will, lol) take a peek a couple times throughout the night. Serve the raw soup on a plate, or shallow wide bowl & spread it out evenly. Female ferrets can eat so little, that it can be hard to tell (I have a wee girlie who eats just barely an oz/day). Spreading it out makes it easy to tell where they've eaten If she's eaten overnight, voila! No more kibble
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