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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2017 1:18:58 GMT -5
Hey all, I'm planning on starting Titus on raw soup tonight.
In preparation for this, I've got
1) Weighing Scale 2) Blender 3) Chicken meat (thigh/breast) 4) Chicken heart 5) Chicken liver 6) Egg shells
Will be updating this thread with more information as I go along!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2017 9:18:32 GMT -5
As of 24/3, Titus currently weighs 14.5 oz
Fed him an ounce and a half of raw soup today.
EDIT: Make that two ounces.
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Post by Sherry on Mar 24, 2017 10:08:23 GMT -5
Sounds like you've made a great start!
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Post by LindaM on Mar 24, 2017 12:06:49 GMT -5
Wonderful! I'm so glad you guys are doing it. Keep us posted on how it goes and if you have any questions or concerns.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2017 20:53:50 GMT -5
25/3 10 AM - 2 oz (0.5 oz left behind) = 1.5oz eaten 3.12 PM - 1 oz (0.20 oz left behind) = 0.80 oz eaten
5.49 PM - 2 oz (0.65 oz left behind) = 1.35 oz eaten
2 AM - 1.2 oz (0.00 oz left behind) = 1.2 oz eaten
Total: 4.85 oz eaten I also would just like to confirm if this is what raw soup is supposed to look like: Also, for some strange reason, whenever he eats out of his bowl, he tends to leave chunks of food lying around outside after chewing them. After that, he won't touch it. He did the same for kibble. Any ideas why?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2017 1:31:10 GMT -5
Also, I've noted some strange behavior. After he eats, he pushes his nose into the litter box and starts rooting around as if he's trying to clean something or scratch an itch. He ends up pushing some litter out, and then stops. His poop has also become mucousy, alot smellier, and there are some pieces of raw meat inside it. I hope this is normal.
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Post by LindaM on Mar 25, 2017 1:51:11 GMT -5
Sounds like he's trying to clean, and maybe not in the smartest way, lol. Ferrets will wipe their faces as well as clean their whiskers to clean them off after certain meals like soupies, FDR, and egg. They are very clean animals that way. I actually keep a face towel by mine's bowls for them to clean on after they've eaten and they use it quite well, it'a pretty adorable too. Sometimes they forget to use the towel.. and they end up using my bedroom carpet or a freshly washed pile of clothing instead.
Detox poops! So, with a switch, it's pretty common to see some rather weird poops pop up for about 4-6 weeks as their little tummies learn to adjust to their new diet. Just keep an eye on these, as sometimes it could be something else and if it really concerns you, feel free to ask about it here on the forum just to be safe. With ferrets, poop is life. It is how we make sure they are healthy and that things are going okay, and since poops vary so much from meal to meal on a raw diet, checking poops often is a good habit to get into.
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Post by Sherry on Mar 25, 2017 8:44:45 GMT -5
He is cleaning his chin and whiskers Offer him a small towel under the dish and odds are he'll use that instead.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2017 12:44:24 GMT -5
Woke up today at 2AM to Titus scratching at his cage for food.
Gave him another 1.2 oz which he promptly licked clean.
That puts it at about 4.85 oz of soup eaten in just one day. He has also put on quite a lot of weight, and is noticeably a lot heavier and fatter. Is this normal?
Also, for some reason, he's pooping and peeing all over the place now. Before, he was pretty well litter-trained. He would even walk back to his cage to eliminate, and I would reward him with a dab of salmon oil each time. Now however, when he's roaming about the house, he goes in corners, and he just now he even went in the corner of the second story of the cage where I usually feed him. I'm not sure how to deal with this behavior. Whenever he goes outside, I time him out straight away for 3 minutes~ in a carrier.
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Post by LindaM on Mar 25, 2017 13:07:29 GMT -5
That can definitely happen at the start of a switch, especially taking into account a lot of them tend to eat more at first and then slow down with how much as time progresses. It's also why it is a good idea to take a weekly weight to see how his weight is doing overall and note it down.
With a raw switch it can really go either way, pick up weight or lose weight. Some lose weight before building up muscle, some build up the muscle before even losing the weight first. Generally, on a raw diet ferrets will regulate for themselves how much raw to eat, and very rarely ever overeat. Kits though, will still eat several times what an adult will as their little bodies are still growing and they use all that food to fuel the process.
Personally, time-outs for poops have never done anything for me. I had better success with just making sure those areas get cleaned up very thoroughly to remove the smell, and put out multiple boxes. Each room my ferrets roam has a litter box, bigger rooms get a puppy-pad as well, they don't like needing to go very far for a box when they really need to go. It all also gets cleaned frequently since they will go somewhere else if it's not clean enough (don't go too clean either, leave a poop to help them remember if one has troubles pooping other places). Something to keep in mind, a ferret will not 100% always use the box without fail, mistakes will sometimes happen. Everytime you see him aim somewhere other than the box, call out to get his attention and run over to him, grab him and pop him inside a litterbox and don't let him run off without first going. Reward with praise and a treat when he goes, and everytime he goes correct without assistance for a while. That's what worked for me, I also taught mine that "pottybox" is the litterbox, so if they aim somewhere, I just call out "Loki, pottybox!" and the poor little thing will storm on over to the closest litterbox to go instead.
If he's going in consistent corners, think about putting a litterbox there, or stuffing some blankets temporarily to see if it will deter him, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2017 15:30:56 GMT -5
Thanks Linda and Sherry. Got it!
26/3
Titus Weight : 18.40 oz
He has put on almost 4 ounces in 2-3 days.
5.30 AM - 0.7 oz (I'm out of raw soup. I need to make more today, but my blender is spoiled. I have a food processor coming today from Amazon in the morning, so I'll make more then)
8.30 AM - 1.23 oz piece of chicken meat
Interesting development here. My processor hasn't arrived yet, but Titus was clawing at his cage for food and generally making a huge racket that he was hungry. I had no choice but to thaw a piece of chicken breast for him and give it to him as it is. He's chewing it at voraciously. I think he should have no problem eating raw meat without souping it. Scratch that. He tore it apart, but didn't really eat much of it. Stashed it in the corner of his cage and left it there.
10 AM - 1.8 oz soup (blender arrived)
Unfortunately, I fell short slightly on chicken heart. Had to make raw soup with
Chicken breast - 8 oz Chicken liver - 1 oz Chicken heart - 0.7 oz Egg Shell - 1/2 tsp One egg - Yolk and white
Will increase heart intake for next batch of soup to make up for deficiency.
12 PM - 1 oz soup
8 PM - 1 oz soup
3 AM - 1 oz soup
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Post by Sherry on Mar 26, 2017 10:39:33 GMT -5
Hey not a problem with the heart right now Later on you will work at balance over the week instead ofdaily. Just try to access a regular supply on it. Also, try cutting smaller pieces of the chicken and offer those. The size may have intimidated him a bit.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2017 6:19:53 GMT -5
Alright!
27/3
11 AM - 1.5 oz
2.45 PM - 1 oz
8 PM - 1 oz
1 AM - 1 oz
There was one instance of poop that was a funny pink color yesterday (the color of the soup), but now it's back to a mucousy dark green.
He's also quite a bit more active than before, and wants to get out instead of sleeping all the time.
In addition, thanks for your suggestions Sherry and Linda! I placed a cloth near his bowl, and he wipes his face on it now.
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Post by Sherry on Mar 27, 2017 10:02:42 GMT -5
You will find while he is detoxing from the kibble poops are going to be all over the board. The time to be concerned is if you find it beginning to really smell foul consistently. That may indicate a bacterial overload. This can happen at any time, on any diet, as stress seems to be the main contributing factor. That and feeding raw and kibble too closely together can affect some ferrets like this.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2017 21:16:46 GMT -5
28/3
11 AM - 1.5 oz
2 PM - 1 oz
6 PM - 1 oz
11 PM - 1 oz
Thanks Sherry! He's still on his medication, so I'm not too concerned about bacteria infection. His poop today is very dark green and slightly runny. What should normal ferret poop look like?
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