|
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2017 10:08:03 GMT -5
Help! Did a quick search, no luck. Not sure if this is the correct area, I am a little frantic. My Squirmy is coughing (or it sounds like it) after drinking water. This is from the water bottle in cage. I am unsure at this moment if I use a bowl what happens. Just started recently, but noticed it only after drinking. Any help? Any one seen this? Is this hairball possibly? He seems normal. Anything else I should watch for? Thanks in advance.
|
|
|
|
Post by LindaM on Aug 23, 2017 11:54:14 GMT -5
Ferrets shouldn't be given a water bottle for drinking. Water bottles are great for rodents, because THEIR teeth are always growing to excessive lengths and they need them worn down, but a ferret is not a rodent. These bottles do a lot of harm to their little teeth and can even chip them, plus the water bottles usually inhibit them from drinking enough water with ease too.
Get a lock-croc bowl for your cage to put water it, it uses a wingnut to attach to the cage bars and cannot be moved around by the ferret then. The snorkeling and splashing in it at first, will also soon become less of a novelty and stop.
I'd keep an eye, but it could just very well be that some water went down the wrong way when he was drinking.
Also, hairballs in ferrets are different than in cats, they cannot hack them back up, instead they become a bezoar inside their little intestines and they end up with a blockage which may require surgery to remove. Therefore, we recommend giving 1 raw egg per ferret, per week (double during the shedding season). You can give your egg with the white and yolk whipped together, or the yolk by itself, this helps to break down the fats that bind the hairs together and allows the ferret to pass them. Never give only the white as in time it will lead to a biotin deficiency in the ferret.
|
|
|
|
Post by unclejoe on Aug 23, 2017 17:30:21 GMT -5
definitely try a bowl. If the bottle is at the wrong height they will have to put their neck at a a bad angle for swallowing.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2017 22:08:56 GMT -5
definitely try a bowl. If the bottle is at the wrong height they will have to put their neck at a a bad angle for swallowing. Yep I have variety 3 pack, I definitely see that issue. I use a bowl when I let them out to play, so snorkeling and splashing is getting to be old to them. I do have one that tips the bowls when I put them down. I could use a suggestion for a leave out in room one..?? Any ideas. I have been looking for some metal/ceramic food & Water setups. I have been using my dinner sets, so thats why they tip. I got a little metal food bowl clamped down good for now. (They will get it tipped soon) Looking for a metal or ceramic cage lock crocks thing. Found a few, may buy several... Thanks once again. I personally hate plastic so that's why I am picky, Plus I feel that they hold up better. Thanks to everyone. |
|
|
|
Post by LindaM on Aug 24, 2017 0:54:29 GMT -5
My cages use thick plastic lock-croc bowls for water, we clean these regularly to keep them clean as possible. I am not an advocate for plastic either, but I haven't found another that works this well for the water. Outside of the cage they share the cat's electric water fountain which they are used to (I'm lucky, many would just tip it or dig all the water out until the motor burns out, mine do not).
My food bowls are all flat stainless steel serving bowls, as I absolutely refuse to serve raw meats in plastic which will absorb smells, colors and bacteria. I bought several amounts of varying sizes from a restaurant supply for the cat and the ferrets. My ferrets never tip these over in their cages though.
|
|
|
|
Post by msav on Aug 24, 2017 9:07:28 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by unclejoe on Aug 25, 2017 20:53:41 GMT -5
we use heavy ceramic cat food bowls we got at dollar tree
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2017 11:33:10 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by fuzzysmama on Jan 13, 2021 0:34:45 GMT -5
Those bowls...I bought one a while back, perhaps I have a dud though. Does anyone else have an issue with them literally popping out of the metal frame? Mine goes in all the way and pops right back out, I don’t even have to touch it.
|
|
