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Post by jamien18 on Mar 22, 2018 22:25:16 GMT -5
Update. So I got her out and let her walk around my living room to see if she'll go. And this happen. oi65.tinypic.com/2hexdhx.jpgSo now I'm pretty worried about her
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Post by jamien18 on Mar 23, 2018 2:54:46 GMT -5
I know it's bad but I tried to see if she's eat the kibble and she's just chowing down. I guess I'll have to get her a separate cage for her to live in
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Post by LindaM on Mar 23, 2018 14:46:33 GMT -5
I'm glad she's eating for now. I still really suggest getting her into the vet and checked out anyway, simply because she's a rescue ferret and you cannot be sure you got told everything about her health, or anything that could pass from her to your other two. It's just the smart thing to do. I also have some other questions that I need you to answer so we can figure out how to move forward. Did you quarantine her separately from the other two when you got her, if yes, for how long? How did you offer her the soup? What was your process with that, how many times a day, what methods did you use? Was she fully eating from the soup by herself? Definitely look into the CareCredit card, some people also get pet insurance for their ferrets. Technically, one should have a minimum of $1000 saved up/available per each ferret at all times. And I don't say that to be mean or scare you, but that's just the way it is with owning ferrets. Emergencies that cannot wait often pop up at night when other vets are closed and you need to rush to an ER vet that will usually charge double or even triple, but it's all that could keep your ferret alive. Surgeries aren't cheap either and often vital to the ferret surviving certain situations like a blockage, and neither are caring for the health issues that generally hit ferrets later on too. For Reference:10 Situations Where You Need To Get To A VetHow Much Do Ferrets Cost To Own
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Post by jamien18 on Mar 23, 2018 17:33:13 GMT -5
I'm glad she's eating for now. I still really suggest getting her into the vet and checked out anyway, simply because she's a rescue ferret and you cannot be sure you got told everything about her health, or anything that could pass from her to your other two. It's just the smart thing to do. I also have some other questions that I need you to answer so we can figure out how to move forward. Did you quarantine her separately from the other two when you got her, if yes, for how long? How did you offer her the soup? What was your process with that, how many times a day, what methods did you use? Was she fully eating from the soup by herself? Definitely look into the CareCredit card, some people also get pet insurance for their ferrets. Technically, one should have a minimum of $1000 saved up/available per each ferret at all times. And I don't say that to be mean or scare you, but that's just the way it is with owning ferrets. Emergencies that cannot wait often pop up at night when other vets are closed and you need to rush to an ER vet that will usually charge double or even triple, but it's all that could keep your ferret alive. Surgeries aren't cheap either and often vital to the ferret surviving certain situations like a blockage, and neither are caring for the health issues that generally hit ferrets later on too. For Reference:10 Situations Where You Need To Get To A VetHow Much Do Ferrets Cost To OwnI kept her away for about a week and a half she just kept wanting to cuddle with them and clean them. And yeah I did catch her eat the soup on her own. I'd try to feed her 2 times a day with my finger or spoon, and try to get her to the bowl but it was difficult. Does it cost anything to get a care card for them?
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Post by LindaM on Mar 23, 2018 18:19:20 GMT -5
A ferret quarantine is for at least 2 full weeks, in a separate cage, preferably in a separate room, with NO interaction between the other ferrets. (In another thread you mentioned getting her on the 10th March, and on the 15th you mentioned to me you let them out together, that's not even a full week of quarantine). Keeping them properly separated is especially important if the newcomer has not been to the vet and checked out. It is so easy for a newcomer to give the others ear mites or worse. You won't be able to see anything like ear mites, thus we suggest that vet visit. Part of the reason for the quarantine is also to give the newcomer time to settle in their new environment and to their new human, that way they don't get too stressed out by needing to deal with new ferrets and getting incorporated into that hierarchy just yet either.
As I explained before, when you are working on getting her introduced to the soup, you really need to work with her. Trying just twice a day really isn't a lot, and it can make her transition slower and thus needing to either make sure she eats between 1-2oz daily of the soup when you feed her, or allowing her to still have some kibble to eat until you are sure she will consistently eat from the bowl by herself without you needing to finger or spoon feed. Which was why I said to really spend some time working with her to get her switched onto the soup and eating by herself if you want to remove the kibble entirely, and if she was eating less than 1oz a day, you should really have been trying to feed more than just twice a day to make sure she gets enough food in overall. Yes, it can be difficult to switch them at times, which is also why I suggested taking the time to work with her extra. Switching does require patience and persistence, giving up or just trying every now and then isn't going to move the switch along very well, sadly.
No, it doesn't cost anything to get the card, they'll check your credit score and decide what the limit should be on it or if you get approved or not. The way the CareCredit card works, is you use it to pay the vet bill, and then you pay off the amount owed on the card depending on the terms they give for the payment, eg. 3, 6, 12, 18 months, and make sure you pay at least the minimum amount suggested every month and that by the time the payment deadline comes, you've paid off the entire amount so you don't get slammed with interest. You can look through the FAQs on their website if you need to know more, just Google "CareCredit card".
Moving on from here, I would like you to try the "Dab'n'Grab" method (I listed in the beginning of this thread) with her to get her used to the taste of the soup again, and let me know how that goes. We'll work slower and more consistently with her specifically. 1. How much time a day do you think you can you spend with her directly? 2. How far along are your other two in the switch? What stage are they in right now?
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Post by jamien18 on Mar 23, 2018 19:01:00 GMT -5
A ferret quarantine is for at least 2 full weeks, in a separate cage, preferably in a separate room, with NO interaction between the other ferrets. (In another thread you mentioned getting her on the 10th March, and on the 15th you mentioned to me you let them out together, that's not even a full week of quarantine). Keeping them properly separated is especially important if the newcomer has not been to the vet and checked out. It is so easy for a newcomer to give the others ear mites or worse. You won't be able to see anything like ear mites, thus we suggest that vet visit. Part of the reason for the quarantine is also to give the newcomer time to settle in their new environment and to their new human, that way they don't get too stressed out by needing to deal with new ferrets and getting incorporated into that hierarchy just yet either. As I explained before, when you are working on getting her introduced to the soup, you really need to work with her. Trying just twice a day really isn't a lot, and it can make her transition slower and thus needing to either make sure she eats between 1-2oz daily of the soup when you feed her, or allowing her to still have some kibble to eat until you are sure she will consistently eat from the bowl by herself without you needing to finger or spoon feed. Which was why I said to really spend some time working with her to get her switched onto the soup and eating by herself if you want to remove the kibble entirely, and if she was eating less than 1oz a day, you should really have been trying to feed more than just twice a day to make sure she gets enough food in overall. Yes, it can be difficult to switch them at times, which is also why I suggested taking the time to work with her extra. Switching does require patience and persistence, giving up or just trying every now and then isn't going to move the switch along very well, sadly. No, it doesn't cost anything to get the card, they'll check your credit score and decide what the limit should be on it or if you get approved or not. The way the CareCredit card works, is you use it to pay the vet bill, and then you pay off the amount owed on the card depending on the terms they give for the payment, eg. 3, 6, 12, 18 months, and make sure you pay at least the minimum amount suggested every month and that by the time the payment deadline comes, you've paid off the entire amount so you don't get slammed with interest. You can look through the FAQs on their website if you need to know more, just Google "CareCredit card". Moving on from here, I would like you to try the "Dab'n'Grab" method (I listed in the beginning of this thread) with her to get her used to the taste of the soup again, and let me know how that goes. We'll work slower and more consistently with her specifically. 1. How much time a day do you think you can you spend with her directly? 2. How far along are your other two in the switch? What stage are they in right now? I work part time so I only really work 5 to 7 hours a day and the rest i can spend with her, my other two are doing good with the switch I don't blend the soup as much and out some chunks they eat now they eat it right up. It doesn't last long in the cage lol
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Post by LindaM on Mar 23, 2018 19:25:27 GMT -5
Okay, with the other two, you need to work on getting them off the soup and onto pieces only, with no soup. How big are the pieces they eat right now? Which proteins have you tried for the pieces, has it only been chicken? Have you tried only muscle bits, or also some heart and liver bits? I'm gonna link over to the Size Chart, for reference. Sizing Chart - Slivers to ChunksYour plan is to do the Frankenprey menu at the end, correct? Were you hoping to incorporate any balanced grinds or Whole Prey in it as well? For rescue girlie, let's try either one of the following that will work best or you. A) Try several sessions of about 20-30 minutes each, dabbing every 5 minutes. Or B) Dabbing her every few minutes during the time whenever she's out and about playing. You just need to be consistent with this one, talk to her in a calm voice, praise her while you dab at her, pet and stroke with her next to you or in your lap. That all just makes it feel nice and calm, even if she's not super enjoying it at first. Let's see if we can get her to where she will lick your finger by herself when you hold it out with some soup on.
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Post by jamien18 on Mar 24, 2018 10:26:34 GMT -5
Okay, with the other two, you need to work on getting them off the soup and onto pieces only, with no soup. How big are the pieces they eat right now? Which proteins have you tried for the pieces, has it only been chicken? Have you tried only muscle bits, or also some heart and liver bits? I'm gonna link over to the Size Chart, for reference. Sizing Chart - Slivers to ChunksYour plan is to do the Frankenprey menu at the end, correct? Were you hoping to incorporate any balanced grinds or Whole Prey in it as well? For rescue girlie, let's try either one of the following that will work best or you. A) Try several sessions of about 20-30 minutes each, dabbing every 5 minutes. Or B) Dabbing her every few minutes during the time whenever she's out and about playing. You just need to be consistent with this one, talk to her in a calm voice, praise her while you dab at her, pet and stroke with her next to you or in your lap. That all just makes it feel nice and calm, even if she's not super enjoying it at first. Let's see if we can get her to where she will lick your finger by herself when you hold it out with some soup on. The chunks aren't that big, I'm starting to not blend the meats as much. I've only used chicken for the soup. I wasn't sure what else I could use. Yeah i wanna do the Frankenprey menu and include whole prey sometimes if they'll eat it
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Post by LindaM on Mar 24, 2018 14:17:35 GMT -5
Okay, so the soup recipe, you can actually use any other protein in the place of the muscle meat, eg. instead of chicken thigh, offer some turkey, or rabbit, or beef, etc. muscle meat. Now, we want to start moving them onto slivers, so along with that, chop some tiny slivers into their soup, the size of your fingernail crescent at first, and then we will move the sizes up from there.
How is the rescue girlie doing so far with her Grab'n'Dab sessions?
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Post by jamien18 on Mar 24, 2018 16:09:12 GMT -5
Okay, so the soup recipe, you can actually use any other protein in the place of the muscle meat, eg. instead of chicken thigh, offer some turkey, or rabbit, or beef, etc. muscle meat. Now, we want to start moving them onto slivers, so along with that, chop some tiny slivers into their soup, the size of your fingernail crescent at first, and then we will move the sizes up from there. How is the rescue girlie doing so far with her Grab'n'Dab sessions? Alright I'll get some other meats from the store, and what's considered muscle meat in other meats than chicken? can it be anything for the heart too? And she'll lick it off my finger good but not the spoon so much
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Post by LindaM on Mar 24, 2018 21:14:53 GMT -5
Muscle meat is just that.. muscle meat.. meat that is not organs, not heart, and not including bone (you can always shear the meat off the bones by yourself though). Generally dark meat is better vs light meat because it is technically a fattier cut and provide ferrets with better energy, eg. chicken thigh vs chicken breast. But I've honestly used all sorts of cuts over time, whatever I can get on special sometimes. You can use any protein (animal) for the heart too generally, but variety in organs and heart doesn't really matter, so you can keep it chicken if that easiest for you. I sometimes have a better chance of finding beef heart than chicken, so my heart is often beef heart instead of chicken.
Take into consideration that it may be easier starting with another milder protein at first, turkey would be good, usually I would say pork too (but as it can't offer bone-in meals later, focusing on something that can for now is smarter). Beef tends to be a little strong in smell and taste, and can take a little more work with some ferrets so sometimes it's better saved for a little later in the switch. I've personally never seen issues in introducing rabbit or duck either, and pheasant is an all-time favorite in our home for the ferrets. Quail is another great choice, because it has soft bones and can be a great starter bone-in meal in the switch.
So many of those I mentioned you won't find in your local grocery store easily, the best place to look for them and at a great price, would be an Asian market/ethnic store. Have a look at your area on Google and see if there are any nearby enough to go to and pay them a visit to see what you can find from them.
Okay, so the same way you would have your finger in her face and rub against her mouth, try with a spoon, put some food just on the tip and use it to smear against her mouth. You can keep her in your lap if it helps to calm her. Getting her over to the spoon will be much easier for getting food into her, and moving her onward to bowl only.
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Post by jamien18 on Mar 25, 2018 1:04:22 GMT -5
She is having diarrhea though
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Post by LindaM on Mar 25, 2018 14:59:56 GMT -5
Are you following the recipe for the raw soup from on here? How much bone meal powder/powdered egg shells are you using?
How much diarrhea is she having? What color is it?
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Post by jamien18 on Mar 25, 2018 16:36:35 GMT -5
Are you following the recipe for the raw soup from on here? How much bone meal powder/powdered egg shells are you using? How much diarrhea is she having? What color is it? Same recipe half tea spoon bone meal. She's had it since yesterday and I'd say light brown. Could it be from the kibble
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Post by LindaM on Mar 25, 2018 16:45:25 GMT -5
She could be experiencing some transition poops too. Keep an eye on it though, diarrhea in ferrets can turn bad fast when it dehydrates them.
So you're using 1/2tsp on the 8oz muscle, 1oz heart, 1oz liver (total 10oz meat). You can increase it a little, to 3/4tsp, and see if that makes her poops a bit firmer. Since she's still getting some kibble, you are allowing a few hours to pass after taking it away to offer her raw, and replacing it a few hours after raw only, correct? How is it going in offer her some soup on the tip of a spoon? How many sessions a day of that are you trying right now?
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