Pablo's first whole prey

[smallfooties]

Hi all,
apologies for not being so active. I have been unwell...
But i'm back now...
I managed to get a box of rat babies for Pablo at the local pet shop.
I have defrosted it and put it into Pablo's food dish.
He sniffed at it for a while and tried to bite it but stopped - perhaps the baby rat is still cold that is why.
I will be watching him when he goes to his food dish again...
I thought i'll get him something that doesn't have fur for starters.
The lady at the pet shop kept saying it was disgusting... and that i should get a cat instead! &^$#@
But obviously she didn't know much about ferrets... and i thought it was a good opportunity to educate her - but i didn't...
Also bought some new toys for him - a cat teaser which he absolutely loves and a tunnel...
So he is going crazy with the tunnel at the moment... lol...
ok... hope things are well with all of you!
Take care...

Cheers!

[smallfooties]

ok i can hear the crunching of bones!!!! hmmm... i think he is enjoying it... he certainly sounds like it! hehehe....

[Deleted]

Congrats! So he is eating the whole prey?! What a good boy !!

[smallfooties]

hi jackie!
i just checked! he has left 1/2 of the carcass and gone to bed! lazy bugger... lol...

[Deleted]

That's great news - congrats on such a well behaved fuzzy I wish mine would eat whole prey that easily

What prey will you try next?

[smallfooties]

hmmm i don't know... i was thinking live fish?
kinda make it like a game for him... putting the fish in a tub and letting him catch them... although i'm worried he might drown?
this is as exciting for me as it is for him! lol...
Oh, but fishes here are very expensive!!! I don't know where to get feeder gold fish... thinking gold fish cos they are FAT! so plenty of meat for Pabs... kekeke...
But they are like $6 onwards each...
Have you got any ideas?
what have you fed yours???
I'm lucky cos Pabs is very curious... he would try anything i put into his bowl! kekeke....
I also have to make sure that he finishes his food before coming out to play as i don't want to find carcasses all over my house!!!

[Sherry]

Congrats to your boy ! Keep him going at them, and slowly build up in size
As for fishing- not to worry, he won't drown himself, although it may look like he's going to at times ;D

[smallfooties]

ehehehe... what sort of fishies do you think i should start with? Gold fish ok? i will go hunting for feeder gold fish tomorrow!
Also, he seems to really like the kibble... should i just put the mouse in the bowl without the kibble so that he is 'forced' to eat the mouse? he doesn't seem to really like raw meat... perhaps i could cook the mouse initially and then work towards giving it to him raw? like steam the mouse ...

[Sherry]

First, no feeder fish from the pet stores. They put a TON of chemicals in the water just to keep them alive once they get there. Minnows from a bait shop would work well.
As for the raw, have you tried soupies with them yet? Most have to puree it, and dab a bit on their noses over and over in order for them to realize it's actually food Takes some coaxing sometimes.
Took one of mine 6 weeks to convince him I wasn't poisoning him
For the kibble, try leaving it out for up to about 12 hours, but no longer than that. Then offer him his rats again, as well as mouse pinkies. Work him up to the fur, but don't starve him over it. Ferrets can develop hepatic lipidosis(fatty liver disease) if they are fasted for too long.