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Post by mhuerter on Jun 19, 2018 20:50:08 GMT -5
My name is Michelle and I am the proud owner of two little boy carpet sharks that are 12 weeks old (I've had them two weeks). They are Marshall ferrets. These are not my first ferrets; I've had 12 of them over the last 20 years but they've all been rescues. When my last girl finally had to be put down after treating her for over a year for adrenal, I said I couldn't take the heartache, but I wanted to raise my own from babies and so here we are again! They are in a ferret nation cage with hammocks, blankets, toys, a sleep 'cube' and two litter boxes. Todd (a panda) has used the litter box from day one, Copper (a sable) just chooses to go where ever he pleases so I'm washing blankets and cleaning the age daily...what a pain. They were fed Marshall's Ferret Food which I have never been a fan of. I immediately switched them to Orijen but Todd doesn't like the Orijen and while not losing weight, he wasn't gaining either. I switched to Valen's Farmer dry kibble with a twice daily feeding of Stella and Chewy's rehydrated patties mixed with a bit of freeze dried chicken and beef liver and the occasional egg yolk. Both are gaining nicely (I weigh them daily) but stools are loose. I really want to try a raw diet but there's so much conflicting information out there. I'm looking forward to learning what I can here because no matter how many ferrets I've had, there's always more to learn!
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Post by raven on Jun 20, 2018 0:58:00 GMT -5
Welcome mhuerter! Good luck with your little ones.
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Post by abbeytheferret6 on Jun 20, 2018 5:20:23 GMT -5
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Post by unclejoe on Jun 20, 2018 19:33:15 GMT -5
Welcome to the group!
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Post by mhuerter on Jun 20, 2018 21:32:52 GMT -5
Thanks, everyone. I did some shopping today and after touring 4 different grocery stores I managed to come home with lamb, goat, turkey neck, chicken wings, gizzard, heart and kidney. Still lacking another organ meat but making a trip out of town this weekend to an Asian grocer that should have more of what I'm looking for. Guys are still eating kibble through the day, but each ate some gizzard and chicken wing tonight! Will apply for a mentor once I get my post requirement in but wanted to get started on a bit of variety before my guys become too familiar with kibble and make the switch difficult. Looking forward to a mentor to make sure I'm balancing things correctly.
Both walking well on a leash and enjoy their daily outing. Play time is fun and they're really starting to bond and sleep in a fuzz huddle. Was glad to read today that little guys out eat the adults because all my prior ferrets were adults and I was somewhat concerned about how much these two eat (and poop...so much poop!).
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Post by Sherry on Jun 22, 2018 7:36:08 GMT -5
Hi and welcome For liver(which MUST be half the organ meals) just get some chicken livers. Most local grocery stores sell them in the frozen meat aisle. Follow the menu in the link Abbey posted and you'll be good. At their age, aim for the 9 meals of consumable bone rather than 7 as kits need the extra calcium. Also be prepared for them to eat you out of house and home for a few weeks
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Post by mhuerter on Jun 22, 2018 10:20:26 GMT -5
Thanks Sherry. They do eat a tremendous amount of food. It's like having a teenager in the house. I was honestly concerned about the amount of food they go through only to find that I'm not feeding them enough! Going to have to clean out the freezer this weekend and plan a good prep day.
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