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Post by powerwoman on Feb 19, 2019 19:12:24 GMT -5
So, I've been hoping to switch my ferret to FDR, given he's got sensitivities, possible irritable bowel, whatever the medical term is for the vet shrugging at me every couple months after a flare up, etc.
Today I tried making a watery mixture out of a piece of a medallion and used the "grab and dab" method I've read about here. He actually ate a couple bites, which was encouraging until a couple minutes later when he ran around the room vomiting. Even went in his litter box once, which... I appreciate the effort on his part, I suppose. Didn't stop till I picked him up and managed to calm him. He's never vomited before aside from a bad reaction to a vaccine, so this was pretty scary, honestly, and I've been worried. He seems better now, thank god. Everything I've read online since suggests that this was caused by the new food upsetting his stomach, which makes sense, I'm just not sure how to proceed. I understand that with ferrets, you need to switch them to new foods gradually. However, I've also read on here that you shouldn't mix FDR and kibble. Plus, he barely ate any at all-- I'm worried that even mixing it in would make him sick again.
I appreciate any advice-- be it with the transition, or even if anyone can recommend a good food for ferrets with sensitive stomachs in case this doesn't work out? I understand that diet transitions take time, I'm just trying to weigh the pros and cons here, today was rough and I obviously don't want to make the little dude sick if I can possibly avoid it. Thank you.
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Post by abbeytheferret6 on Feb 20, 2019 6:35:00 GMT -5
I hope somebody can give you answers as to why your ferret vomited. I am curious myself. And are you just wanting to feed FDR? Here is info if wanting to feed raw-not just FDR If you choose this route---just make a switching thread, so you can get feed-back. holisticferretforum.com/natural-diet/raw-diet-the-meat-of-the-site/I do not know of a kibble if that is what you are wanting to know for sensitive stomachs. At least 2 or more hours after giving kibble to feed raw. Maybe after one of their long naps? I did try giving my several month old (at the time) beef--I popped a little piece in her mouth and it was one big drama with gagging---no vomit though. That scared the heck out of me. Well I have never offered her beef again. LOL I give lamb instead--usually as a soupie. Just recently too. I would like to know the cause as I did the finger feeding method with my little man the other day trying to feed him rabbit liver, heart, and lungs( a mix of things that i got from a vendor at the farmers market). My little man did not like it and he also threw up. My boy's vomit was whitish ---creamish---not the dark color of the organs. I watched my girls who ate the mixture as well--to see if they would get sick, and they were all right. So I don't know how to answer you. While supposedly mild, my boy flat out refuses to eat raw rabbit although he will eat frozen raw rabbit medallions from Petco.
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Post by peacexlovexpets on Feb 22, 2019 19:18:11 GMT -5
My boys grew up on cat food (2.5yrs and 3yrs), so I know the woes of switching diets. I have not gone fully raw due to my current living situation, but I have transitioned my boys to a homemade 'kibble' style diet. By making the homemade diet, I was able to switch them to my diet by changing up ingredient ratios slowly overtime, so not only did the food tast similar to what they were used to, but it also had a similar composition with a gradual (months) transition as to not upset their tummies. Since I started (3mo ago) I have gotten my boys that were hooked on kibble and kibble alone to eat ham, chicken, turkey, beef, and different species of organ meat/liver meat as well as eggs and then some.
The main thing with changing diet is going really slow. Your ferret will be imprinted on their original food (both the texture and the diet balance itself) as will their digestive system, so if you move too fast you can actually upset their gut (which makes them sick).
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Post by powerwoman on Feb 23, 2019 22:24:10 GMT -5
I hope somebody can give you answers as to why your ferret vomited. I am curious myself. And are you just wanting to feed FDR? Here is info if wanting to feed raw-not just FDR If you choose this route---just make a switching thread, so you can get feed-back. holisticferretforum.com/natural-diet/raw-diet-the-meat-of-the-site/I do not know of a kibble if that is what you are wanting to know for sensitive stomachs. At least 2 or more hours after giving kibble to feed raw. Maybe after one of their long naps? I did try giving my several month old (at the time) beef--I popped a little piece in her mouth and it was one big drama with gagging---no vomit though. That scared the heck out of me. Well I have never offered her beef again. LOL I give lamb instead--usually as a soupie. Just recently too. I would like to know the cause as I did the finger feeding method with my little man the other day trying to feed him rabbit liver, heart, and lungs( a mix of things that i got from a vendor at the farmers market). My little man did not like it and he also threw up. My boy's vomit was whitish ---creamish---not the dark color of the organs. I watched my girls who ate the mixture as well--to see if they would get sick, and they were all right. So I don't know how to answer you. While supposedly mild, my boy flat out refuses to eat raw rabbit although he will eat frozen raw rabbit medallions from Petco. For now the plan is just to feed FDR, at least, as soon as I know more about what do try going forward-- thanks for the info!
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Post by powerwoman on Feb 23, 2019 22:29:25 GMT -5
My boys grew up on cat food (2.5yrs and 3yrs), so I know the woes of switching diets. I have not gone fully raw due to my current living situation, but I have transitioned my boys to a homemade 'kibble' style diet. By making the homemade diet, I was able to switch them to my diet by changing up ingredient ratios slowly overtime, so not only did the food tast similar to what they were used to, but it also had a similar composition with a gradual (months) transition as to not upset their tummies. Since I started (3mo ago) I have gotten my boys that were hooked on kibble and kibble alone to eat ham, chicken, turkey, beef, and different species of organ meat/liver meat as well as eggs and then some. The main thing with changing diet is going really slow. Your ferret will be imprinted on their original food (both the texture and the diet balance itself) as will their digestive system, so if you move too fast you can actually upset their gut (which makes them sick). I'd figured it was due to the new food (he's only ever had kibble, as far as I know, so the lamb-patty soup must've been a shock. I feel awful about all this.)... the thing is, I already knew this was a possibility and made sure he only ate a little, so I'm not sure what amount I could start out with that wouldn't make him sick. It's also not unlikely he won't want anything to do with the stuff now, not that I blame him. I thought about adding a couple drops of the mixture in with his kibble, but based on some of the stuff I've read here I'd be worried about bacteria.
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