New here! Hello! And are folks still around?

[jasperngeorgie]

Hello!
About 2 months ago I got my first Feret after wanting one since I was a kid. I quickly got a second and I’m totally In love with both. Georgie is my deaf dude and Jasper is my tiny gal!

Even after having done what felt like excessive research before I got them, I still have TONS of questions, and it’s suprizingly hard to find info on the internet. I was very excited to join this forum in hopes of making friends/ getting guidance from seasoned Ferret lovers. The post have already given me SO much help!

Most of the posts I’m seeing are from 2018 just curious if folks are still around?

I don’t have any experince on forums like this so I haven’t mastered how to navigate it just yet. Here are a few of my most pressing questions. I’ll try to post them in more appropriate places!

1) good lord how do I get them to eat ANYTHING but kibble? I’d love to get them raw, but they don’t want anything but kibble or ferretone. I know there are long in-depth post about this but I can’t even get my gal to eat soup of her own kibble.

2) my DEAF boy is 2x the size of my gal and 2 years younger (1 and 3) both are pretty mellow but they do play with me, and together. She usually invites him to play but eventually it gets a bit rough. She dooks A LOT (he is pretty non vocal) but eventually seems over it and he doesn’t seem to hear her say no. Then she will start hissing and snake striking, but she never runs away, and there is never blood poo or pee. He will keep trying to play. Sometimes he will wander off and sometimes I feel bad for her and I’ll distract him so she can go find a nap spot. Is this just normal play and her teaching him her ‘ok I quit!’ Or should I be worried?

I have not yet caged them together because I’m worried about safety. Sometimes I tools like he really is t going to stop until I interrupt and his alligator rolls seem... excessive. It doesn’t SEEM malicious, just that he’s not getting the message the she’s done. They eat next to each other no problem. HE will go to where she’s sleeping to cuddle but she never goes to him (she will stay if he show up but if she gets up to snack or poo she will find a new spot. And SHE will groom him but I have never seen him groom her.

What’s up with them? And is it safe to cage them together?

3) Both were caged almost all the time before I got them. As far as I understand.
The person I got my guy from said he didn’t really play. After I had him for about 2 weeks and spent a lot of time with him, this turned out to be untrue. He would chance me, wrestle in blankets, go nuts in the rice box. It was always short lived and intermittent but I could definitly get him excited.
My gal is similar in that I can get her to dance and dook for about 3 mins at a time. And they will wrestle each other maybe 2-3 times a day for 1-5 mins but other than that they wander and explore or sleep.
Since getting my gal ( 2 weeks ago) my dude seems less interested in play with me. He will follow me around. Stand at my feet and look at me but when I try to play he wanders off. And the games I found that he liked he doesn’t seem interested in any more.
Also my gal was sick when I got her with a belly bacterial infection so, I have had to interact with her a lot for meds etc. is it possible he feels left out? Or is he just tired from their play and less interested in mine? They don’t play a TON but they are both fairly low energy critters.
If I take them to a new room they both get more interested. (They have free reign of my room when I’m home and we take trips to the downstairs when the cat has been exiled to the outside)
Both are eating and drinking fine.
I just don’t understand his lost interest in play with me even tho it seems he looks for me a lot.


I love them both SO much already and I just want to take the very BEST care of them

Thanks so much to everyone!

[Charlie]

Hello! Yes, this site has so much information!! People will chime in when they are on here. Some of them are very insightful!

Your younger ferret will be easier to switch but the older one may be a bit more challenging. They imprint on their food so it will require a lot of patience and consistency! Mine was easy to switch because he was only 3 months and had already been eating some raw. As for yours, you will most likely start with soups. There are posts on here for how to make the soups and how to start feeding. I'll see if I can find it for you!

holisticferretforum.com/natural-diet/raw-diet-the-meat-of-the-site/basic-frankenprey-menu/

Here is the basic Frankenprey menu that most of us follow.  There have been older ferrets who have switched too so if they can be switched so can yours!  Here is another link with how to get started!

holisticferretforum.com/newbie-info/raw-feeding-how-to/


You may be introducing them too quickly. Sounds like your gal doesn't want to always be around or bothered by your little guy. When I was sitting my sister's ferret her little girl was very vocal about my male always wanting to play. Give her time to get use to her surroundings before you have them move in together. I had my sister's ferret for a couple months and by the end I could have put them together but I didn't because my sister's ferret was going home and I did t want them bonded. It was my male that didn't want to room with her though. Give them time yet as you've only have them for a short time together. They will be best friends in no time. I slowly gave them more play time over a period of time because she was still getting use to her surroundings but he wanted to play. I'd wait to cage them together yet. You've only had them for a couple of weeks. If the play is looking to get rough and she's had enough, play with him then and let her have her space. You will know when she's had enough because you have already seen that. Then slowly increase time together.

Yes, it's normal for him to want to play more with her rather then you but you can still play with both. You do have more of a bond with him since you got him first and he follows you around. You will want to come up with interesting things for them to play and explore. That provides enrichment for them. They get bored of the same things if they have to play with the same toys all the time like kids do with their toys. Lol. You may want to still give him some one in one time with each of them as well as playing with both of them together.

[Heather]

How old are the wee ones? Size wise...sounds perfectly normal. A jill/sprite is usually at least a third smaller than the hob/gibb. I've got a 6lbs hob and a 2 lbs jill.....size on both of them is perfectly normal. My largest jill is 3lbs...she's a wee thing compared to Barbossa.
As far as the play, it sounds to me like they're playing. Hissing, dooking all part of the play process. Ferret play is rough and if no one is running away, hiding then chances are they're just playing
ciao

[abbeytheferret6]

Hi and congrats to your new ferret family

Charlie gave you the two websites for the info on switching ---so if you are interested in doing that in the future, people here will help you.

Here is a site about ferret toys and playtime.
holisticferretforum.com/care-and-enrichment/ferret-toys/
If you go here you will find a lot of subjects with drop down boxes.
holisticferretforum.com/

Concerning ferretone---we rather give a better oil--- Alaskan salmon oil. We hold it to 1 teaspoon a week and you can spread that out over the week. Most of the time it is given as an occasional treat 

Ingredients in ferretone.

Soybean Oil, Cod Liver Oil, Lecithin, Wheat Germ Oil, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Mono Angive Diglycerides, Bht And Propyl Paraben (As Preservatives).

I highlighted what I feel is the bad in ferretone---soybeans are sprayed with pesticides.  Bht is the preservative
(seems to have bad rap as cancer causing).

Here is a great brand of salmon oil
www.grizzlypetproducts.com/grizzly-salmon-oil/
Interesting info on the bad of some of the Amazon sellers of Grizzly products.
www.grizzlypetproducts.com/why-are-grizzly-product-prices-different-on-amazon-com/

[jasperngeorgie]

Thank you.

Heather,
I responded to you on the other thread as well, and added a few clarifying questions. Thank you for your input!
Georgie is 1 deaf and just about 2 1/2 lbs. Jasper is 3 and barely 1 lb. 6lbs sounds SO big! I’d love to have a monster like that one day ☺️💕.

Abbey,
Thank you! I’ll go to our local fancy pet store today and make the oil switch if they will eat that grizzly stuff! I knew the ferretone wasn’t great for them but so far it’s the only treat I have found to use for nail trimming and meds giving. Georgie will eat turkey baby food too but Jasper won’t even touch a soup made of her own kibble.
I’ll look over the raw switch guidlines and get the scale and all the other stuff and ask for help when I’m peeped and ready! I was so suprized how quickly I started hearing back from folks on here. I’ve never used a forum like this. It’s been so great already!

[abbeytheferret6]

If your ferret doesn't like the oil, just continue offering it-- maybe everyday or so like touching mouth with it. I had to get my girl to like it.

[unclejoe]

Hello and welcome to the group