help with diagnosis of new ferret

[tails1950]

hello i am new here i had a search on previous threads but i couldn't find anything similar to what i got so sorry if there is. i got a 3-4 mouth old jill about 2 weeks back but for about 4 days now she has been having quite dry poop and small compared to the others the only way i could describe it is its almost like damp sand and looks like it would crumble and at night she would have one with a small dark green patch at the end. when i first noticed it i gave her some egg and 4 hours later some Vaseline as heard somewhere else that it could be blockage but it made no difference she is eating and drinking running around and playing so i cant se it being major any help on this would be great and i have no idea what a ferret straining to go looks like.

it looks like she was at a bad place before i got her as she was feed dog food that was taken away during the day and confined to a smallish cage and walking on her claws. the owner said he scuffed her. since i got her she has been on vitaline ferret kibble im in the uk and raw meat in the morning she is in the court with the two hobs at the moment which are the same age and they are getting along happily i introduced them early as they could hear and smell each other so there was no peace . but she does seem skittie when there is noise or when you enter the court theres no hissing or bottle brush tail but she will run and hide and if you get to just over a arms length away and wait she will come out and sniff your hand and approach you slowly and sometime sniff and bite and sometimes let you pet her hold her so im wondering is it some kind of stress at night . she got a little funny on pooing when she was settling and getting use to the kibble but as its been awhile im not thinking it is that she does seem small for age and she almost didnt stop eating at first more than the boys but now settled abit i think thats all the info . has anyone any wise words thanks

[eclipso]

Perhaps it's the change in food that made these dry poops. If the water content is lower on this kibble, that may be why and you'd just have to make sure she gets enough water. Since ferrets are carnivores, they get most of their water through their prey, so they don't have the urge to drink when they need water. You could try mixing water with kibble to make a chunky soup. This way the ferret can get used to the new food better. Then you make it less soupy over time until it's just kibble.

The reactions from her when you approach really just depend on how similar you are to the past owner; so if the owner always wore a red jacket, and you just happened to be wearing one that day, the ferret would be more nervous around you. You can try different shirt textures, different thing noises, and different shoes or changing the way you walk and approach her. Because she was mistreated by her past owner, she's still weary about humans, but over time she'll trust you more. Just make sure to be gentle and slow, quiet and small when she comes. The less motion and sound you make, the less stressed and overwhelmed she'll be. Thank you, and I hope this helps you and your amazing ferret, you're an amazing person for helping her

[tails1950]

thank you for the response eclipso i will give it a try. i was thinking that about the water but it didnt explain the green parts which is why i was thinking it was something else. i am probably letting her get away with biting abit at the moment as i think it might help her relax abit without being put in solitary or ignored most of the time reinforcing that humans are evil. its interesting at times she will dance like she wants to play but be nervous at the same time not knowing what to do. thank you for the help and kind words

[Charlie]

Give your jill a little more time. That was a big change for her with a totally new environment and new friends too. Does she have access to plenty of water in a bowl? Sounds like her poops are very dry. That could also be from too much bone in her raw food that you feed her in the mornings?

[abbeytheferret6]

Hi tails1950. So glad u have rescued a little one from a "bad place".

You can try a muscle meal without bone or a bone-in meal(meaty bone) with lots of meat on it.
As far as kibble, I remember one of my first ferrets would tip the water bowl to splash water in his dry kibble. The two bowls were very close together. Smart boy.

Are you giving water from a bowl or or water bottle?
Let us know how your little one does with the adjustments.

[tails1950]

thank you for more help. charlie that is what im hoping that time will easy her abit. and she does have plenty of water around and thats a good point on the raw i will have to look as its a minced up bag i get from the local butcher and as the hobs are fine on it i never thought. abbey thank you tho i expect she could of been rescued by someone better i didnt really want to leave her there. i will see what i can find on the muscle meal. very smart able to look after him self tho bet it also was trouble. at the moment i am using 4 water bottles in the court between the 3 of them as im looking for one of those bowls that they cant tip or splash everywhere as one of the hobs wont stop till all the water is on the floor. but she does know how to use the water bottle. i tried the meat with water last night so almost like a stew and she did eat some and was some left when closed them up for the night in the morning the poop looked better then where she started on the kibble again back to how it was so a little bit ago when they went to sleep i put some water with the kibble and will se what happens. the hobs have to use vitalin kibble as its hypoanagenic so didnt think it would cause her trouble unless she could be eating more than she is used to and not leaving room for water. today when able to hold her my fingers now no longer fall in-between her ribs and the spine aint as visible. so im glad with the change she has made already in the last 2 weeks which is more important but i didnt know if the poop situation was apart of it thanks again for all the help ill keep you updated if there is anything to report

[Charlie]

Glad to hear she is fattening up some!! Well done! She is fortunate that you found her when you did. She will have much better care with you! Yes, ferrets tend to not get enough water when drinking from water bottles. They tend to drink more from bowls. What I use is a heavy ceramic cat bowl that my ferret can't dump over, he can push it around but he can't spill it. He has tried but has since given up. But he does get to play in the tub with the water. lol

[tails1950]

thank you ill try not to let her or you down . i was thinking that but cant really find a bowl that i think is right. i did try a ceramic one and a few attaching metal ones but the one hob will splash scoop the water out or push out with nose if that fails bath in it and kick it out i may be over thinking things but untill i find a good one that works i know they are getting some water with the bottle all day than just 5 minutes with the bowl. lol must be fun to watch. how often does he play in the water. i have plans on the back burner to put a small shallow pool in the court before next summer to help keep them cool and enrichment

[Charlie]

You've already made a big difference in her life in the 2 weeks you've had her. Your one hob sounds like a really funny boy!! He seems to love water!

My boy will get in the tub and I'll put a cup of water in there. He drinks from it first and then try to pull it around the tub and then finally pulls it over. When it spills he dances around like he doesn't want his feet wet. LOL So cute. Then he drinks from the puddle on the tub floor. He will do this over and over again as long as I fill up the cup. My avatar is a picture of my ferret jumping out of the tub.

Putting a small wading pool in the court will be fun for the ferrets!! I'm sure they will love it.

[tails1950]

he sure is but trouble with it. sounds like a real blast lol would he snorkel in it if it got deep enuf . very handsome boy . yeah i think they will looking forward to start it. the jill is doing alot better i still want to monitor her for a while i been using all your advice with water in the kibble and a few times in the day i will give her a dried meat treat so she is thirsty and put her on a table away from the hob with a bowl of water to up the fluid she still isn't producing as much as the boys but no green and not dry thank you very much everyone for the help i appreciate it

[Charlie]

No, I don't think my boy will snorkel in the water. He doesn't seem to like it much. The few times I have bathed him he always wants to get out of the tub rather then play in it when I put water in it.

Your jill is smaller then the hobs so she isn't going to produce as much as the boys and she won't eat as much as the boys once she is past the kit stage and into adulthood. My sister has a jill and she eats about half of what my boy eats. I got to take care of her for a couple of months. She is super cute.

[eclipso]

Here are some bonding things I found that can help you guys get along

[tails1950]

that is true charlie i never thought of that in that way as she had other issues. thanks eclipso i will have to re watch and take note on what is possible for me as they aint house ferrets. but on that she is getting better slowly and as long as she can smell me before she approaches or i touch her 7 out of 10 times she is happy and only bites during play or if she fancy's my wrist

[unclejoe]

Hey. getting better slowly is better than no progress. I have only had one bad biter, Rosa, an albino, but for some reason she only bit me. She would sniff, then lick lick chomp, which the sniffing and licking is a sign she wants down. And it happened in a short span of time so by the time I was about to put her on the floor she was chomping. The funny thing is, I could hold her up to my face and she would lick my nose.
What you are doing is good, by letting her see you and smell you rather than just grabbing her up. That helped with Rosa, too, and it is also advisable for ferrets with hearing or vision deficits.
What is her name, and could you post a pic? Do you suspect she may be deaf?

[tails1950]

i agree just hope it carry's on and gets to the final goal and not stall out. really that is interesting to know on the lick lick chomp as i had that with one of my hobs but he would do that while he was on the floor and i was stroking him. and i have seen them do it to each other while one is drinking or resting. how did you stop her licking and chomping. that is funny but maybe she knew were the boundary was. the jill is not like that about 4 days ago she knew i was there and was calm. i was cleaning the litter trays and she ran up my back and almost toke my ear off. thanks have you any tips that helped you and rosa as any help i can get is greatly appreciated. shes called freya .i havent checked her hearing if im honest but the way noises scare her from a door lock turning to a plastic bottle falling i just assumed her hearing was fine. i wouldn't know how to test vision but she aint running in to things. i will have a mess about to se about adding a pic. as i have no idea on these things thanks for the reply