Unexpected new friend

[evedity]

So.. petco had a 50 percent off ferret sale and this ferret had been alone for months so I adopted him. I was wary because my other ferrets recently lost a buddy but I brought him home. I was just gonna introduce him slowly but the, minute my ferrets saw him they were grooming him and welcoming him. His name is Dobby. He is about 6 months. There i one thing about him though.. he is fat and I mean I can't go through the tunnel fat. He can't go from shelf to shelf. He can drop from levels but not go up any. Does anyone have any ferret exercise plans?😅

[Corvidophile]

Very sorry for loss, I read your other thread too. While I’m sure it makes you happy to see them excited about a new friend immediately, the waiting to introduce period isn’t just for calming of nerves, it’s to wait and see if the new one is sick to make sure they don’t pass anything on to your current ferrets. Keep an eye out for external and internal parasites, and viral and bacterial causes of diarrhea and coughing. But I am glad for your healing process.

My new ferret, Churchill, was fat when I got him from the store too as he was already six months old with nowhere to move and nothing to do but eat the carb heavy kibble he was provided. I’ve had him about four months now and he’s now down to a healthy weight and I’m not reducing his intake or anything. Just getting your new ferret out and playing and switching to a less carb intensive diet will do a lot, and you can reassess in a month if they stop losing weight after they settle into their new routine. If you have stairs in your house, encouraging them to climb is a great full body workout. Following you around as you drag toys is a good starting point. They may get tired at first and speed bump on the floor in exhaustion from too much energy expenditure, but they recover fast and will continue at a pace comfortable for them.

[okojosan]

Wow, be really careful. There's a distemper outbreak amongst Marshall ferrets being sold at pet stores right now in the US. Keep a close eye on them and get them to the vet if they show any signs of sickness.

[abbeytheferret6]

the, minute my ferrets saw him they were grooming him and welcoming him.

Ahh. that is so great. I always had an alpha in my pack and had to have two groups.

[unclejoe]

At 5 to around 8-9 months, Yoshi was a whopping 4.5 lb waddling bag of blubber. I called it baby fat, but it was more like his teens, and even keeping the same diet it dissipated and he ended up a healthy 3.25 lb for most of the rest of his life.  Also note the wild changes in his mask.

Baby Yoshi


Fat teenage Yoshi
DSCF2471 by unclejoe1158, on Flickr

Normal adult Yoshi
IMG_2241 by unclejoe1158, on Flickr

[lyles]

Wow, Joe, that was one chunky boy! Aron is of the bulky build and he was a bit chunky too but he also slimmed down to a healthy size.

[unclejoe]

he blew up like a balloon. if I hadn't done some research i would have been a little scared.