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Post by bitbyter on Jul 29, 2011 22:06:55 GMT -5
Hello, currently my two ferrets are kibble fed (a mix of the best I can find) and graze at their leisure. I am in the process of making individual feeding dens with blast gates to control access to the dens. I eventually want to move to a raw / whole diet.
Currently one of my fuzzbuts is a terrible hoarder. Last weekend I cleaned out under the dresser in their room and recovered an entire bowl of kibble. To combat this before moving to raw / whole food I am have come up with a plan but need some feedback if it is actually possible.
1. If I only let them feed on kibble in the mornings & evenings is this enough to sustain them through 24 hrs?
2. If it is, I am planning on using a clicker to indicate feeding time and putting them in the dens with the blast doors closed so that they can eat.
3. Once meal time is over (how much time should I allow them to eat?), I'll remove the food and open the blast doors so they learn where the dens are (connected to the rooms tunnels).
If the above works I am hoping to put food in the dens, open the blast doors and signalling with the clicker indicate it's meal time. Once inside the dens, close the blast doors until they are done (to prevent hoarding). If this works then I'd move onto the challenge of raw / whole prey.
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Post by Sherry on Jul 29, 2011 22:18:42 GMT -5
Unfortunately with most kibbles, ferrets likely shouldn't go for that long without eating. At least not on a regular basis. Now, while we are in the process of switching our ferrets to raw, it's fairly common to leave the kibble out for up to 12 hours at the outside, for healthy animals. However- they do get some raw at the end of that, which is more easily digested. And the kibble is given back after the raw feeding. Even with the raw, I do tend to leave some out in the cages for them to "graze" on during the interim until the next feeding time. Part of the problem is that if you have a ferret who's in the beginning stages of insulinoma, but not yet diagnosed, it could potentially exacerbate the condition. Others might have different experiences, however  |
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Post by bitbyter on Jul 30, 2011 8:16:06 GMT -5
Darn, I kind of had a feeling that twice a day with kibble wasn't going to be enough.
Maybe I can start training with the clicker and feeding dens by putting treats in them. Do you think that would work? The main thing I want is for them to associate the clicker with meal time and then go to the dens because that is where the food is. Hopefully they will then associate the feeding dens with where food belongs (I won't mind if they hoard "in" the dens).
If it does work, once I make the switch to raw / whole prey how long is a typical "meal" for a raw / whole prey eater (5, 10, 15 minutes)?
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Post by Sherry on Jul 30, 2011 9:20:02 GMT -5
Worth a shot with the treats, and getting them to associate the clicker with good things  As for a typical "meal", mine will actively chow down for about 15-20 minutes, then graze on the meat whenever they wake up as a rule. |
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Post by bitbyter on Jul 30, 2011 9:25:54 GMT -5
Hmmm, grazing even with raw / whole prey. Anyone out there in internet land feed raw / whole prey at specific times without allowing grazing??
With all the tunnels setup I am worried that I might end up with meat / carcasses stashed in really hard to dissassemble areas if I allow grazing once switched to raw / whole prey.
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Post by Sherry on Jul 30, 2011 9:28:03 GMT -5
Don't forget- these guys have tiny tummies They can only hold so much at one time, and it goes through the entire digestive process in 3-4 hours max. Like cats, they seem to do better on small, more frequent feedings. |
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Post by bitbyter on Jul 30, 2011 11:31:54 GMT -5
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Post by joclyn on Jul 30, 2011 12:47:40 GMT -5
most of mine still graze even with the natural diet. it's very rare to see them eat everything in one sitting.
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Post by Sherry on Jul 30, 2011 13:15:09 GMT -5
And if they do- they aren't being given enough |
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Post by joclyn on Jul 30, 2011 16:27:52 GMT -5
And if they do- they aren't being given enough |
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Post by chronos on Jul 30, 2011 22:20:44 GMT -5
I don't have anything to add more than what others have added (two times a day feeding is not enough!) but I am very curious about the setup you have your ferrets living in. It sounds like it is something a bit more complex than your basic cage...
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2011 0:12:50 GMT -5
I wonder if you could instead teach them to only hide their food in certain places you approve of?
I'm working on this with my 3 ferrets. They were hiding food under their bedding, under the ramps, in the litterbox, etc. I added 2 plastic containers with holes cut in them, set up to be food hiding places. When I fed them, they would immediately come and grab food and try to go hide it, but if they took the food to the litterbox, I would stop them and put the food in the "correct" hiding place (the plastic food den).
I did this a few times, and now when I set out a plate of meat for them, they only hide it in the plastic feeding dens. This makes clean-up easy for me, I just scoop up whatever is left on the feeding plate and in the 2 plastic feeding dens, and set out new food on the feeding plate. I could put it directly into the feeding dens, but I think they like taking it and "putting it away", plus I like that it gives them exercise carrying pieces of meat to the upstairs feeding den.
Maybe you could do something like this with your setup?
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Post by bitbyter on Jul 31, 2011 10:48:33 GMT -5
Chronos, yes it's getting there. I am currently mounting weeping tile drain pipe on the walls as a tunnel system with sleeping dens mounted on the walls as well. The main concern that stopped the project is one of my fussbuts had an accident in one of the sections and it ended up being a real pain to clean. I'm afraid that they might start hoarding meat and carcasses in the tunnels (which would be a nightmare).
I'm now thinking I might leave the feeding dens seperate from the main tunnel system to make it more difficult but I am entertaining any ideas at this point.
I am keeping a picture journal of the project so when it is done I'll post pictures. It's just taken longer than I anticipated. I am hoping to have it totally completed next week while I'm on vacation.
Mikeybox, that's not a bad idea. If I train them that there are treats in the feeding dens and they get used to them. I could feed them just outside the dens and see if their first instinct is to hoard / hide the food inside the dens!! I've actually found it way easier to work with their instincts than against them when trying to change a behaviour.
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Post by Sherry on Jul 31, 2011 10:57:50 GMT -5
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Post by goingpostal on Aug 1, 2011 12:37:27 GMT -5
You can clip all the food to something, I do this with just about everything so they don't drag it around because I don't want them dragging food into the cage and messing up the bedding. Make your dens like you are planning and clip the meats in. Organs and mush that won't work but usually when I feed organs they eat it all pretty quick and soup I feed supervised. Mice would be hard to contain but they don't make much of a mess as other whole prey ime, other stuff you can clip but if they chew off that chunk they will drag it away, maybe schedule feedings on raw and leave freeze dried out the rest of the time?
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