Post by joclyn on Feb 11, 2011 1:26:43 GMT -5
i feed them in the cage and, for anything that can be, i hook the meat with plain shower curtain hooks and attach the hooks to the bars and this avoids them stashing the food anywhere. the other benefit of securing the food is they have resistance when chewing at it and that helps to build muscle.
prey items aren't attached (mainly because i usually put that stuff out when it's still frozen, so, there's no way to get the hook through it). those things do sometimes get dragged around the cage...not much can be done about that as stashing their food is their natural behaviour. at least the total amount of 'stash spots' is limited, so, it's easy to find stashed items and get rid of them before they stink up the place! although, i've found that nothing has gone rancid/smelly even after days of being out and that includes during the warm months!
i don't use a feeding box...i DO use the small corner litter pans as the feeding trough, though! it's perfect for in the cage and catches any liquids that come out of the raw meat items, so, keeps the cage fairly clean and they're small enough to put into the dishwasher, so, clean up is a breeze!
i generally feed twice a day - sometimes just once if the prey item is large and is enough for two meals (and sometimes three, like with the really big gp's and the larger rabbits). some will eat their meal as soon as it's served, others will eat their meal later on and others will snack a bit immediately and then go back later for more (same type of grazing that they did when eating kibble).
kibble should be available 24/7. unless you get a ferret from a breeder who feeds raw, you're going to need kibble on hand while switching to raw...i recommend something grain-free such as evo cat or evo ferret (they're basically the same thing, so, i use the cat since it costs less).
kibble with a high amount of fish in it and lots of filler (grains) will make for stinky ferrets and stinky poo. ferrets are individuals and some will have metabolisms that are more susceptible to having reactions to fish and fillers in kibble and others they don't make much (if any) difference.
before i moved to evo kibble, i mainly used totally ferret. also mixed in path valley baby/senior for the kits and added in zupreem for the two old ladies (they were in separate cages). once i moved them to just evo it was a huge difference in odor - both the ferrets themselves and their poo! totally ferret and zupreem are two of the 'better' ferret kibbles...even if i hadn't moved to feeding raw, i'd never have switched back (from evo) to either of those kibbles!! there's almost no odor at all when feeding evo and the amount of stool is less than half! there's absolutely no contest between evo and the others - evo wins out paws down!!
yes, you can feed kibble and supplement with raw. during the initial phase of moving them to raw, i left kibble in the cage and didn't put any out for evening playtime and then would feed the raw items after they'd been out playing for a while. this worked very well with most of mine (i still have 3 that aren't switched yet) since we already had the routine of eating soup mid-way through playtime...instead of soup, i gave them raw.
i use playpens to cordon off the area that is ferret proof. for me, this is the living room and dining room. other areas of the house they get to visit when mommy is with them to supervise. excursions to other rooms in the house are mainly for periodic change of scenery and to allow special one-on-one time with absolutely no distractions from anyone else who wants some attention (i have 10 ferrets).
i do not recommend allowing free roam through the whole house...just too many things they can (and will) get into - it's just asking for a tragedy in my opinion. plus, if there's an emergency, you won't have time to search a whole house to find a ferret who is asleep and not responding to squeakers or you calling for them! best to keep them in a good-sized confined area for easy grabbing if need be.
rooms/areas that you want to keep them from are kitchen, storage areas that have cleaning products, laundry area, heating/a/c equipment area as well as heating vents/radiators, stairs that have open sides/backs. and, YES! they can scoot under a closed door - very easily if the flooring is hardwood or tile!! it can still be accomplished with carpeting, too!! so, you will need something to completely block doorways if you want to be sure they don't go somewhere that isn't allowed!
i have the ferret nation and i strongly recommend that one!! it's the original - the others are just copies. further, the other brands are smaller, don't have the flexibility of movable shelves/ramps and also don't have doors that open completely (which makes a huge difference with cleaning). the other brands also have wire floors that's hard on their feet. spend the extra for the original!
i don't use collars. i use the h-style collar/harness combo with leash and only when we go out for walks. i use the kind made from solid mesh (rather than a stretchy material) and that have actual clips (rather than velcro) as they're more secure and harder for them to wiggle out of.
prey items aren't attached (mainly because i usually put that stuff out when it's still frozen, so, there's no way to get the hook through it). those things do sometimes get dragged around the cage...not much can be done about that as stashing their food is their natural behaviour. at least the total amount of 'stash spots' is limited, so, it's easy to find stashed items and get rid of them before they stink up the place! although, i've found that nothing has gone rancid/smelly even after days of being out and that includes during the warm months!
i don't use a feeding box...i DO use the small corner litter pans as the feeding trough, though! it's perfect for in the cage and catches any liquids that come out of the raw meat items, so, keeps the cage fairly clean and they're small enough to put into the dishwasher, so, clean up is a breeze!
i generally feed twice a day - sometimes just once if the prey item is large and is enough for two meals (and sometimes three, like with the really big gp's and the larger rabbits). some will eat their meal as soon as it's served, others will eat their meal later on and others will snack a bit immediately and then go back later for more (same type of grazing that they did when eating kibble).
kibble should be available 24/7. unless you get a ferret from a breeder who feeds raw, you're going to need kibble on hand while switching to raw...i recommend something grain-free such as evo cat or evo ferret (they're basically the same thing, so, i use the cat since it costs less).
kibble with a high amount of fish in it and lots of filler (grains) will make for stinky ferrets and stinky poo. ferrets are individuals and some will have metabolisms that are more susceptible to having reactions to fish and fillers in kibble and others they don't make much (if any) difference.
before i moved to evo kibble, i mainly used totally ferret. also mixed in path valley baby/senior for the kits and added in zupreem for the two old ladies (they were in separate cages). once i moved them to just evo it was a huge difference in odor - both the ferrets themselves and their poo! totally ferret and zupreem are two of the 'better' ferret kibbles...even if i hadn't moved to feeding raw, i'd never have switched back (from evo) to either of those kibbles!! there's almost no odor at all when feeding evo and the amount of stool is less than half! there's absolutely no contest between evo and the others - evo wins out paws down!!
yes, you can feed kibble and supplement with raw. during the initial phase of moving them to raw, i left kibble in the cage and didn't put any out for evening playtime and then would feed the raw items after they'd been out playing for a while. this worked very well with most of mine (i still have 3 that aren't switched yet) since we already had the routine of eating soup mid-way through playtime...instead of soup, i gave them raw.
i use playpens to cordon off the area that is ferret proof. for me, this is the living room and dining room. other areas of the house they get to visit when mommy is with them to supervise. excursions to other rooms in the house are mainly for periodic change of scenery and to allow special one-on-one time with absolutely no distractions from anyone else who wants some attention (i have 10 ferrets).
i do not recommend allowing free roam through the whole house...just too many things they can (and will) get into - it's just asking for a tragedy in my opinion. plus, if there's an emergency, you won't have time to search a whole house to find a ferret who is asleep and not responding to squeakers or you calling for them! best to keep them in a good-sized confined area for easy grabbing if need be.
rooms/areas that you want to keep them from are kitchen, storage areas that have cleaning products, laundry area, heating/a/c equipment area as well as heating vents/radiators, stairs that have open sides/backs. and, YES! they can scoot under a closed door - very easily if the flooring is hardwood or tile!! it can still be accomplished with carpeting, too!! so, you will need something to completely block doorways if you want to be sure they don't go somewhere that isn't allowed!
i have the ferret nation and i strongly recommend that one!! it's the original - the others are just copies. further, the other brands are smaller, don't have the flexibility of movable shelves/ramps and also don't have doors that open completely (which makes a huge difference with cleaning). the other brands also have wire floors that's hard on their feet. spend the extra for the original!
i don't use collars. i use the h-style collar/harness combo with leash and only when we go out for walks. i use the kind made from solid mesh (rather than a stretchy material) and that have actual clips (rather than velcro) as they're more secure and harder for them to wiggle out of.