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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2012 19:13:06 GMT -5
Hi all,
I'm new from the UK, and owned by 3 fuzzbutts. Tilly and Tiny, half-sisters who were hand-reared, are now 9 months old, and are smaller than average were my first two babies. Then there's Spike, who is my little sandy boy, 4.5 months old. Unfortunately he had a pretty rough start in life, and has some behavioural problems, but we're working with him. Hoping to switch all the fuzz-butts over to whole prey, and have signed up for the mentor thing.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2012 19:32:33 GMT -5
Hi and welcome! I hope to see pics of your fuzzbutts soon - UK ferrets are often so pretty  And congrats on the decision to switch the whole prey! I would if I could afford it (whole prey is so pricey  ) Anyway, hope to see you and your fuzz around! |
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Post by Sherry on Jan 24, 2012 21:05:57 GMT -5
Hi, and welcome  Please, feel free to browse, post, ask questions, and just generally join in on the conversations! I'm looking forward to seeing some pics of your babies And I should warn you- we WILL pester you for those pics  |
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Post by Heather on Jan 24, 2012 22:36:01 GMT -5
Hi and welcome on board. Please feel free to prowl the site, check out various sections, threads...ask questions, get involved. You may want to check out the diet and nutrition sections and read through some of the existing threads. Congratulations on your decision to consider feeding whole prey. It is pricier than feeding frankenprey but better for them as it's naturally balanced. I hope you will consider posting pics of your wee babies, pictures are always welcome and fuzz baby pictures are really enjoyed.
ciao
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Post by gabriel on Jan 25, 2012 8:08:46 GMT -5
Welcome. I'm new here too and am also going to attempt switching my ferrets diets with both financial and adjustment issues but it's well worth it for my babies health. I've honestly never seen UK ferrets as opposed to US and I wouldn't have thought about differences so I look forward to seeing yours and taking the journey with you. Thumbs up for coming to the site and taking an interest.  |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2012 11:46:15 GMT -5
Hi and welcome to the forum Now hurry along with those pictures!  What part of the UK are you from? |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2012 16:31:38 GMT -5
I'm mostly from the Midlands areas in England, but have moved around a lot. Tried to take pictures of the furries today with my shoddy camera phone, but Tiny wasn't having any of it  . I have pics of Tilly, my spoilt teen ferret, and Spike (my big baby) for you all: Tilly (that's not a bald patch, I swear!):  Spike at the vets just after he has had his giblets done - taken by the vet who said he was gorgeous and wanted a picture of him for her website. Unfortunately this is not his best pose lol, but he's normally a beautiful boy:  Tilly demanding cuddles. She knows how to get her own way:  Does anyone know how long it normally takes to be matched up with a mentor? I'm keen to get my babies on a better diet. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2012 16:40:01 GMT -5
Also Gabriel, UK ferrets have much lower instances of adrenal disease because we generally don't neuter or castrate them until just before sexual maturity (when hobs maltesers come through, or the first January after for the jills). I was talking to the woman who runs the ferret rescue locally and she says that through all of the thousands of ferrets she has had through there, she has only ever had 3 adrenal one  - and I think the numbers in the US are ridiculously high. We also have lower levels of some cancers because it's thought that some are caused by not getting enough hours of darkness to produce melatonin in, because they live indoors with their owners and are exposed to artificial lighting for extended periods of the day . In the UK, most people keep their ferrets outdoors as until very recently, they were considered as animals only to be used for working, so they only get as much sunlight as they are meant to. They have begun to be more popular in recent years though, which means that more people are keeping them as pets, and a market has opened up for ferret foods - which means people have stopped feeding them natural stuff and started feeding them the rubbish in commercial pet food this spells a range of stuff that's started cropping up more and more frequently according to my vet. It's such a shame, and hopefully forums like this can help educate people about to feed and not feed their fur babies |
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Post by Jeremy's Boggle on Jan 25, 2012 18:05:14 GMT -5
They are beautiful babies. Ferrets are not the only animals being fixed to early here. The US is going to be full of unhealthy pets. My aunt rescue league insist on fixing every animal they take before adoption.  |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2012 18:30:07 GMT -5
I think fixing animals is very important, rescues are over-flowing with unwanted animals, so why breed any more? You can ensure that they are done at an appropriate age without having to wait until they've reached that age before they get rehomed though. When I rescued my little boy, his balls hadn't dropped and very few vets over here will do them before they've dropped because of the problems it causes. When I adopted him I had to sign a contract saying that I would return him to the rescues approved vet when his bits dropped, or provide proof from my vet that he has been done. It's really not that difficult.
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Post by Sherry on Jan 25, 2012 18:53:10 GMT -5
You've got some gorgeous wee ones there As for a mentor, it depends on when the others graduate. but it shouldn't be very long |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2012 18:55:54 GMT -5
My furries already eat day old chicks, eggs, chunks of chicken breast and pinkies, if I was to start the mentoring programme, would I still be starting with the soup?
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Post by Sherry on Jan 25, 2012 20:46:48 GMT -5
No, you start at where you are Most are going from kibbles, which is the reason for the soup. If you want, you can also start your own thread in the newbie section of diet We can all stop in and help you. I really don't think you need the one on one that a beginner frequently does. |
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Post by gabriel on Jan 25, 2012 23:24:29 GMT -5
Both of your ferrets are gorgeous but I love Tilly's mask. Very cute, thumbs up for the getting the pictures on here.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2012 0:01:02 GMT -5
They are very pretty babies!
It's so true about the neutering, working ferrets...etc. you talked about. I am originally from Hungary and we do things pretty much the same way. I had a friend with a ferret about 12 years ago (she gave me the idea about the fuzzies...:-), and back then it was rare that someone would keep one as a pet.
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. I have pics of Tilly, my spoilt teen ferret, and Spike (my big baby) for you all:
