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Post by bitbyter on Oct 4, 2012 15:25:38 GMT -5
So I was Googling for another thread asking about Metro and I came across this:
Chloramphenicol: Trade name Chloromycetin® palmitate (Monarch), oral suspension and injectable forms, an effective drug for proliferative colitis. Generally safe in ferrets, rarely induces hypoglycemia, BUT VERY DANGEROUS FOR SOME PEOPLE, CAUSING POTENTIALLY FATAL BONE MARROW APLASIA: USE CAUTION WHEN DOSING YOUR FERRET, AVOID SKIN CONTACT.
I guess I was right about the suspension being surger based. Also, it would be nice if that last part was on the bottle somewhere...
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Post by Sherry on Oct 4, 2012 18:22:26 GMT -5
Ya think ;D I cannot count the number of times I've had it spit in my face ;D
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Post by bitbyter on Oct 5, 2012 11:02:54 GMT -5
So both of the girls are eating well but seem to be limited to chunks about the size of their feet. Anything bigger than that and they will pull it off the plate and abandon it. What is considered successful for raw feeding, do I really need to get them to a stage where they will fight over a whole chicken wing or chicken leg? Also, I am getting a bit concerned as I am finding quite a few bone shards leftover in the cage (the picture below is about a weeks worth of mostly bone in meals). Shouldn't they be consuming these? I have found bone in their poop so I know they are eating it but how do I ensure they are eating enough?
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Post by Sherry on Oct 5, 2012 12:35:05 GMT -5
That's fairly common. As they get used to it they will start consuming more of it. As for sizes, most are happy when the ferrets get to about adult mouse size pieces. Other than making sure they have a bit of a work out with the meat/bone, it's whatever YOU are comfortable with. I've got some comfortable with whole pieces as long as those pieces are slashed. A couple others refuse anything bigger than my thumbnail. But those two girls are really tiny as well. Maybe 500-600 grams each.
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Post by bitbyter on Oct 6, 2012 7:54:49 GMT -5
They ate rat pup last night!! I mixed one in with their chicken wing chunks and this morning everything is gone. Today I am going to try hanging a whole chicken wing and we'll see what happens. Well both my girls are pretty small (as you can see from their starting weights) but it's funny because Socks (my smaller girl) seems the most confident with the larger pieces and Wilma (my larger girl) is the picky one. Mind you she is the alpha so it could be "I'm not eating THAT, you eat it." dominance behavior.
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Post by Sherry on Oct 6, 2012 9:22:17 GMT -5
That's fantastic about the pup! Hopefully hanging the meat will help them along. Don't forget to slash it quite deeply to give them something to grab onto. Make it so the meat is barely hanging onto the bone.
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Post by bitbyter on Oct 6, 2012 14:25:18 GMT -5
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Post by Sherry on Oct 6, 2012 15:38:02 GMT -5
Oh, that is fantastic They are just going to town on that thing ;D It does seem that hanging the food sometimes seems to work where other things haves failed. I'm guessing because the meat is moving maybe? But whatever reason- they LOVE it ;D Okay- let's get them eating heart, liver, and other organs next!
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Post by bitbyter on Oct 6, 2012 17:46:00 GMT -5
I take it you mean on their own?
I already have had them eating liver and heart when it is mixed in with other meats. I usually chop it really fine and mix it well with the other meat pieces to ensure they are eating it.
I also confirmed that that meat processor I posted about earlier does sell hearts and livers in any quantity I could want them in. The chicken / turkey giblets they sell are all the other organs so I can get a full range of poultry organs for them. They also sell quail and Cornish game hens (which I am going to try either tonight or tomorrow).
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Post by Sherry on Oct 6, 2012 18:20:11 GMT -5
Okay, my bad As long as they are getting basically a full meal a week of hearts, and approx 2oz each liver and other organ(giblets are not organs, by the way) such as kidney, lung, spleen, brain, etc it's all good Let me know how they do with the cornish hen as well as the whole quail
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Post by bitbyter on Oct 6, 2012 22:21:59 GMT -5
Actually when I called them that's what they call "Giblets". He specifically said lungs, spleen, and everything other than the heart, liver, and stomach/intestines. I'm going up there on Tuesday to take a look at the product and maybe make a purchase.
What is classified as a "meal" of hearts?
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Post by bitbyter on Oct 7, 2012 9:16:36 GMT -5
Well I think to my detriment (sleep wise), Wilma is reeally feeling better. She has been re-stashing toys, chasing Socks and banging her cardboard tube since 6 am this morning. She finally just settled down to sleep. Her normal playtime is usually only 2 hours.
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Post by Sherry on Oct 7, 2012 9:30:42 GMT -5
She sounds like she's feeling better alright ;D She's also found her energy! And a "meal" would be however much they'd normally eat in a single serving. If Wilma will normally eat 3oz for a meal, then 3oz heart, etc.
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Post by bitbyter on Oct 7, 2012 9:44:19 GMT -5
Yeah, that's what I figured but I wanted to be sure. I think I'm going to have to go the route of having a meal of just organs. I just fed them Gizzards, Hearts and 1 oz of ground Chicken/Turkey/Organ mix and Wilma very patiently picked out gizzards and ground only. Socks, as usual just eats whatever she picks up. Any strategies to make sure Wilma is getting her organs? Now that I know they will eat rat, I am going to slowly start working on adding more whole prey to their diet. I take it if I do that regularly enough it will cover their organ needs? Also, that chicken wing from yesterday? I un-hung it in the evening so Socks could finish stripping the meat off it. This morning...it's been stashed somewhere Oh well, most of the meat was gone so it should just dehydrate and they'll munch on it over time as a snack.
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Post by Sherry on Oct 7, 2012 9:48:30 GMT -5
Hey- it's going to take time for them to learn how to crunch bones. That was an excellent start! As for the organs, what I wind up doing with the new ones is pureeing the liver/organ and adding about 1/2 tsp of cream per ferret. I usually have to start out hand feeding before they start eating it on their own. Consider it switching all over again. You *might* wind up doing that with the heart for Wilma as well. Try giving a meal of the ground heart and see how she does with it.
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