Back in late Feb., I adopted a ferret, Ronan, who had been a stray and
had become quite fat--he had the figure of a gigantic eggplant.  I think
that the experience of being a stray made him a compulsive eater, and it
may also be that wherever he was from originally he did not get high
quality food, so that he was used to having to eat more to get the same
amount of nutrition.  I'm pleased to say that Ronan's only a little
overweight now, and continues to make progress.  We accomplished that
through three main methods: one was playing with him, mostly with toys on
strings, to get him to move around.  The second method was actually
Seti's: playing with other ferrets who are in great physical condition is
a good way for the overweight one to get a lot of exercise and challenge
himself to run and leap and climb, working all the muscle groups.  Seti
is very fit and agile and can literally run circles around Ronan as they
play :-)  I don't cage my ferrets, so playtime is available any time the
ferrets feel like it, which may also have helped.  I know that's not
practical for everyone, though.
 
The last method required re-training myself.  I've never had ferrets who
overate before, so in the past, whenever the food bowl was empty I knew
that it was time to put more food in the bowl.  I had to break myself of
the habit of always filling the empty bowl.  I couldn't restrict food per
se, because Seti and Ronan share a food dish, but I changed my habits to
putting food in the bowl just in the morning and evening.  I keep a close
eye on Seti's weight to make sure he is getting enough to eat.  I noticed
after a week or two of regular feedings that Ronan would no longer
compulsively empty the bowl whenever he went to it, and now he even
sometimes stashes a little food for later.  I think having a was time to
put more food in the bowl.  I had to break myself of the habit of always
filling the empty bowl.  I couldn't restrict food per se, because Seti
and Ronan share a food dish, but I changed my habits to putting food in
the bowl just in the morning and evening.  I keep a close eye on Seti's
weight to make sure he is getting enough to eat.  I noticed after a week
or two of regular feedings that Ronan would no longer compulsively empty
the bowl whenever he went to it, and now he even sometimes stashes a
little food for later.  I think having a regular schedule somehow helped
him accept that there would always be food on a regular basis and that he
didn't need to gulp down everything to guard against future shortages.
Something to consider if you have an overweight ferret...
 
Regina
 
Regina Harrison  [log in to unmask]
http://users.rcn.com/badriya/
blog: http://badriya-z.blogspot.com/
 
"Is that my business?  Well, what is my business?  Do I know?  Did I ever
know?  Let's not go into that.  You;re not human tonight, Marlowe.  Maybe
I never was or ever will be... Maybe we all get like this in the cold
half-lit world where always the wrong thing happens and never the right"
--Raymond Chandler, The Little Sister
[Posted in FML issue 4918]