Hi All!
Here's a recipe I use when my ferrets aren't eating well because of
illness:
1 can Science Diet A/D, 1 scoop Feline Probalance, 1/2 to 3/4 cup
Pedialyte fruit flavor, 1 cc Pet Tinic.  Mix dry ingredients first
then add liquids.  Warm in the microwave to take the chill off.
Refrigerate leftovers.  Meat based strained baby food can be substi-
tuted for A/D.
 
I have 2 ferrets that have insulinomas and I use the above ingredients
with the following additions:
1 tablet (100 mcg) vitamin K, 1 tablet (200 mcg) Chromium, 1 baby teaspoon
brewers yeast, 1 capsule (400 IU) dry vitamin E, 1 scoop rep-cal.  Crush
tablets and open capsule and add to above mixture before adding liquid.
Whitney was diagnosed with insulinoma in 1992 and she is doing fine.  She
is 6 years old and inactive but she eats well and isn't in pain.  She
also takes medication: Proglycem liquid .25 of 1 cc twice a day and Prelone
liquid .10 of 1 cc twice a day.  Before I medicate her I feed her the
following mixture:  1/4 cup vet-a-lac (2 scoops mixed w/5 scoops water)
enough gerber oatmeal baby cereal to thicken, and 3 cc's sweetened
condensed milk.  She gets the a/c mixture after medication.
 
About Sunflower Seeds - how many is too many for a ferret?  Anyone have
an idea.  Last night as Gizzie was eating them with me I thought about
this again.  He stands on the table with his feet on the arm of the couch
and eats them one at a time out of my hand.  Sometimes he drops them if
I move my hand away too quickly and boy does he get upset.  He knows he
only gets 7 so he must think I count the one he drops, but I don't.
 
On Outside Cages -
I also have a large outside cage attached to one of my windows.  I wire it
all over, including underneath, and put a 4 inch layer of dirt on top.  You
could plant grass but then it must be big enough to get into to mow or
somehow keep it cut.  I know mine would love the grass and it is big enough
but I never planted any.  Be sure the cage is secure and guarded from the
weather (i.e. hot sun, rain, etc) and you have access to all areas in case
of emergency.  Mine has 2 levels with a door on each large enough for me
to get into and sturdy enough for me to walk on.  I use a ramp on the
small cage to the large one and a ferret size staircase from top level
to bottom.  The ferrets don't really care for the steps and its funny to
watch them zoom (or should I say slide) down them when they're chasing
each other.
 
The "pen" we made in the front yard was for supervised play only.  We
buried 2x4's underground on all 4 sides then built 4 panels that were
4 feet high and had wire up to 3 ft.  The last foot was solid board so
they can climb the wire but when they get to the board their stuck.  It's
10ft x 10ft and only for supervised play!  There's enough room for me to
put a chair in and play with them.
 
Another fun idea is the covered wagon.  I have a wooden wagon with a
removeable cage over top.  I put blankies and a litter box in and take
a few of the fuzzies for a walk around the park.  I haven't taught the
dogs how to pull the wagon yet but I'm going to.  The ferrets love it
and I can take several at a time safely.  I use a blankie cause the wood
gets hot and on sunny days I attach one over the top to keep the sun
from hitting them directly.  Try it - you'll like it!
Hugs to all fuzzies!  tle
 
[Posted in FML issue 0863]