Ildur has become a very fat ferret.  I know their weight can vary, but this
is toooooo much.  Ildur is a big boy, normally weighing about 2.2 kilos.
He is now well over 3 kg.  Since he also has a very long and very thick
coat, he looks like someone put a pump up his butt and filled him with air!
He is quite a contrast to our recently adopted Timon who is the same age
(about 1-1/2 years) and weighs about 800 grams.
 
Ildur has always had food available, and weight has never been a problem
before.  I was wondering if one or both of two circumstances could be the
cause.
1.) This summer Ildur ate a small plastic plug which resulted in a
blockage.  He didn't eat for about 5 days and went down about 400 grams.
Could his metabolism have gotten out of whack?
2.) The introduction of a new ferret.  They've been good friends from the
start, they share a cage and play together, although Ildur is less
interested in play now than before we adopted Timon.  Ildur has lately
become much more fond of sitting on my lap.
 
Has anybody had a similar experience?  Should I put him on a diet?  If so,
what should he eat?  He now eats the only ferret food available here where
I live in Norway, occasionally kitten food if we run out of ferret food.
Unlike Timon, he doesn't like raisins or nuts, so the only treat he ever
gets is a bit of whipped cream or ice cream (we almost never have this in
the house, so it doesn't amount to more than maybe a teaspoon a month.)
 
Johanne, Ildur, Timon and Lea, the bull terrier
[Posted in FML issue 3234]