Greetings to all in the wonderful world of ferretdom!
 
I've tried on my own and now require better heads than mine.  My 2.5 year
old silver mitt male, Jasper, is cuddly, sweet, easy-going.... and fat.
He's so, ahem, hefty that I've affectionately nicknamed him Beluga.  Now, a
chunky ferret is a healthy ferret, but Jasper has gone past chunky.  My vet
recommended cutting his feeding back to twice daily, which I did for at
least a month.  I even gradually cut down the amount I gave him, and mixed
the ferret food with some lower fat food!  But Jasper didn't lose any
weight- he just lost all sorts of energy.  I started free-feeding again,
and his energy increased- but so did his weight.
 
He loves running up and down my apartment hallway, so I chase him around
for 1/2 hour every day, and my fuzzies have the roam of my place all day.
But, sigh, he's got quite a low metabolism so he's not burning off the
calories.  His breathing is a little wheezy, I'm sure because of his
weight, and I'm also concerned that his heart is going to give out trying
to keep all that bulk moving and shaking.  Then there's blood sugar
stuff..... the list goes on.
 
So, someone tell me how to help my ferret lose weight.  I've even been
wildly tempted (against my own philosophy) to give him weight-loss stuff.
He's going to reap the consequences of his heft as he gets older, and I
don't want that to happen.
 
Thanks in advance for any advice,
 
Ariel and her duo
Jasper (where's the food dish?)
Baxter (I think you're laying on it)
[Posted in FML issue 2454]