Hi All,
Two new additions to my family Fozzy and Faylene brought to light some
dietary concerns. These both are older ferrets, being 6 years old.
Kibble fed. I have raised my Josie ferret on a natural prey raw diet.
The difference in the feel of them is tremendous. Fozzy & Faylene are
both "Squishy". Fozzy is obese. To the point where he couldn't curl up
in a ball, couldn't run, couldn't climb up one stair step, couldn't get
up on the sofa and a short walk across the room would have his heart
pounding through his chest he had to squeeze into a tunnel. He waddled
when he walked and would stop often for a rest. His muscles had no
tone. His teeth were grey,and brown and had considerable tartar build
up all around from incisors to canines to carnassials and molars. His
gums had a distinct red line and looked puffy.
Fozzy isn't a particularly large ferret, maybe an inch and ahalf longer
than Josie. While his actual weight was 2.65 lbs this was NOT muscle
weight, instead he was a huge blubberball! I think he developed an OCD
eating disorder. Apparently he was low man on the totem pole in his
previous business and laid claim to something that made him feel good -
food. The first night home I put down the food dish and he plopped down
next to it and didn't come up for air!
Faylene's teeth were in a similar condition. Her overall body weight
was pretty good. A tad on the heavy side, but not overly so, just
squishy poor muscle tone too. Both had a very subdued, laid back quiet
attitude. (Which I realize could have been just because they were now
suddenly in a new situation). That was Sunday June 24th.
Today July 2nd (8 days later)he is now eating his kibble but it is
mashed together with raw meats and cornish game hen. I measure out a
half cup, mash in the meats and then divvie this up through a 24 hour
period, no more food free choice 24/7 unless it is raw. Water of course
is fresh and free choice from a ceramic bowl. He manages to locate
dried meaty bones from Josie's stash and has been eating one of these
each day! Yes - bones and all! Fozzy gets up throughout the day and
night to wander through the house. He can now fit inside a tunnel
without squeezing - still can't turn around in one - so once he goes
inside its either go forward or put it in reverse! He can climb up on
the sofa by himself. He actually trots a bit through the room. Even
hops sideways a couple times to do a war wobble! He'll wrestle a bit
with my hand, and rolls around in the ball pool. He actually pounced
on a fox tail today!
His activity levels are slowly increasing and his belly is slowly
receding, the huge blobs of fat in front of his shoulders are reducing
and his teeth are getting whiter! The bloody gums swollen gums are
bubble gum pink now and no longer bleeding or swollen! He'll wake up,
make a round about the house, engage in a scruffle then either go look
for something to eat or sometimes just climb up on the sofa for a
snuggle! He still prefers a crunchified meaty offering.
Faylene has definitely enjoyed the change to a raw program and is now
happily devouring large pieces of cornish game hen, some freeze dried
meat mix I make and she too eats dried meaty bones from Josie's stash.
Faylene will pick up all the raw pieces on the plate and eat them under
the sink in seclusion. She eats her fill of meaty pieces then finds a
few pieces of kibble and stashes them! These will be found later by
Fozzy. She dispatched her first mouse last night, but didn't eat it.
I'm not surprised, this is just what Josie did too - they have to learn
they ARE indeed predators. But I am confident they will! Faylene's
activity level keeps increasing each day! She does an honest to gosh
wall and furniture banging war dance now, complete with backwards runs
and inside out rollovers! She is also hanging about the front door,
snuffling the door seal to the outdoors - so maybe soon she'll be
venturing out on excursions too!
Josie of course gets fed separately from these two - I don't want any
food squabbles. She has a tendency to stash her food unless it is a
mouse and then eat it later. But I've noticed lately how she eats it
instead of stash and come back to it later.
All in all, I'm amazed that Faylene took so readily to the new diet and
am encouraged that Fozzy is trimming up as well as warming up to the
better diet. Fat ferrets are NOT healthy ferrets and I look forward
to the day when the Fozz man can romp and roll with the best of them!
Cheers! Kim
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[Posted in FML 5657]
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