Hi FMLers . . .
On Ferret Math--
PLEASE, PLEASE QUARETINE! Don't think your new pet store baby is purified
and free from diseases like ECE or even distemper, just because it is
young. Ferrets have come from MF and other breeders with ECE. Try to
avoid an outbreak. Keep your new ferret/s separated for 10 days. Don't
allow any fecal contact between quarentined and non-quarentined ferrets.
If you can quarentine in a completey separate room, please do, to avoid
anything transmittable by air (such as distemper). It's important to watch
new ferrets for overall health, energy levels, and give them a chance to
get adjusted to your home, and give you a chance to get to know them. A
bit of seedy slimy poop is normal for a few days due to stress and/or food
changes, but after 5-7 days (in my every experience, that is) you should be
seeing normal poop. Keep an eye on bright eyes, long whiskers, healthy
energy levels.
I know you want to introduce new babies immediately to your other ferrets,
but imagine the cost and stress on you AND the ferrets if they all get sick
at once! Would you wish a preventable illness on your ferrets, and is that
fair?
On switching foods--
I've never had a shelter ferret refuse to switch foods. I start with half
their usual food, and half shelter mix. And I mix it up well so they have
to root for the "old" food and usually accidentally eat some shelter mix as
they go. I do not add any more "old" food for 24 hours, period. If they
only want the old food, they can go a little bit hungry until I add more
the next day. I give them half and half for 2 or three days, then decrease
the amount of their "old" food over a week or a week and a half (or until I
run out of their old food). By the end of 2 weeks, they're getting lots of
shelter mix and just a few pieces of their old food. It works like a
charm. They're not going to starve because there is food available. Don't
let them guilt you--they're eating while you're not looking, so don't be
fooled. And it's not that they don't LIKE knew foods, it's that they don't
even want to TRY anything new. If they come with a food dish they're used
to, don't switch dishes until they've switched foods, because they already
recognize the dish as containing good things to eat. If you think they're
really stubborn about it, add some ferretone to the food for a couple of
days, but make sure you decrease this also, unless its your general
practice to add ferretone to your ferret's food on a daily basis.
BTW, my shelter mix is 2 parts Eukanuba cat chicken and rice formula, 1
part Excell cat formula (found at feed stores rather than pet stores and
very comparble to Iams) and 1 part ProPlan Turkey (watch the ingredients,
here. ProPlan chicken used to have chicken as #1 ingredient, and they
sneakily changed the #1 ingredient to corn--Turkey is still #1 in the
Turkey formula, though). I use cat formulas for ferrets over 1 year old,
because my parent shelter mom insists that kitten formulas contain too much
calcium for adult ferrets--she's been right about everything else, so I
just tend to take her word. I'm thinking about adding 8 in 1 to the mix,
as my step-kids ferrets only eat that, and they are healthy and gorgeous.
I've got fat, healthy ferrets, and most of them have gorgeous coats. And
every one of them LOVES Eukanuba food, which is nice and small and easy for
them to eat.
Why change foods in the first place? Well, I already buy 3 different kinds
of food, and I'm not interested in buying 6 or 8 different kinds. I hate
Marshall food because it smells terrible and makes their poop smell to high
heaven, too. Purina kitten chow is no good, Friskies is no good, anything
totally corn based isn't nutritionally tolerable . . .
On ferrets and babies--
Ever see a ferret flip out at the sound of a squeaky toy? I've seen the
same thing happen (especially in a female ferret) when a baby cries. My
guess it the ferret tries to drag the baby away somewhere where she can
take care of it. Once a ferret got a baby where it wants, it would
probably settle right down and lick the baby. But, essentially, ferrets
are NOT EVER to be left unsupervised with a baby or access to a baby.
PERIOD. I don't think it's meanness, it's just some sort of instinct,
either to take care of the baby or maybe just shut the noisy thing up. I
helped my friend get ready for her new baby, which included getting a cage
for her free-run ferrets. When the ferrets were out playing the baby was
held--and I'm talking held in her parents arms 100% of the time. The
ferrets were allowed to sniff and get to know the baby, but they were
EXTREMELY supervised. My friend never had an incident, but she was very,
very careful, all of the time. If people ask, just tell the truth. "I've
heard ferrets attack babies." You answer, "Yes, ferrets have bitten
babies--they have some instinct to drag screaming infants into a hidey-hole
and take care of them. But a ferret can only bite a baby if a parent is
neglecting their responsiblities to protect both animals and children. ALL
animals must be closely supervised around children too young to defend
themselves."
Know your children and know your animals.
BTW--I have a half pit-bull dog that LOVES children. But she'll bite if
she's cornered and can't get away from grabbing hands. I've given the dog
a time-out place, and taught the children that when the dog goes to her
place, she's had enough and absolutely must be left alone to chill out.
She's a good dog. Pit-Bulls actually have been bred to hate (and therefore
fight) other dogs, but they are generally exceptionally good with children
and people. In fact, a pit puppies bred for fighting that bite their
handlers are "culled" from the gene pool--either destroyed or neutered
beause biting people is not acceptable. (I don't believe in dogfighting as
a sport, in fact it horrifies me--I've just done my research).
Enought. BIG will probably kick this back to me for length if I go on any
longer!!!!
--Sheri M.
[Posted in FML issue 2541]
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