FuzzLove
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Should I be concerned?
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Wednesday, November 05, 2014 9:19 PM
Hi everyone I am new here. I have 2 ferrets named Lemmy and Zelda. We just got Zelda about a week ago from a family who didn't have time for her. She is 3 months old. When we picked her up they told us she drinks water like a camel..which I didn't think much of it because Lemmy has always drank a lot of water. Well Zelda is definitely like a camel..she drinks and eats CONSTANTLY. I have to fill the water in their cage 3-4 times a day and fill the food atleast 4 times a day. Lemmy has never eaten this much! She will eat constantly and even sleeps right next to the food and water dishes. This is turn causes her to poop/pee a lot. I have never seen a ferret urinate so much at one time like her. She fills the whole side of her liter box very quickly-more than I have ever seen. She seemed pretty thin when we got her..within this last week I feel like she has already put weight on. I am starting to get concerned if there is something wrong with her? I have to check on their dishes every 3 hours or so and fill them..I have never had to do this with Lemmy or my old ferret I had a few years ago...can someone give me some advice?
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unclejoe
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Re:Should I be concerned?
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Wednesday, November 05, 2014 10:58 PM
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She's still growing. It could be that part of not having enough time for her meant not feeding her and she's so happy to have food she eats all she can. You can regulate how much she gets to eat but not constantly filling her bowl. What kind of food is she eating?
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FuzzLove
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Re:Should I be concerned?
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Thursday, November 06, 2014 9:42 AM
They are on a dry ferret food from our pet store. She felt so skinny to me when we first got her i wanted her to gain weight. I thought maybe they weren't feeding but thought she would calm down a little and realize she will always have food! :) maybe i can cut back a little if shr doesn'
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unclejoe
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Re:Should I be concerned?
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Thursday, November 06, 2014 2:04 PM
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Something to consider is that ferrets eat until full, and if they don't get the nutriition they need from a meal, they will eat more often. In other words, they will eat less of a quality food than junk foods. There are a lot of kibbles on the market that say "100% complete and balanced," but that is an arbitrary term, based on short-term testing that doesn't appear to harm a pet. So, they will eat less and get better nutrition from a better food. In the end, comparing costs, it works out even or better on a good feed because they eat less. Check this chart and see where your kibble ranks. I used to feed 8in1 ferret food that I got from walmart, but now, i wouldn't feed that to any carnivore. Maybe if I had rats it would work... http://forum.ferret.com/tm.aspx?m=242115 Another thought: It's possible she Could have an infection from the conditions in her cage at the pet store. My second ferret came with a UTI. He didn't appear to strain to pee, but he peed way too often and small amounts.
<message edited by unclejoe on Thursday, November 06, 2014 2:11 PM>
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Seelen
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Re:Should I be concerned?
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Saturday, November 08, 2014 2:05 AM
I think I'd try swappinmg food like unclejoe suggested. I know that at first a lot of the foods that are rated well seem quite expensive. But at the same time if you're filling the bowl with the petstore food up to 4 times a day then it might be more cost effective to buy a more expensive food that fills the ferrets up. I have 2 cats and 3 ferrets and they all eat the same food - I feed them Wellness Core Original. It is 38-46$ a bag depending on if there is a sale or not, but I feed all 5 of my animals on it and it lasts just under 1 month. When I only had 2 cats and 2 ferrets it was lasting us just over one month. If you have 2 ferrets only it could cost you that much in 2 months time - which isn't too bad. Of course everyone has their own preferences about foods, but I think you can make a well thought out decision based on your income and the chart unclejoe posted and find something that fits your budget and the ferret's needs. For reference: I fill my cats' bowl once a day and they both get enough from that. I fill the ferrets' bowl 1-2 times a day (depends if they were locked in the cage all day or free roaming, mine tend to eat less when they can be out exploring).
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FuzzLove
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Re:Should I be concerned?
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Saturday, November 22, 2014 12:29 AM
Hi everyone! Thanks for your replies.just wanted to update you. Zelda has literally grown twice in size and has slowed down on her eating/drinking. None of her bones stick out like they did when we first got her. She looks and feels so much healthier. Unfortunately we think by not havimg time they were not feeding/watering her :( i am happy though she is in a better home with us. Now to tackle her litter box training!
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unclejoe
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Re:Should I be concerned?
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Saturday, November 22, 2014 9:46 AM
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Yay! I'm so glad she's doing better. It could be she was neglected and now that she has food she figured she had a lot of catching up to do. Stories of rescued neglected ferrets are pretty common. They did the right thing by re-homing her. Thanks for the update, and please, could we see some pics of your fuzzies? Sorry I misread your original post as to where she came from.
<message edited by unclejoe on Saturday, November 22, 2014 9:50 AM>
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brendan
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Re:Should I be concerned?
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Saturday, November 22, 2014 11:30 PM
I honestly wouldn't be concerned b/c she is still growing. I personally just picked up 2 ferrets that are 2 months old, and they eat a lot. I recommend you get her 1- a larger food bowl, maybe medium or large which they sell at any pet store, and 2- try feeding her either Marshall ferret diet (if you aren't already are..) or Max Cat Kitten Food, which smells less, is cheaper, and higher in nutrients so it might reduce her eating habits a little.
[font="'courier new'; line-height: 1.4"]I hope the following information I supplied helps you in anyway possible..
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brendan
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Re:Should I be concerned?
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Saturday, November 22, 2014 11:31 PM
Also if you do choose the Max Cat food and she doesn't eat it right away, just mix it in the bowl with her old food to lean her over to the new diet she'll have.
[font="'courier new'; line-height: 1.4"]I hope the following information I supplied helps you in anyway possible..
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unclejoe
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brendan
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Re:Should I be concerned?
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Sunday, November 23, 2014 1:09 PM
what food do you feed your ferret unclejoe?
[font="'courier new'; line-height: 1.4"]I hope the following information I supplied helps you in anyway possible..
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FuzzLove
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Re:Should I be concerned?
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Tuesday, November 25, 2014 10:22 PM
Here they are! I had some better pics but they were too big in size.
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Seelen
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Re:Should I be concerned?
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Saturday, November 29, 2014 11:10 PM
unclejoe ... better food also means less stinky poops. I wish this was true for my cats. Feed all of them the wellness food, and the ferrets smell improved. But my cats HOLY COW they can clear out a room or two O.O Your babies look adorable, Fuzz :D
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Jfranks85
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Re:Should I be concerned?
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Sunday, November 30, 2014 6:27 AM
There is so much better foods out there then Marshalls, I used to feed that but switched to Nature Variety Rawboost Duck and Turkey. Sometimes, if I have extra money to play with they get Evo mixed in. It all just depends, but my boys love the NV, and they've gained a little weight and slowed down on eating since the switch, and they're both teenagers, so they definitely weren't eating a lot because of the kit stage. Good luck to the new ferret owner, they're a lot of work and research but well well worth it. :)
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unclejoe
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Re:Should I be concerned?
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Sunday, November 30, 2014 8:34 AM
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We feed a mix of Zupreem, Drs Foster and Smith and Natural Gold cat food, along with raw turkey mixed into soups.
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FuzzLove
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Re:Should I be concerned?
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Sunday, December 14, 2014 12:18 AM
We are reading a lot about foods and looking for our best option in our price range. They were fed walmart cat food.before we got them and I can see a huge difference in their coats and poop on a higher protein food. I dont think it is the best they can get but they are definately getting there! So our female who was severely malnourished is doubled in size and bigger than our male now! She is thriving I cant believe in a month how much healthier she is. No accidents in a few weeks either...doing great with her litter box!
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unclejoe
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Re:Should I be concerned?
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Sunday, December 14, 2014 3:05 PM
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Awww, they're cute. If you have an account at at a photo hosting site like photobucket or flickr you can use the URL (img) link in your post and there is no size limit.
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