Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

Hubby and I couldnt help ourselves and ended up with one while buying snake food. I bought him from a pet store. Great demeanor, only likes to nip at feet and toes, nothing else, gets along with cat and kid (except her feet that is) I use to own one years ago, so i dont remember too much. I know they are suppose to be thin, but thin enough to feel his hip bones connect to his spine...? that concerns me a little. He's only about 12 weeks old from what i understand, so, what can i feed him to fatten him up a little, the only thing he really cares for is finding plastic. Ive tried meat, cat food, ppl food, treats, and he doesnt seem to care. He has been drinking and playful, should I be concerned? He was the runt of the cage (all siblings) and they all seemed nice and active, but i think he was the thin one under all the fur. Help please, would really like to know.
clawskitty@yahoo.com

Since your ferret is a baby he should be taking vitamins, not only to help him grow strong but also to increase his weight gain. I reccomend Ferretvite it will only run you six dollars and will help your ferret gain weight and apetite. Dont feed him any other type of food besides ferret food, ferrets have very sensitive bowels and such drastic change in diets are going to make your ferret very sick, make sure that he is pooping regularly and not having diarhea because many foods cause constipation and diarhea in ferrets. I use Marshall Ferret food and my ferret loves it, also I add his vitamins in his food and he seems to like that too. Since your ferret is so skinny I would start off giving him vitamins out of the tube and in his food until he gains weight. Good luck with your little guy.

Actually, Ferretvite is almost entirely sugar and should be given rarely if ever.
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I've learned that I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy it.

I've copied & pasted an old post of mine. This soup will put weight on your fuzz. If you can't make the soup yourself you can give stage 2 chicken baby food as supplemental meals. You can add heavy whipping cream to the baby food or to the soup for added fat. Congrats on your new baby!

It's best to use a whole chicken with organ meats & bones if you have something to grind the bones. In that case, cook the chicken in a slow cooker so the bones become very soft and won't splinter. I had to quit doing that because my hand grinder aggravates my carpal tunnel syndrome and I haven't yet been able to afford an electric grinder. Maybe Santa Paws will be good to me this year. So, this what I do for now.

4-5 lbs of chicken, pressure cooked (just because it's faster and retains more nutrients), deboned
2 cups kibble, soaked in chicken broth
2-3 hard boiled eggs with shells
2 tablespoons Wysong Feline Biotic (vitamin/mineral supplement)

Puree` chicken, kibble, eggs/shells with chicken broth in blender. Sprinkle on the Biotic. Mix well and freeze. Makes app. 3 quarts. Also, adding bonemeal to this would be a good idea even though the eggshells serve most of the same purposes. I just keep forgetting to buy some so I'm not sure how much I would need to add. Make sure it's food grade bonemeal.

Depending on how many ferrets you have you can either freeze it in ice trays (1 cube per ferret is a portion) or freeze it in Gladware type containers and keep enough in the fridge to last a few days. I go through a quart every 2 days so I always have one ready to use and one thawing. It'll keep in the fridge for about a week.

When you're ready to feed it, heat it with a little broth, water, or cream...stir and serve. The first few times, your ferrets may be resistant because they don't recognize it as food. Force them to taste it. I've never had to force any ferret more than 3 times and most only once.
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I've learned that I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy it.

Ferretvite worked well for my ferret, He was super skinny when we first got him and since feeding him ferretvite he seemed to fatten up quite a bit and very quickly. I dont know if the ferretvite is what is doing it but that is what our pet store reccomended since he was so skinny.

Cady

Sugar is not good for ferrets. Period. Also, I wouldn't be taking my pet care advice from pet store clerks. There are much more reliable sources available. I suggest you get a copy of Ferrets for Dummies as a starting point.
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I've learned that I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy it.

Thanks, I will try the above. Seems he was hungry, after his first day here, he's been eating like a pig. I'm pondering if he had enough food at the pet store while living with his brother and sister (*really wishes that the brother could have come home too, just a shame i couldnt afford both of them*) His stomach has filled out, but he's still a little too thin. Havent had a problem with his stools... yep, been finding those in some pretty interesting places. I just hope he takes the lead from the cat and starts using that box, that would be such a releif since litter training him is a challenge with my 2 year old very interested in everything that I put out. Especialy that sandy stuff the cat plays is. Thank god for babygates and bathroom doors. Thanks once again!!