Message Number: YG10670 | New FHL Archives Search
From: kath0524
Date: 2002-02-02 11:37:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Putting on weight

--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., Joy Galey <sacred@w...> wrote:
<My question is how can you put weight on a ferret? Since
they have all this freedom inside and outside the cage they have lost
weight from the non-stop playing they have been doing.<

I saw the same thing when Doc and Kiva came to live with me in
October. They came from a military couple being posted overseas. Doc
was a BIG boy! He is a lot slimmer now, due to a lot of play time.
Interestingly enough, he weighs within 5 grams of what he weighed when
he arrived. Are you sure your boys are really losing weight or are
they just slimming up from the exercise? That's a good thing.

If they really are losing weight, I have used a couple of methods to
put on weight. One is to hand-feed soup a couple of times a day. I
add some whipping cream to it for more calories. Another is to mix a
jar of Gerber's chicken baby food with a tablespoon of whipping cream
and hand-feed. I've been feeding Chester that since Monday when had a
tooth removed. He has always been a skinny little boy. I think now
it's because his mouth hurt (talk about a guilt trip) even though his
teeth were checked and cleaned regularly. Anyway, I haven't weighed
him this week but he feels bigger. I can't feel his bones so much.

Katharine