From:
tpettis@uoguelph.ca
Date: 2003-07-01 15:01:52 UTC
Subject: Fruitarian ferret normal?
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <964676.1057071712727.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
Hi,
My ferret Pippin, will not eat meat of any kind. I wrote a little bit ago =
about his small size and weight loss, and a kind person sent me a recipe co=
ntaining chicken baby food to try to make him gain weight. When I offered =
this to him he not only turned his nose up at it, he practically ran away s=
creaming. I tried rubbing a little on his gums, but all he did was lick hi=
s lips, give me a dirty look, then run and hide. I thought I'd try a littl=
e bit of wet cat food to see if that would tempt him, but again he had the =
same reaction. I've tried feeding him uncooked and cooked, but not seasone=
d, beef liver, chicken and pork fat, but he turns his nose up at all of the=
se. The only "human" food he's even remotely interested in is fruits, he u=
sed to love mango, banana, grapes and oranges, but now even these are hard =
to tempt him with. I know that ferrets aren't supposed to eat lots of frui=
ts or veggies, but it's worrysome that he won't even eat these treats that =
he used to go bonkers for (we've had a little success w/ 8in1 fruit crunch =
treat). He's been a little depressed lately (my boyfriend and I moved in t=
ogether and our apartment has been having renovations done for the last 2 m=
onths restricting his out-of-cage time, he also has lots of new rules to le=
arn) but he's had a marked turn-around in the last week (coinciding w/ a ch=
ange to ferret food instead of kitten?) he's happier and less sullen and ve=
ngeful. We're thinking of getting him a playmate, since the Humane Society=
where we got him had him housed with another ferret, but I'm worried that =
he might have some sort of obscure illness that could be given to a new fer=
ret. This is my first ferret and although my boyfriend's family used to ra=
ise ferts and he says I'm just paranoid I'd still like to know if it's norm=
al for ferrets not to want meat? Also I wanted to know if he would help a =
new ferret learn the rules of the house, or if the new ferret will just tea=
ch him new bad habits? And if anyone has a recipe for a non-meat diet to h=
elp him bulk up a little it would be much appreciated. John thinks he's pu=
t on weight in the last week, but I think he's just trying to make me feel =
better.
Thanks for any insight,
Terri, John and Pippin
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