From:
Raymond Hicks
Date: 2003-07-10 19:06:50 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] ferret stopped eating 8-in-1 Ultra Blend Ferret Food
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <20030710190650.4115.qmail@web12005.mail.yahoo.com>
Hi..
I've had a problem with ferrets accepting food before.
I had to trick them. It takes alot of patience. Find
something they like...like maybe some kind of mushy
substance...baby food, peanut butter, etc...something
they'll eat but isn't too horribly bad for them...
First, find out if she'll eat her normal food (if you
can find any) mixed with the substance (I'll say
peanut butter, cause that's what I had to use cause
that's all I could find that they would accept.) But
kinda build up to it...don't just throw a huge blob in
there, start slowly...get them used to the idea that
something is getting mixed in.
Next, mix the food straight with the peanut butter.
Next, after they see that the food is in the mix, mix
in a little of the new food. Every feeding, mix a
little more of the new stuff, and less of the old
stuff. Finally, when you have just new food and peanut
butter, start putting less and less peanut butter in.
The food cannot set at all, cause it'll go bad.
You also might want to try any "gamey" fowl. I
understand they usually like that, but mine turn a
nose up at it...
I have found, that since I had to change their diet
several times, they will now take any ferret
food...they may huff at it,...but they'll eat it.
Also, I've had a bad time with one of mine when I
first got her....she was a seriously neglected
fert...wanted to visciously attack my other one when
he would approach the food dish. He would never get to
eat. I tried everything, including seperate feeding
places and times...(the male thought he was being
punished...so I had to do something else.)
Eventually, I started scolding her for hording the
dish, but she decided I was scolding her for
eating,...and so stopped eating.
I had to keep her alive with Ferretone/Ferretvite
until she realized that I did indeed want her to eat,
but that it wasn't alright to horde the food.
As a side note, she will go get the blankie and cover
both of them up at night...
--- diamarely@yahoo.com wrote:
> My 3 year old ferret stopped eating eating 8-in-1
> Ultra Blend Ferret Food. She has been eating it for
> the last 2 years and has been fine. After we ran
> out of her last bag, we bought a new one and she
> would not eat it. We went to the store and got her
> a differnt bag that had a darker color kible that
> the one she wouldn't eat (still same brand). She
> eat that one and then we ran out of that one. Went
> back to the store all we could find was the lighter
> color stuff and she wont eat it. It could be that
> 8-in-1 changed the recepie and that is why she wont
> eat it, we don't really know nor does the pet store.
>
> Our problem now is that she wont eat anything. We
> have bought two other kind of ferret food (totally
> ferret and another one), but she wont eat those
> either! She is getting really skinny. I don't know
> what to do? Does anyone have a recomended food that
> ferrets like and will eat?
>
> This is very frustrating and bad for Ginger (the
> ferret).
> Thanks for any help.
>
> Diana
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --
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