From:
sukiec@optonline.net
Date: 2005-04-26 17:19:09 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] RE: Question
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <7887574.1114535949925.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
Okay, first off, deep breath...
The gravy is NOT an all meat diet when made according to its instructions.
Also, you have not mentioned prolapses, and the gravy recipe does have ingredients designed to give the intestine something to push against so that is not a surprise.
Remember that sometimes if a ferret (or a child) finds that a certain behavior gets attention the individual will continue it. When we were in school we shared an apartment with another couple who had friends with a child who had mild anorexia, but everyone made such a big fuss over it but not as much over other things that her behavior continued. For me she would eat, no problem. The reason was that I would let her help me prepare meals and I would just casually chomp on some stuff while we cooked so she would, too, and Steve and I were completely casual about sitting down to eat and discussed all sorts of other things with her, and before you knew it we were able to get a full meal into her. Then later a councilor asked the parents to ignore her eating and focus on something else (so the school started her in a sport the child liked) and it worked.
So, since the gravy is a balanced food when made according to instructions try adding some kibble or putting it near the gravy and then don't fuss if possible. Just let the ferret do what ferrets do and pay more attention to other things like play behavior and cuddles to see if that works -- if the food has become too big of a way to get attention.