From:
ldaley@troxlerlabs.com
Date: 2006-05-10 14:20:57 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] RE: Shivering
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
First off, congrats on being a new ferret mom! I can tell by your email that you'll
make a good one!
Re Shivering - The shivering is completely normal esp. when they just wake up. It's
their body temp. regulating itself.
Re food - High quality ferret and cat/kitten food is acceptable. Dog food is not
because it does not meet the nutritional needs of a ferret. I've attached a link to a
food chart that explains the ferret's nutritional requirments and compares various
foods. Marshall Farms is okay but there are better choices out there. Plus it contains
fish and can make the poop smellier. I personally use a mixture of The Ferret's Store
Superior Choice and Eukenuba Cat:Chicken and Rice. Remember, ferrets are not
open to new food experiences. You'll need to introduce a new food slowly by
gradually adding it to their existing food.
Re treats - Stay away from the sugery treats (raisins etc.) and keep in mind that
many ferret treats are full of sugar. TheFerretStore.com has recently separated
healthy treats from non-healthy so that will give you a good idea. The ones I use
are: Bandits, Cheweasels (good for the teeth and sugar free),Nu-bones (also good
for teeth), low sugar peanut butter, and Ferretone. I cannot say enough about
Ferretone!! This stuff is like ferret crack and invaluable to a ferret owner. You'll find
it under supplements on the ferretstore site. Squirt some on her tummy and as she's
licking it off you can cut her nails. Just like new food, treats are not always liked at
first. I have never had a ferret that liked Ferretone the first time but once they tried
it I never had one that didn't like it. You may need to squirt a little in her mouth or
rub some on her lips and gums.
Re poop training: I have some ferrets that will poop in a litter pan and others that
poop wherever the heck they please. If she's young and you're persistant than she'll
eventually get the idea. However, ferrets are not 100% litter trainable like a cat.
They'll have accidents. If she hits the pan 80% of the time you should be happy!
I've also attached a link to The Ferret Owner's Manual" that tells a new ferret owner
all they need to know (food, treats, poop training, diseases . . ) "Ferrets for
Dummies" is also great. The more you read the better!
http://www.thechipster.com/fert-man.html
http://www.ohioferret.org/INFO/nutri.asp
Sorry for the long post! I never tire of discussing ferret stuff!
Good Luck!
Lisa
Author wrote:
> I am a first time ferret mom, and my young ferret, Mileu seems to shiver hard
every once in a while. It happens most often when she wakes up. Is this her way of
waking up her body? Should I be concerned about more serious health implications?
Incidentally, she loves her ferret food (Marshall's), but also like's the dog's kibble. In
fact, she hoards it in her "lair" under the couch. Is it ok for her to eat this? She is a
good eater (and pooper!) but is not interested in treats like raisins. We are having a
hard time litter training her because it is hard to reward her for good behaviour
since she doesn't like treats. Any suggestions? We are putting the litter pan
wherever her current favorite corner is, but she just picks another corner.
====================================================================<<<
Whatever you Wanadoo, click below:
http://ads.smartgroups.com/adclick/CID=000000b7c79a99a500000000
====================================================================>>>
--
If you want to share pictures, use the calendar, or start a vote
visit http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth
To leave the group, email: ferrethealth-unsubscribe@smartgroups.com
Report abuse http://www.smartgroups.com/text/abusereport.cfm?gid%3D1423922&mid%3D17323