From:
"possum1213"
Date: 2008-10-30 18:50:12 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Overweight and starved ferrets
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
I just went through something very similar with Madison, my swollen
prostate and adrenal boy, and his friend, Tucker. They are adults
but perhaps the same theory would apply. When I got them, both
Madison and Tucker were very, very thin, both weighing in at about 1
1/4 lbs. Once they started getting food, they packed on weight very
quickly. They gained and gained and gained. I quit the supplements
after about a week but they never quit eating. Even now, over two
months later, they still both eat and eat and eat.
It is my theory that they were deprived of food (duh!) and now they
are opportunistic eaters. If it's there, you better eat because it
may not be there later. I think they will eventually learn that
food is always there, but they haven't learned it yet. That may be
what is going on with your baby and eventually he'll "get it".
Years ago, I got in little girl, Emma, who was part of a breeding
pair. She also apparently was never fed regularly. One day, I
crawled under my spare bed for some reason and there must have been
a quart or more of food hidden under there. I immediately knew it
was Emma, but it had never clicked. See, she would go to the cage,
get a mouthful of food and run off, again and again. It never hit
me that she was coming back way too fast. She was stocking up for
the next famine, I guess. After several months, she finally learned
that food would always be there.
Maybe what you're going through is as simple as that!
If you don't want to separate him, why not get a harness and leash
and take him outside for runs/walks?
Katharine
Florida
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