From:
Wolfy
Date: 2008-11-01 20:29:41 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Overweight and starved ferrets
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Yes, I am that Wolfysluv, and you are very, very welcome.
Your story is so similar to mine.? Thank you so much for taking the time to tell it.? I hope he'll be a huge boy, that would be so much fun.? I'm kinda doubting it as his head and feet aren't very large or anything.? But I can only hope.? I know what you mean about the bottom!?
I looked at some photos from last week and was astouned to see that he gained yet more weight.? I'm going to open an album when I get the chance to, to put up before and after photos, etc.?
I recieved a few private responses to this with valuable thoughts!? So, I"m going to share a few.
One idea was that the little fella has a sort of eating disorder. lol.? No seriously.? He was starved as a baby and didnt' know what normal eating was.? When he got the food, he went overboard and is still going overboard from not learning to eat normally and from having a mental stamp telling him he might run out of food.? Solution:? Seperate him from the others so I can moniter his food.? Minus an ever so little amount over a very long period of time.? That way he won't realize it or be hungry so nothing mental is further triggered.? His stomack will eventually shrink. And he'll learn how much is normal eating.
Another idea was diabetes!? One member told me a story of a young ferret getting abnormally huge with fat, and they tested him ... and his sugar was sky, sky hight.? Interesting!? So I'm going to use my home glucometer to test him just in case.
Someone also mentioned that whatever the cause, he is having double even triple whammies right now.? She told me that very often 3-6 month old ferrets pack on baby fat for a while.? I had a little female do that once, it was hysterical. She looked like? her body was going to swallow her head.? It wasn't as abnormal as this, but it was quite impressive.? Winter is a big factor right now.? Our daylight time began to change in the second week of august.? His body is telling him to get fatter (just like the poster said).? So he is having seasonal changes on top of this.? Lastly, he has whatever the cause is for the extreme weight gain and her idea was that his metabolism is out of whack right now.? That it was slowed down significatly over a long period of time during early development and now he cant' handle all the normal amounts of food.? Interesting.? Not sure if that would correct itself eventually or if I need to do anything.
I think given all of the advise Im' going to test his sugar.? Moniter him, because the poster brings up a valid point that I always keep in mind.? Running to the vet over small things can create more problems than you need.? These animals do get stressed and it comes out on them physically and mentally. He obviously went through hell.? So I'm letting him enjoy a warm peaceful home right now.? I will try to make a point of encouraging him to excercise more.? I notice now he doens't leap and jump or anything.? Does not hand wrestle.? I noticed this after someone recommended more excercise.? I was so enjoying the lovey cuddly side of him, I didn't notice the change in behavior.? So I'll be stimulating him more.? If he keeps gaining (oh god).? Or if he doens't improve at all given some time, well, then I'll try?treating this literally as if it was an eating disorder lol and do the first plan.?
So we have a lot of interesting possible scenarios.?
I must say something really interesting happened during all of this.??With the pumped up diet I gave him when he was ill during his early development ... I think? I altered his skeletal growth.? I wonder if that is possible.? I say that because he had one of the most narrow chests I had ever encountered.? Today his chest is massive, and I don't mean just fat and muscle.? You can very well feel where his ribs are.? Most MF ferrets have narrower chests than I'd like to see. His abnormally small.? With his small to medium bone structure, surely he was not destined to have such nice confirmation.? I wonder if super great diets during that important time in life helps.? I've never raised a ferret on anything but kibble.? For weeks and weeks? he was on very little kibble and almost all the high protein, hi cal diet, that was all natural.? Hmm.?
Okay well, I'm surprised that a few of you have seen a case similar to this.? Thanks for the tips!!? I hope if someone else ever worries or comes across this they'll now find it in the archives.? And with pictures too maybe.? :D
Thank you!
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