I finally got my ferret :)

[Rio and Me]

And i had to drive 250miles to get her, i rescued her :).
I have named her Tia, shes a spayed Albino gill about 12months old, (found as a stray) nervious yet tame, not very bitty, cute!
Yay i'm so happt i've found her, no pics as yet but i will get some i promise.
Ky and rio

[lute]

CONGRATS!!!
that's quite a bit of traveling,but it's worth the gas money!

[lv4dogs]

yaaay!!! congrats on your new fuzzie! and you read our minds, pics please! haha
any ?'s just ask! good luck w/ the cutie!

[Rio and Me]

Ok I have a couple of questions,lol
If want to give her meat like once a week (lets say chicken) how do i cook it? eg boiled,oven cooked? and what in eg water/olive oil?
and what other meats can i give and how do i cook them?
thanks Ky and Rio and now Tia

[lv4dogs]

Originally posted by Rio and Me
Ok I have a couple of questions,lol
If want to give her meat like once a week (lets say chicken) how do i cook it? eg boiled,oven cooked? and what in eg water/olive oil?
and what other meats can i give and how do i cook them?
thanks Ky and Rio and now Tia


I feed my ferrets everything EXCEPT pork!

At first I would offer it to her everyday (unless she is already used to it) but ferrets can be picky eaters & it may take her a while to reconize it as food. You have to persistant & eventually she should start to eat it.

You can feed it raw (I do, although I wish I had enough $ & time to feed them only raw food) so they only nibble on it as I dont feed it everyday.

As far as cooking goes you can cook it anyway you want although picky ferrets ussually prefer boiled or baked until they get the hang of eating it regularly. Boil in just water or you can slow cook it in a crock pot. Should you decide to bake or fry use only olive oil & only a little.

Mine seem to like turkey the best, baked of course, they like the turkey deli meat too! Second would be chicken & rabbit (boiled, rabbit is hard to come by in my area). Then lamb & beef (broiled, indoor grilled).
I do know some ferrets prefer meats in different orders so just keep trying different meats & cooking techniques until you find a favorite.

[Rio and Me]

Thanks very much, the guy i got her from rescues them (and does rabbiting)and fed her meat (raw or cooked i'm not sure) so she is used to meat.
I think i will boil it and then freeze what i dont use and feed it cold.
I will try her on chicken/lamb and some beef.
What about fish?
My friend who is experianced feeds fish somtimes but again is boiled best?
thanks Ky and Rio,Tia

[wolfie]

Oh congrats!!! :D

You'll have to change your sig now - Ky and Rio and Tia! :)

edit: teehee, I just realized that you did change it on your last post! x_x lol, so just ignore me. ^_^

[lv4dogs]

I know a lot of people feed salmon, but I personally have not. I'm not sure if they cook it or not but I will find out for you! I *think* they feed it raw too. I'll go find out.

Can you get a hold of the guy you got her from? He would be able to tell you what he feeds & how your Tia likes it!

check out: theferretstoreforums.com
it is a GREAT site, I'm chaotic chaos there!

[lv4dogs]

Ok I've got a few replies for you (and me as I will try it on my guys too).
So far I have only received replys about salmon & tuna. Some fish can be harmful to them so I will only stick with those 2.

Most feed salmon raw. Although it can be cooked (broiled, poached). Salmon fillets are popular so are the trimmings (sometimes called Nova) Make sure you remove the bones. You can also feed some canned salmon (low sodium or only feed a tiny bit)

So far I have only heard about canned tuna being fed, the low sodium kind.

Because fish is high in protein their stools may be quite runny at first (unless your fuzzie is used to high protein foods).

[lv4dogs]

I found out some more info: be careful w/ some raw wild fish, as several species (trout, walleye, pike, to name a few) are kown to carry parasites that only thorough cooking will kill.

cooked & cleaned shrimp is good.

If ever in doubt cook the meat first or do not feed at all, and a lot of stores (in us anyways) carry raw seafood for sushi preperation, it seems a lot of ferret people feel safe about feeding any of that seafood, after all if humans can eat that raw it makes us feel safer that our fuzzies eat it.

[Rio and Me]

Ok thanks I will stay away from fish at first, then i will try it.
She's still a bit timid but allot of handling will cure that.
I'm on the look out for the book "ferrets for dummies",lol
, i got a small book.
The litter training isnt working well, i have placed a droping in there to incorage her in there.
any tips apreciated.
Ky and Rio, and Tia

[lv4dogs]

Oh boy a potty ferret issue, this is an ongoing problem & I probably won't even cover it all here but here it goes:

ferrets digestive systems are very short (about every 2 hours they eat, therefore it ussually comes out about every 2 hours).

The easiest way is to litter train them is when they wake up, hold them for about 2-5 minutes then they will ussually have to go by then, so place her in the box (again & again as sometimes they climb right back out). as soon as she goes tell her in a happy voice shes a good girl & give her a treat. Do this as often as possible.

If you are allowing her to run through your house, you may want to limit it to one room at first, so you can litter train her easier. They *ussually* prefer corners so put the boxes in corners. Once she get the hang of that room, add another room to her access, eventually the whole house if you prefer. But you will need lots of litter boxes, in almost every corner.

Some ferrets may be picky on what litter & litter box they use (maybe call the guy you got her from to see what he used). And they also like the bigger litter boxes (not the small corner boxes) but you want the the box low enough (or at least the opening to it) so she can easily get in & out, if they have to crawl up into the box it requires too much time for a fuzzie so they will just go on the floor then.

EVERTIME you see her use her box give her a favorite treat.

BUT keep in mind ferrets are not like cats, they will not use their box 100% of the time (unless you have one super great ferret so far unheard of LOL). Although when they are in their cage they ussually use their box all the time.

If she is going to the bathroom in her cage not in the box then you can try to add another litter box. Or you can put toys, beds, blankets, food etc.. in the spots she prefers to use. They *ussually* wont go where there is bedding or food or toys etc..

When they do use an area they are not supposed to you want to clean it good w/ a product just for that purpose.



Because I have a large house & a lot of boxes & litter costs a lot of $, I use just folded newspaper in some spots in my house & I have some litter boxes too but here is what my house & my ferret potty areas consist of:
I have 3 ferrets & I have 4 litter boxes in their cage.
My house consists of a:
kitchen which I have 2 newspaper potty areas in my only 2 open corners
livingroom has 1 litter box (although maniac prefers going in the middle of the floor everytime)
their bedroom has the 4 boxes in their cage & one out of the cage
computer room has one litter box
bathroom has a newspaper potty area
my bedroom has 1 litter box & 2 newspaper potty areas

I used to have more but as they got older & more potty trained I took away some, I also re-arranged my house so not too many corners were left open, i placed furniture & stuff in most corners.

[lv4dogs]

ferrets for dummies is like the ferret bible!
I cant even count how many time i have read it, it has saved lives, helped me out w/ training, feeding, caring etc. etc
it is a must have for ferret owners.

not sure about there but you should be able to find in big book stores, pet stores, on the internet, e-bay etc..

[Rio and Me]

Good news she went toilet in her litter box she peed and popped in there.
I think it was because i just brought petsafe disinfectant, and clean where she pooped and not the litter box.
Ky and Rio ,Tia

[lv4dogs]

Here is a page from the ferret store forums, I asked people there what fish they feed, these are the replies I got. It should be helpful to you.

http://www.neeps.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=10;t=016279

oh yeah & take a peak around the rest of the site while your there, there is tons of info there & lots of cute pics!

[Rio and Me]

Ok thanks she wasnt mad on ham (from a packet), i might try a tiny bit of tuna from a tin (low sodium of corse,lol).
I just found out they like grapes as a treat and she took one a played with it for a bit then ran of to her stash with it,lol.
I had brought some frankie ferret treats that she liked but the dog ate them.
Thanks Ky and Rio, Tia

[lv4dogs]

Originally posted by Rio and Me
Ok thanks she wasnt mad on ham (from a packet), i might try a tiny bit of tuna from a tin (low sodium of corse,lol).
I just found out they like grapes as a treat and she took one a played with it for a bit then ran of to her stash with it,lol.
I had brought some frankie ferret treats that she liked but the dog ate them.
Thanks Ky and Rio, Tia

just be careful w/ ham (unless it is the fresh ham, the kind you have ot cook like a roast) because ham is high in sodium too.

Also grapes & raisins should only be fed occasionally as treats because they are high in sugar & can cause insolunomia (high glucose level) AND ferrets do not have a cecum which digests non meat food, they are 100% carnivores they can not properly digest anything besides meat. But one a couple times a week should not hurt nuch. ;)

[Rio and Me]

ok i dont buy grapes much anyhow.
Rasions are a no no is this house,lol
I'll stick to her food, ferret treats and the odd bit of chicken and tuna.
Thanks

[EssTer]

CONGRADULATIONS!!!!!!!
You're so lucky that you got ferret.. I've always dreamed about getting ferret!
and of course congrats, Tia, with getting so good, new owner ;)