Blog
Linne
by ferretpapa
Yesterday evening the GCFA got a call that somebody had found a ferret dying in a forest preserve 😣
She was barely able to lift her head and flies were swarming her 🤬 It was in the high 80s earlier in the day, thankfully rain had cooled it down which probably saved her life
A wonderful couple found her and called us and took her to their car. Another volunteer met them at the preserve and I was able to get the ferret from them and give her fluids
Thankfully she was not close to starving yet, it was mostly heat exhaustion and dehydration. She had probably only been stray for a couple days. Which is proof that a ferret escaping in the summer is a DEATH SENTENCE. FERRET PROOF YOUR HOMES
The absolute worst part was realizing that what I first thought were seeds on her were FLY EGGS 🤢
I still feel my skin crawling just looking at these pictures. @kittenxlady has an amazing YouTube video explaining that they have to be physically removed, and how to remove them. Unfortunately I didn’t have a flea comb at home and didn’t find her video until 2am (thanks to Covid nothing is open 24 hours)
So I did my best with tweezers and fingers and gave her a bath and went to Walmart as soon as they opened at 6am, got a cheap flea comb, and finished the job. I’m still going to check her and her bedding every few hours but I think I was able to get most if not all of them
She’s going to stay with me a few days… she is refusing to eat anything and has green diarrhea as well, so she will probably be starting antibiotics and Pepcid
I asked the couple who found her if they wanted to name her and they said Linne, because she was found in Linne Woods. She is so lucky they found her, she would’ve probably been eaten alive by maggots if she somehow survived the heat today
The couple donated the car carrier and $50 to the shelter… such wonderful people 😭 if anything we owe them for finding her and not leaving her there
She has strength (fighting me when I was combing and bathing her) and I think she’s going to be ok but she’s not out of the woods (literally) until she eats
Anyways just another day with the GCFA 😪
There are multiple pictures below, it's hard to see but there is a small right arrow on the right of the picture that you can click to see more.
Vitamins, Minerals, and Preservatives
by ferretpapa
The food chart will now identify most vitamins, minerals, amino acids, additives, preservatives, and artificial flavors and colors. More will be added as I see that some are missing.
Foods with limited ingredients get a small bonus. These types of ingredients will no longer count towards the ingredient total because they're not really something that can be noticeably consumed. And most vitamins, minerals, and amino acids are good for the ferrets anyway, so they shouldn't be punished for having more of them.
Some manufacturers kind of "cheated" anyways, by just saying "vitamins and minerals" instead of listing them all out, so previously those foods were incorrectly getting a bonus for having limited ingredients. Now all foods will be ranked fairly regardless of how the ingredients are listed out.
I did notice that almost every food was now getting that bonus, so I made it more exclusive and set the maximum number of ingredients to 10 instead of 20.
Ferret.Love profiles!
by ferretpapa
Some exciting news, you can now update your profile (username, social media, etc.) and add your ferrets as well!
Check my profile out here: https://ferret.love/users/ferretpapa
Profile pictures are coming soon too!
I also added a dark mode to the site, it'll change based on your phone/computer settings.
Ferret Food Chart Updates
by ferretpapa
Update, Apr 29, 2021 - this is complete! I will probably continue to tweak the food scoring, but at least raw foods are not being incorrectly punished anymore.
Please be patient, I'm working on updating the food chart.
I'm adding a "meat %" to the calculation, which will bump a lot of the raw foods higher (currently some are as low as a "C" ranking but really they should all be higher than the kibbles).
Also updating pea information - research is showing that it's caused by a combination of 3 factors: peas in the diet, dehydration, and a genetic issue that some ferrets have.
Ferrets are not good at keeping themselves hydrated, especially as they get older. You won't know if they have the genetic issue until it's too late and they've already developed stones. So why risk it? Eliminating peas is the only guaranteed way to eliminate stones. Kidney stones and bladder stones are painful enough already; being unable to pee for 24 hours and dying is a horrible way to go, and surgery is extremely risky and expensive.
Easy Soup Recipes for Ferrets
by ferretpapa
All of these soups are best served warm. Be careful when microwaving - always stir it afterwards to make sure that there aren't any hot spots. Preferably with your finger so that you can feel the temperature and make sure it's safe to eat.
Homemade cooked chicken soupies
Chicken Soupies for Ferrets
10 min. prep,
45 min. cooking
Ingredients:
Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and Water (1.5 cups per lb of chicken)
Instructions:
Prep: Add bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and water to pressure cooker., Cook: Cook for 45 minutes (3x longer than typical for poultry), Blend: Remove the bones. They should slide out easily. Then ble...
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Evanger's
Evanger's sells canned cooked chicken. The only ingredients are chicken, water, liver, and guar gum.
Mix 1 can of Evanger's with 1.5 cans of water, and blend. You can pour it into small cups and place them in the freezer. Thaw one container at a time, and, as with any cooked chicken, make sure to store it in the fridge and use it within 36 hours at most.
They also offer other canned cooked proteins such as duck and turkey. Just make sure to check the ingredients labels on those before buying them.
Carnivore Care
Carnivore Care comes in powder form which can be stored in the fridge or freezer.
The nice thing about powdered soup is that you can make it as you need it, unlike Evanger's where you need to either make the whole can at once and store the extra in the freezer or throw it out.
All you need to do is mix the powder with water to form soup! Some ferrets prefer it thicker while others prefer it very liquid. If your ferret isn't going for it, trying adding more or less water the next time. It contains eggs, which some ferrets love, and is great for putting weight on.
Uncle Jim's Duk Soup
Duk Soup is another powdered soup, so the same instructions as Carnivore Care apply.