New Owner Needs Help

[newbie]

We recently got farrah and she has been a absolute pleasure but last night she puzzled me. I have never owned a ferret, I have done some research online etc.. She had a stool that was bright red and it looked , for lack of a better word, crumbly. I know this might be a big problem but she has never had meat, she has been on marshell ferret food since we have had her and the previous owners fed her this as well, yesterday we gave her a chicken jerky treat manufactured by F.M. Brown sons INC. and the ingredients include " beet (Natural Coloring Agent). Is this a poor quality treat? Did this cause the red, loose stools? Should I avoid meat treats since she isn't accustomed to them? Do I need to make a vet appointment? Her stool is firming up and are starting to look normal again though. I know she hasn't ingested anything bad for her because she is NEVER out in the house unless she is constantly supervised, I mean she is with in my line of site at all times, I am to worried to let her roam by herself. Any advice is greatly appreciated, thanks in advance to all

[judy]

I'm only guessing but it sounds as if it was the treat. As far as Marshall's food goes, you really need to get her off of that and on to something better (slowly though). She needs a high protein food - I used to feed mine a mix of Zupreem, 8-in-one Ultimate and Totally Ferret. There are other really good foods too but Marshall's is not one of them. There's a chart on this forum (by Artroxy) that can help you pick some better foods in the food/nutrition section.

Like I said, I'm guessing as to your baby's problem. If it does not clear up quickly you want to take her to a vet. Ferrets can get very sick very quickly so its never wise to wait too long. Good luck and please update us.

[babygeez76]

so i was wondering...why is the marshall ferret food no good?

[judy]

Marshalls does not contain the right amounts of the ingredients that ferrets need, and does contain too much of things they should not have. Artroxy worked hard to put together a chart that explains it clearly and rates a lot of different foods. Its very informative. Please check it out.


everythingfert.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=Soup&action=display&thread=24031

[newbie]

Update all stools have returned to normal, will take for check up in next few will discuss with vet then, thanks to Judy for advice, will switch food, was under impression marshalls met all their dietary needs, and how slow is slowly? Over the month or does the food transition take longer?

[babygeez76]

yea i thought that marshall food was good for them. when i bought my first ferret monte the pet store said that was the best food for them and since they were already feeding them that i just kept them on that food. but im glad that i heard that its not good for them. they poop regularly and everything and they are very healthy so should i still change their food?

[Barbara]

Marshall's has developed a new food, I haven't done enough research on it yet, but I know it is chicken based. Maybe one night I'll have a chance to compare it to some of the high quality stuff. It's our busy season so time is precious.

[ordinarygirl]

regarding switching over - first of all it's always a good idea to feed more than one kind of food so that when the manufacturer changes their formula (and they will) your ferts still have a food they like in the mix.

Here's what I recommend assuming you're only feeding Marshall right now

3 days- 90% Marshall - 10% new mixture of food
3 days - 75% Marshall - 25% new mixture of food
5 days - 50/50
5 days 25/75 (or until you're out of Marshall)

doesn't have to be exactly like this but to give you an idea of how long it takes without upsetting bellies

I put my food in ziplock bags or tupperware containers so I can seal it and also mix it up good so the old food gets the new food smell on it

Good luck!