New carpet shark!

[sophistacavy]

So now that I've adopted a carpet shark finally (not from a pet store or breeder, from a craigslist ad from a family who I met up with earlier this morning, and they decided to rehome him because they said they felt like he wasn't getting enough attention from them, and they have kids and didn't have enough time (I guess they're both working) to clean its cage everyday), I have even more questions than I did before.

1. Can I switch his (they said his name is Spunky, but they called him Spunkers) diet (the dry kibble part) cold turkey? Or do I need to do it gradually? They had him on what they said was the ferret food that Walmart sells, because they said he wouldn't eat any other brand. And they said that they tried buying him the "expensive" brands (not sure exactly which ones or what they meant by that), but he wouldn't eat them and almost starved himself before they found that he'd eat the walmart kind. I want to switch him to Innova Evo brand Ferret food. Is that the same thing as the Innova Evo brand Cat food? I tried to special order it from a local pet supply only store, but they argued with me and said that it was the exact same thing as the ferret food, so they wouldn't special order it for me....

2. Is the BioSpot-on brand of cat flea/tick topical stuff safe to use on ferrets? In the appropriate size/weight package, of course. I don't want to put any harsh chemicals on him, even though you can get BioSpotOn in a pet store and not by prescription, drsfostersmith sells it and it seems to be high quality versus all that other junk out there like Hartz....

3. Do they drink more water from a dish/bowl, or from a bottle?

4. I got a can of the Chicken/turkey/etc. (fish free) version of Wellness brand's CORE canned cat food. Since they need to have food available all the time, should I just offer the entire contents of the can to him at once? Also, how do you know if they're overweight? Do you try to feel their ribs? I don't suspect it, but I want to know how to check every week or so to make sure he doesn't get overweight ever.

5. How do I get Spunkers to "like" me? I've tried just standing and holding him, sitting on my bed and holding him, and squatting on the floor and holding him. I think he really wants to explore, of course, but my bedroom isn't currently safe for him to go running around, its really kind of a mess. The cleanest things in my room are the animal's cages L0L!
I have a dog exercise pen that we used for my shih tzu, I think this is it, click the link to check it out: http://www.midwesthomes4pets.com/cat...enu=0&catid=33
I'm not at all sure which of those sizes I have, but it would provide a good enough space to contain a ferret temporarily (I have a cage too btw), and for him to "explore" and romp around a little bit, don't you think? I just wanted to make sure it was safe to use with a ferret. What could I use as a floor protection? We don't have an extra vinyl shower curtain right now, can you buy those at Walmart? So until I get one of those, what should I use? I figured that fleece wouldn't be good at all for various reasons, but what about first lining the floor with puppy pads, and then covering those up with cotton towels?
That way, nothing at all would go through to the carpet, right, because puppy pads are leak-proof?

Well thats about it for now, thanks in advance!!

[5guinea5pig5]

Is spunkers a cat cause I have no idea what a carpet shark is.

[guineapigluver1]

What is a carpet shark? I just googled it and if what you have is what I came up with on google, wow. I didn't know you could own those.

Oh. Never mind. I just saw you said s/he is a ferret.
And no. The ferret food is not the same as the cat food. If you look at the Guarenteed Analysis for both they differ some. And the ingredients are slightly different. Although, you can feed cat food from what I know, so if you have to you could feed the Innova EVO cat food instead of the ferret if they refuse to special order it.
I don't know if this goes for all animals but I know for my cats, I feel their ribs. If you can't feel them without exerting undue pressure they are overweight. If you can feel them without pressing (but not sticking out like pencils) with maybe just a TINY bit of pressure if need be, they are fine. If they are sticking out like pencils they are to thin. But thats just what I found out about cats, but it probably can go for ferrets to.

[5guinea5pig5]

Ferret?!?! Lucky! He might be gone tonight

[sophistacavy]

Originally Posted by 5guinea5pig5

Ferret?!?! Lucky! He might be gone tonight

L0L he would be if I left the cage open. Hopefully he won't figure out how to open it before I get a lock.....but yeah, ferrets will try numerous ways to figure out how to get around something if it's in their way, I've learned that so far at least. They could: dig under object, climb over object, jump over object, tunnel under object, etc
Yeah, I knew that the cat and ferret formulas were two diffrent formulas, but I didn't feel like arguing with the guy on the phone, he said he was talking to the manager who was right there with him, so I'll call around and then call them again tomorrow to see if I get someone else on the phone....

[krittercrazy]

Is the dry kibble the main part of his diet? If so change it slowly. If not you should be fine switching it cold turkey. I would definately get ferret food not cat food for him.

I would not use Bio Spot on my cats. You should probably contact a vet. They might give you a recommendation for flea treatment over the phone. Call a vet that is familiar with ferrets.

They would probably drink from either a dish or a water bottle.

I would not use a shower curtain with him. It would be dangerous for him to injest it. Same with the puppy pads. They can be litter trained. Use care fresh.

I would think that he would be able to escape from the exersice pen without a top on it.

You are probably already aware that ferrets require vaccinations. I expect that s/he has been spayed or neutered? If not a female can die from aplastic anemia and a male can be over aggressive.

Reproduction and Hormonal Disorders in Ferrets
I hope this in ok link to post.

Enjoy him. I have always wanted a ferret. It has never worked out with the other animals that I have and keeping one contained.

[AnmlLvr14]

That's exciting that you finally got one! Have fun with him! I miss having ferrets. They're so fun!

1. Many will tell you to switch food gradually, but I've switched cats over cold turkey with no problems (sorry, not 100% sure about a ferret). Um, Innova's ferret food is different then their cat food, so I'm not sure what time that guy was living in.

2. I would get flea/tick preventative from your vet (if you feel it is needed). I would not chance anything over-the-counter except for maybe Frontline. It needs to be the dose for a kitten/cat under 5 lbs.

3. Water bottles are always going be the cleaner option.

4. How big is the can of cat food? You could give it to him, let him eat what he wants, and then remove what he leaves. Because of their high metabolism, it is very rare for ferrets to become overweight. They also do not tend to gorge themselves with food like some of our dogs and cats might. They will eat many small meals throughout the day. Yes, feeling the ribs would be the way to monitor his body condition.

5. That pen may be okay. It's hard to tell from the picture. I have one that looks similar to that (but it was made for small animals), and I did not have any problems with escapees. They can climb quite well though, so you may want to keep an eye on him the first few times he's in it to see if he tries to get out. As for floor covering I would get something tough like a tarp. Then give him a couple of litter boxes. He may try to dig up towels and puppy pads.

[5guinea5pig5]

Originally Posted by sophistacavy

L0L he would be if I left the cage open. Hopefully he won't figure out how to open it before I get a lock.....but yeah, ferrets will try numerous ways to figure out how to get around something if it's in their way, I've learned that so far at least. They could: dig under object, climb over object, jump over object, tunnel under object, etc
....

I had to learn that the hard way. Last week when we had a ferret, he got out of his cage (there was no way too and no signs of it) and slipped into one of the guinea pig's cages and they snuggled together. It was so cute but I put him back in his cage and put 3 extra locks on it.

[5guinea5pig5]

Ughh 2 more ferrets just escaped LOL. I think they must really like Jakers (the guinea pig).

[guineapigluver1]

I found out that ferrets should have food available at all times, so you could leave the dry food out for him, and offer the canned food 2-3 times a day, or as often as you want to. Though I do know canned food CAN be left out for up to 12 hours.

[5guinea5pig5]

I never knew that they should have food available 24/7. I just thought the volunteers fed them a lot because they were malnurished. Maybe they're not crazy...



This has nothing to do with ferrets but my amount of posts and the amount of thanks I've given are the same numbers just backwards ( I feel smart ).

[guineapigluver1]

Yeah, they have a high metabolism, so they should have food available at all times.

[5guinea5pig5]

I messed it up

[guineapigluver1]

Messed what up?

[5guinea5pig5]

I feel stupid now. I had 627 posts and 276 thanks given out and I thought they were the same number but backwards. That's what I get from staying up all night in a shelter (it was worth it )

[guineapigluver1]

Oh. Hey that's okay. I thought that for a minute to.

[5guinea5pig5]

Originally Posted by guineapigluver1

Oh. Hey that's okay. I thought that for a minute to.

That's because I brainwashed you! Now I'm going to brain wash sophistacavy into giving me her ferret

[MommyOfTwo]

Ferrets can and do get overweight. My friend has a rather rotound male who's only 2 years old.

I'd do some more research on food. It's been awhile since I've researched ferrets, but I do remember reading that its not good to feed them cat food. Any more than you would feed a guinea pig rabbit food.

Stay away from sugars as much as possible. For example...they LOVE raisens, but feeding them is actually a big no no. That's how Paulie got so...chubby.

Good luck with your new fuzzy! Ferrets are so much fun. They are like kittens their whole lives.

[sophistacavy]

Originally Posted by 5guinea5pig5

That's because I brainwashed you! Now I'm going to brain wash sophistacavy into giving me her ferret

Oh my gosh, he almost got away from me today. My bedroom is clutter-mania, so you can imagine how happy he was with all the squeezing behind stuff and tunneling opportunieties.
Thank you all for your continued helpful information! I just got some cat food (Wellness CORE brand feline), so I'm going to return that then tomorrow. The best brand I can get right away (w/o ordering online) that is better than the Walmart brand they were feeding him is the brand called Totally Ferret. Is that ok until I can get ahold of the Innova EVO for ferrets?

P.S: Oh my gosh, I should've taken a video (maybe next time!) of him playing on my bed with that "DaBird!" cat toy wand thing. I think he was dooking!! And he did the "weasel war dance" (I had to save him from almost falling off the bed L0L). I got scratched on my one hand/wrist, but thats because his nails are a bit long (I guess they didn't really clip his nails either...), so I'm going to read that Ferrets for dummies book I have and learn how to safely clip their nails

[AnmlLvr14]

A video or some pictures would be great! He sounds like a happy boy! Mine loved playing with toys like that, but then they would catch them and try to run and hide them. Gotta love 'em!

Totally Ferret would be okay. If you would rather, a high quality kitten food would be fine to feed right now. I know many ferrets (domestic and wild) that do just fine on feline diet.

I find ferret nails much easier to clip than guinea pigs, so don't worry.