Baby ferret worries

Question
Hello,  I just bought a ferret for my son about a week ago.  When we first brought her home she was fiesty, playful, and running about.  Then, a few days ago, I noticed that her poop was not as well formed as it should be.  I watched her closely for a few hours and the poop seemed to have a better form, but was lighter in color.  I was thinking this might be because we might be giving her a different food than the pet store was, though still high quality ferret food.  I also have switched to giving her bottled water because we have well water, I thought this may be upsetting her little belly too.  She is also not playing as much as she did when we first brought her home, though when she is exploring she is running around like nothing is wrong.  Is this normal behavior for a new baby ferret in a new environment, is she just adjusting or should I be worried?
Thanks, Angela

Answer
Hi Angela:

It's perfectly normal for any new ferret to spend anywhere from the first day,to the first week or so to discover his/her new environment. This usually entails going all around the perimenter,then discovering things like chairs, couches, possible toys, anything that looks like fun or looks like it needs to be explored or tasted (be sure to ferretproof before the ferret gets out without someone right there watching every single move) FERRETPROOFING:  

* http://www.ferretcentral.org/faq/part2.html#ferretproofing
* http://groups.msn.com/Ferret/yourwebpage10.msnw
* http://groups.msn.com/Ferret/ferretproofing2.msnw

Once he/she is familiar and feels comfortable in his/her new environment, THEN they will be willin to play and be interested in getting to know you and your family. First they must check out their surroundings though and this is perfectly normal.

I'm sure the change in food is the reason for the difference in poop color, along with the changes in her life; little things can upset a ferret's tummy for a day or two, but it will usually straighten up by itself. You may want to check your food choice against the official food chart to be sure you are feeding the best food you can. If you can't get it in your neighborhood, you can get all of them online in various ferret stores. Here is the list; try not to feed anything below a "9":

http://www.mdferretpaws.org/care/food_treats.html

Also, remember that ferrets are obligate carnivores and are made to eat ONLY MEAT and MEAT BYPRODUCTS, so avoid any food or treats that have sugar or junk food; especially when feeding treats. The best treats are Ferretone (cut 1/2 with olive oil so they don't get too much oily fatty acid vitamins) that is GREAT for their fur, and "Chicken Flavor Ferret Chew Treats" which are basically a gelatin hardened into a little stick they can chew on. Rawhide, pig ears, etc can all cause blockages in ferrets, but these little sticks dissolve, so they are perfect treats.

As far as the well water, if it were me, I would buy a gallon of drinking water (NOT distilled). It is cheap and would probably be healthier for the ferret. Well water is heavy in minerals and ferrets have teeny tiny little tubes that go to their kidneys and through their little systems and the less "stuff" it has to filter out, the better and longer they will last. I would think changing back and forth off and on well water may upset her tummy too, so keep a gallon of drinking water on hand at all times.

Best of luck with your new little one. Here's a great website with some general information for new ferret owners - easy reading and the more you read and learn,the more likely it is your ferret will live a long, healthy life!  

www.thechipster.com/fert-man.html
www.ferretcentral.org   

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers