Is my three month old abnormaly small?

Question
My husband an I got our daughter a ferret for a combination Christmas/Birthday gift. After three years of pleading we gave in, I was not allowed one as a child. My husband was to bring one home, but he brought home two. One for our daughter, one for me. One male one female, we wound up trading the male for another female due to a personality conflict. The female they got me is barely three months old; she is less than half the size of other female who is six months old. They are both from Marshall, spayed and descented. They get dry ferret kibble, but on the advice of a vet I have put 'Pip Squeek' on high potien 50% kitten kibble moistened with lactose free whole milk. Pip's BM's have been the same since we got her formed and darker than tan but not brown. The same as the other ferret Bella. They live comfortably pampered in a three level center home apartment with a small soft dog bed to sleep in, dry food all the time and fresh water daily that they never empty. Pip weighs less than 11oz and I can feel her hips and spine. She plays and appears healthy, and I love her to death. I am worried she is so small, and yet I hate to have her grow up she is so precious. But health is more important than cute. What should she weigh and how can I track her weight to make sure we are making good progress? Thank you for your help.

Answer
Hi Chris,

Congratulations on your new additions to the family! If you have any further questions in the future, please don't ever hesitate to ask!

As for your current question, something to remember is that when Marshall ferrets are born, they go through quite a bit in that short first couple months of their lives. When they are born, they are given a little bit of time to be nursed by their mothers, but after only being alive for a few weeks, they undergo surgery for neutering/spaying and descenting (the removal the of scent sacs that are near the anus). After they are given a few days to "recover", they are shipped to some animal "brokers", who keep them for a while, waiting for them to get to the right age for sale to a pet store. When they are shipped, they are given some slop to eat (as they have just been weaned and earlier then they are supposed to be) and when they are in the pet store, they are probably eating Marshall's ferret food which is really, very close to being ferret junk food. I don't mean to sound mean. My anger is not at you. It makes me upset to think about all that those poor little babies go through the first few weeks of their lives!

That being said, since she is just about 8-10 weeks old, or maybe a little older, and you just brought her home, I wouldn't be too worried that she is so tiny! They go through a lot to get to (hopefully) happy, loving homes.

50% is a very high protein content for a ferret. It *should* be okay for now, but in the future, I would say within a few months, I would get her off of that food because too much protein can actually hurt an older ferret. So, keep her on it for now, if you would like and see if she gains the weight she needs. Also, you could mix something else in there, maybe Totally Ferret Baby formula. See if she likes the two foods mixed together. If you do mix them, it will be easier to switch her off the high protein stuff later.

Here is how to change a ferret's food: You need to make the change gradually because ferrets imprint on their food at a young age and they don't recognize anything else as food. Also, you're going to want to do it gradually to be easier on her tummy. You will probably see looser stool than normal for a few days. Just keep an eye on that and make sure she is staying hydrated. If it lasts for more than a week or if she gets dehydrated or stops eating, you should have her checked out by a qualified ferret vet. You should start out with about 85% old food and 15% new food. Keep that ratio for a few days and then put 75% old food and 25% new food and continue that for a few days and so on. You could even mix a couple high quality foods if you wanted to, just in case your normal food changes formula and your little girl won't eat it!

You should feed your ferret a food that has about 36% protein, 20-22% fat and no more than 3% fiber. Also, taurine should be in there somewhere. Here is a chart listing some of the foods that people feed their ferrets:

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

I would stay above a nine in the ranking if I were you. Another thing you want to look for in the food is that at least 3 of the first 5 ingredients are from meat products (and not fish). Also, stay away from foods with corn or corn products listed in the first three to five ingredients.

Also, they need to see a vet to have their follow up distemper shots in a few weeks and, of course, their check ups. If you haven't found a ferret vet in your area yet, or if you want to explore your options further, here is a list of links that will hopefully help you find one!

VETS CANADA:   
* http://www.ferretrescue.ca/start.php
* http://tinylink.com/?TlVyYKa6e0
* http://www.ferrets.org/Veterinarian_Listings.htm   (British Columbia)
* http://www.ferretcentral.org/for-others/db-vets.html
* http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/sask_ferrets/

VETS USA:
* http://www.quincyweb.net/quincy/vet.html
* http://ferrethealth.org/vets/
* http://www.ferret-universe.com/vets/vetlist.asp
* http://www.ferretsanctuary.com/vets.shtml
* http://www.ferretcentral.org/for-others/db-vets.html
* http://ferrethealth.org/vets/

VETS  UK & IRELAND:  
* http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ferreter/vetlist.htm

VET INFO/ LIST OF FERRET GROUPS/ CONTACTS IN UK, ITALY, NEW ZEALAND, AUSTRALIA, NETHERLANDS, GERMANY & DENMARK:       
* http://www.ferretcentral.org/for-others/db-overseas.html (scroll down page to find the one you are looking for).


Here are a couple links to pet scales that I could find, so you can monitor her weight as she grows:

http://www.thepamperedpetmart.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Cod...

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=14127844

Feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns, or clarifications!

Good luck and enjoy your new little girls!

Sincerely,
Emilee Andrews