Saturday, May 22, 2010

Balding ferret?

I have a 3 year old sable male ferret named Scooter. He shares a cage with another sable male ferret named Fred. About 4 days ago, I noticed that Scooter has a half dollar sized bald spot on the top of his head, between his ears. The boys play together, sometimes pretty roughly, and I don't know if the spot could be caused by excessive biting or scratching. I have tried spraying their fur with bitter apple spray to stop the biting. They both eat Marshall's Ferret Food, along with a daily supplement. Any serious help would be appreciated. Thanks!
Answers:
First let me start by stating that balding is 'NEVER' normal for a ferret and has nothing to do with age!! Most balding in ferrets is adrenal related. In male ferrets it is especially SERIOUS as adrenal disease can lead to enlarged prostate which leads to the ferret not being able to urinate, thus leading to a VERY painful death!! Medications such as Lupron and Propecia (finasteride) are then needed to 'hopefully' correct this problem.
Now, generally ferrets don't bite each other on the head, they bite and grab each others necks, and this is generally a dominance thing, same with dragging one another. Have you had them checked for 'ear mites'? I know with ear mites they literally drive an animal crazy and are very common with ferrets. A simple ear swab at the vet鈥檚 office will answer this question. Ear mites are very easy to treat, although all animals need to be treated as ear mites travel from animal to animal. Many years ago I had a female ferret, Nicky, she had scratched by her ears until there was no hair by her ears...she had ear mites. Not saying this is the problem, just something to check out.
If your ferrets have been together for a long period of time and one ferret has become newly aggressive to the other this is generally a sign of 'adrenal gland disease'. Another symptom of adrenal disease with males is they can (not always) start mounting another ferret in a mating behavior. They can also get to where they want to excessively groom another ferret, especially around the ears area. I've had adrenal ferrets that had no hair loss, just behavior changes ie: aggressiveness and excessive ear washing of other ferrets. I've had them balding on their rumps, sides and or feet, it isn't always just on the rump. Ferrets with adrenal problems can display one or several symptoms.
I would also stop using the bitter apple as I found years ago this really is not effective.
When ferrets develop a 'new and unusual' behavior there is generally a 'medical' reason for this new behavior. Personally I would take your boys to the vet and have them checked for ear mites first and have the vet give them a once over. If the vet is uncertain but may suspect adrenal there is an adrenal panel your vet can have ran by 'The Univ of Tenn', the 'only' place that has blood testing for adrenal in ferrets, regular blood test will not show this. I have used the UoT adrenal panel several times over the years and it has always been 100% correct in diagnosing my ferrets. If your ferret is adrenal then you will have a choice to make, surgery or medications, ie: Lupron. Make sure the vet is ferret savvy as not all vets are familiar with the problems that arise with ferrets.
Here is a wonderful website that covers several ferret illnesses and problems associated with ferrets.
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/...
Here is a link for ferret veterinarians from state to state:
http://www.ferretuniverse.com/vets/vetli...
Best wishes and please keep us updated!
This may not be a serious issue.
As ferrets get older, they tend to go bald. );
I don't think it is from rough playing, but maybe you should watch the way they play.
It might be a skin condition, or your ferret might have a bad flea. You should talk to your vet.
We own ferrets, they're both fine, but my dad's friend has a ferret who's going bald, and it's natural.
BECAUSE THE BALD SPOTS ARE ON HIS HEAD... THATS FROM HIS ROOMATE%26lt;g>
IF YOU CAN SEPERATE INTO 2 CAGES.. THAT WILL HELP THEY CAN STILL PLAY TOGETHER WHEN OUT OF THE CAGE... BUT SOMETIMES THEY TEND TO OVER-GROOM EACHOTHER TOO.
TAKE HIM TO THE VET!! he may have adrenal cancer. my ferret had it and died from it. It was the saddest thing to witness. For the sake of your ferret take him to the vet.
Now when your boys play together, is there any screaming, mean fighting or blood? Or is it just wrestling and dooking, and no proofy tails? Screaming, mean fighting and blood are not good. Ferrets have thick skins and don't feel much from another bite or scratch from another ferret. A poofy tail is a sign of either happiness (not all the time) or submission (trying to look bigger than they are because they lost a fight).
However, is anything else wrong with Scooter? Is he scratching incessantly? I mean, every 5 seconds? Takes a couple of steps, stops to scratch, takes a few more steps, stops to scratch, etc. It could be one of many things. Has their bedding been washed and cleaned lately? What about their cage - has it been cleaned lately? Sometimes that will help, too.
Also, does Scooter have any hair missing around the bottom of his butt next to his tail, and going up his back? If so, that's a sign of adrenal problems, and he will need to get adrenal surgery. Around the age of 4 years is when ferrets usually start getting adrenal problems. Take him to the vet. Some ferrets do go bald but not all. Have you checked to see if any fur is coming back in? Sometimes you can see just a little bit of peach fuzz growing.
When my ferrets get over-excited and play roughly, I usually put some Linatone on the back of their neck. Linatone is a vitamin supplement that ferrets like, and will lick it off each other (rather than using bitter apple).
I'm sure you have a vet to take care of them. I also read any and all books, magazines and articles I can on ferrets. Have you checked out the web? Many good sites around with knowledgeable information. Check it out! Dooks!

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