Hi Michelle,
From your post, I would guess Adrenal more than S. Mange!
>He also said that Baby didn't show signs of the typical Adrenal Disease
Hairloss *is* a typical sign of adrenal. Sometimes there are NO symptoms
or signs - I know from personal experience.
>This means that the other 30 ferrets also have ear mites.
Not true. However, they may *get* it, so you will need to treat them as
well.
>He gave me a bottle of Frontline which is for dog and cat fleas. He told
>me to put 2 drops in each ear once every ten days for a month.
I have never heard of putting Frontline in the ears - or that it treats ear
mites. however, it might. For ear mites, I always treated newbies with an
Ivermec solution (the same on I used for heartworm) in the ears once a week
for 3 - 4 weeks. Anybody know if Frontline is safe to put in the ears?
>he thought that Baby more than likely had mange. Where on earth would my
>ferret get mange from?
Another animal.
Sarcoptic Mange is actually a mite (like ear mites)! If your ferrets have
S. Mange, you need to get this under control ASAP! This is catchy and it
can kill your ferrets and other animals! It can attack the face, ears,
eyes, nose, tail, body, feet ... the claws become thick and fall off as
well as the scaling of the skin on the feet. The ferrets are lethargic
and stop eating (and the hair falls out).
Photos of Perry Mason's ferrets in Australia can be seen on KiSta's website
(thanks Kim!) at:
http://www.kistaferret.com/IMG0046.jpg
http://www.kistaferret.com/IMG0047.jpg
http://www.kistaferret.com/IMG0048.jpg
http://www.kistaferret.com/IMG0049.jpg
http://www.kistaferret.com/IMG0050.jpg
I suggest that your vet performs a skin scraping to confirm this diagnosis.
However it shouldn't cost you $200! They just scrape a bit of skin off and
look at it under a microscope!
>I also told him that I had two other ferrets that have the same hair loss
>and have had it for quite some time and that they both had the Adrenal
>Disease. The vet said that the other two just probably had mange also.
>Why would he say that?
Because he lacks knowledge of current ferret medicine.
>He is a top ferret vet around here and is well known for his work with
>ferrets so why is he saying all of this crap?
If he is *that* well known, then check out the mange option. Also - a
second opinion never hurt. I know cash may be tight, but it may be
worth it.
>Now mind you that these 3 ferrets with the hair loss are all in different
>cages so if they really had mange all of this time then why don't the
>other ferrets that live in these three separate cages with them have hair
>loss and mange also.
You are correct in that thinking. You would have a house full of naked,
scaly, scabby ferrets. This is why I think it is adrenal and *not* S.
Mange.
If you *do* find your ferret has S. Mange then here is the treatment that
your vet should follow:
Give ivermec (1% injectable) at 0.2 mg per kg of body weight. Perry
Mason's ferrets were given 0.5 mg per kg of body weight and they all
suffered with an overdose - acting intoxicated, etc. They pulled through,
but do not give more than 0.2 mg per kg of body weight! The treatment
needs to be given every 10 days to 2 weeks for 2 months to ensure all
adults, hatchlings, and eggs are killed. You also need to treat all your
animals.
Please, please, please get a second opinion (and have a look at the photos
above of S. Mange). I believe your ferret does not have mange, but Adrenal.
BTW - I will not be reachable at the above address - please send me
messages at home ([log in to unmask])
Best regards
Amy Flemming
Flemming Farms
[log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 3161]
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