Not all ferrets shed at the same time, so just because Scooter isn't
shedding doesn't mean that Harold isn't.  When ferrets shed - THEY SHED!
And they scratch, and fur is EVERYWHERE!!
 
It's hard to know what to do....in the summer, ferrets can lose as much
as 40 percent of their body weight.  Before I understood the nature of
the beast, back in 85 w/my first ferret Mickey, I would take him to the
vet in the spring, do tons of blood work, and scream at my vet "Doc, do
something....look at how much weight he's lost." We ran fecal tests for
worms - they were all negative.  By Fall, I made him give me a 1/2 cat
Droncit because I was SURE it was tape worms, and after we gave him the
pill, he gained weight.  HaH!  I said.  I knew he had worms!!  OF Course,
it was FALL - time to put the weight back on!!!
 
Same thing w/shedding.  Many of my ferrets have crummy looking tails
in the summer - some of them even get the traditional "rat tail" and
are just about totally bald.  I would run them into the vet - what's
happening???  My vet tends to be conservative while I'm already to do
blood work/x-rays, whatever, so he tries to calm me down and tell me
this is normal....well it doesn't LOOK normal!!!!
 
And while we're talking about shedding......this is the season and it
probably wouldn't hurt a bit if anyone who has shedding ferrets
gave them some doses of Laxatone 2x/wk until they're done shedding.
(SMALL doses I meant to say).  Most likely this is normal shedding,
but obviously infection or mites can't be ruled out thru a computer!
 
Someone else asked about the spots on the tail.  I have found this to
be a normal summer occurrance as well.  They are like little black
heads all over the tail, and I what I do is wash the tail about once a
week - they dissolve immediately if you use a gentle shampoo (I use
baby shampoo) and the ferret looks better.  If they spread to the body
I would have it checked by a vet, and again, on a computer infection,
mites and mange can't be ruled out, but my experiences with this has
shown it to be a summer seasonal thing as well.
 
Debbie Riccio
WNYFLFA
[Posted in FML issue 1165]