My ferret "Dallas" may have a problem.  I adopted her from a shelter about
two years ago.  Last summer she started to lose the hair on her tail.  The
patch was about the size of a quarter.  I brought her to the vet and she
recommended that I what til her winter coat came in and see if the hair came
back.  It did.  This year around the same time as last year she started to
lose the hair on her tail again.  This time it is more.  It starts at the
tip of her tail and goes in a straight line up to her butt.  Not a total
lose of hair just a line.  So off to the vet we go again.  She told me the
same thing.  Wait till the winter coat.  About 3 weeks ago I noticed
something on Dallas.  It's about an inch to the right of her tail.  It
looks like a little bit of dried blood that has scabbed.  I have tried to
wash it with warm water to see if it will break up.  She will have NO PART
OF THIS.  I don't want to pick it incase it's still attached or it's a
growth.  It's not really located in a spot where she could have done it and
I have ruled out rough play with the other ferret.  I have been watching it
for about a month now and it was not changed size.  It's probably the size
of a flat ladybug.
 
So my question is: Has anyone see this "scab" thing before?  Does you think
the hair loss and scab thing are related?  Am I just being paranoid?  Any
suggestions on how to breakup dried blood?
 
Thanks
 
Gina
[Posted in FML issue 2405]