Regarding the poor ferret with blackheads near the mouth area and a swollen
anus, well it could be alot of things, but my $.02, and of course i speak
for only myself and I am not a vet, but it seems that the one thing in
common is the digestive track.  These could be both be different symptoms
of a different underlying cause.  Indeed, blackheads have little to do with
dermititis (contact dermititis), but have more to do with problems in the
skin itself.  The swollen anus, and purplish, that sounds like bruising as
the poster ([log in to unmask]) mentioned, and a previous vet of mine
said that was because they were constipated and squeezing too hard.  I
think the first thing i'd do if i were you is just notice the normal
activities of this ferret.  See what happens when it tries to have a bowel
movement.  Is it with alot of difficulty?  How is the consistancy of the
stool?  Is it narrow or harder (less soft) than normal (normal being all
the other ferrets assuming they are problem-free, or normal being what it
looked like before).  Now how about the eating habits.  What does it eat?
The constipation could be due to a partial blockage.  Really look at your
ferret 1x a day and note the weight, and note if it is eating, lack of
eating and lack of bowel movement indicates a total blockage and the ferret
will starve to death if nothing is done (my scooter had this once).
Partial blockages can lead to constipation, as can the diet.  Start w/
laxatone (available in most pet stores where cat drugs are sold (its a
hairball remover for cats)), about 1/4 teaspoon daily, or 2x a day.
Massage the ferret's abdomen, and note if you feel anything hard that you
do not feel in other normal ferrets (this is pretty tricky and i myself
have trouble doing this, i think only vets would get anything useful out of
this, but your mileage varies).  The other thing, besides a blockage, is
allergic reactions to a food or something it tried to eat (i assume this
dermititis has been going on for more than a day or so).  Maybe a treat
that you give your ferrets?  Just as in humans, some ferrets can't handle
certain foods.  Well, i hope this helps.  Best of luck to you!
 
-Rob
 
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   Robert Dejournett             [log in to unmask]
   Graduate Student
   Graduate School of Biomedical Science
   University of Texas Houston
[Posted in FML issue 2453]