>I gave him his first dose of Advantage two weeks ago, washed his beddings,
>and steam-cleaned the carpets, spraying "Safers" flea spray afterwards.
>The patches haven't grown or shrunk since the flea-blitz.  How patient do
>I have to be?
 
Dear Kris:
 
Patient as well as observant.  Was there any trauma to the skin, which may
be associated with fleas.  Any scabbing or crusting, or clean white skin?
 
Clean white skin with no hair broken off, just falling out is more commonly
a sign of adrenal disease.  If an animal is scratching or chewing due to
flea bites or allergies, you usually have some traumatic disruption of the
skin
 
Is there anything I can give him to stimulate hair growth?  What's this
I've been hearing about FLAX oil?
 
Going to have to weigh in on this one.  Flax oil, while it may be high in
essential fatty acids, does not regrow hair, especially in adrenal disease
(not to say we are definitely dealing with adrenal disease.
 
He has FULL, THICK hair on his tail, haunches, and everywhere else on his
body.  He's eating, drinking, and pooping.  He's playing and alert.
 
Good, but hair loss in adrenal disease can start at a number of places in
ferrets.  Any bilateral hair loss on the body of ferrets should raise
immediate suspicion of adrenal disease.  This is a good case in which a
picture of the hair loss may be helpful....
 
__BUT__: For nearly 2 years (as long as I've had him) he sometimes drags
his "belly-button" across objects.  He doesn't pee, but I think it's still
marking behavoir.  I think it's kind of a hormonal surge he gets once a
month, like PMS.
 
If it has been going on for 2 years in absence of other signs, I would lean
toward the behavioral rather than adrenal disease.
 
Also, if he's otherwise healthy (except for the thin hair patches) can I
still go ahead with his vaccinations?
 
I haven't seen anything here that would prevent vaccination.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3202]