There were two responses on what may cause an orange discoloration in a
ferrets fur.  They stated that the discoloration may be caused "99% of the
time when you see the orange discoloration in the fur, it is because they
are being fed cheap/bad food with loads of dyes that seep into the fur"
and/or "these are likely to be whole hobs that have been in season and/or
kept outside".
 
I have several ferrets that also have this orange discoloration and:
1) my ferrets are only fed a 50/50 mix of Totally Ferret and Iams
   Kitten food; the only treat they get is Ferretone when it's
   nail-clipping time
2) all are spay/neutered
3) all are kept indoors only
 
When I asked this question during a ferret club meeting, I was told that
some ferrets just seem to secrete more natural oils and/or produce more
earwax than others - just like some people seem to sweat more or have oilier
skin than others.
 
Chris
[Posted in FML issue 2301]