Kate and Emmett,
 
>Emmett has blobs stuck around his ears...reddish brown...when cleaned
>look like blood spots....  Do ferrets get human lice?
 
This could be a few different things:
1)Flea dirt---Flea feces can be easily seen on most animals that have
fleas.  Flea dirt looks like black pepper sprinkled over the ferret.
This black material is digested blood, and when it contacts water turns
a reddish color.
2)Ear wax--- Ear wax can work its way outside the ear, to the hair around
the ear when the ferret rubs his/her ears or shakes his/her head.  Some
ear wax is very normal to see in many ferrets without a problem.  When it
botheres them (scratching ears a lot) then it may be the sign of an
infection (which could be caused by mites, bacteria or yeast).  We can
tell which is the culpret by examining the wax under the microscope.
 
I have never seen (or heard of) a case of lice in a ferret.  Lice are
species specific and cannot go from another mammal to a human (so humans
can't catch lice from a dog cat or ferret).
 
If it seem to bother Emmet it may be worth having it checked out.
 
Good Luck
Dr Weiss
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301-299-4142
[Posted in FML issue 1321]