Excerpts from mail: 15-Sep-92 Ferret List Issue 305 by Ferret Mailing
List@ferr
> I've asked this once before, and it seemed to pass unnoticed.  Elsa is
> now about 9 years old, and she is suffering from creeping baldness.
> Her hind end and tail are nearly hairless, and I noticed this morning
> while holding her that she seems to be losing hair on her head.
 
I've heard of ferrets losing their fur due to stress, but I think the
most common reason is dietary. What do you feed her? A friend of mine
used to have his cat's food dish on the floor, but his ferrets started
eating so much of the cat food (it was cat chow of some type) that I
think they weren't getting proper nutrition. I told him to put it up
where the ferrets couldn't get to it, and their fur grew back within a
month.
 
> Is this normal?  Or is it a dietary deficiency that I don't know
> about?  (Elsa used to really like Linotone, but recently she doesn't
> seem to like it as much.)  Should I take Elsa to my vet for a
> check-up?
 
I'd take her for a checkup at any rate. I think hair loss can also be a
sign of a serious condition (I don't remember what, exactly). How much
Linotone do you give her at a time? I've heard that too much of the
oil-soluable vitamens (like A, D, etc) can cause spleen problems as well
as other problems.
 
Good luck!
 
--Barb--
 
 
[Posted in FML issue 0306]