I've been noticing a lots of posts lately on tail blackheads, and wanted to
post my thus far (knocking on wood) tried and true method for getting rid
of them.  When I first noticed these on my first ferret, of course I
freaked out, but common sense (and a lot of advice) calmed me down, so
that when our second shelter ferret came into our household, complete with
blackheads, I didn't even bat an eyelash.
 
I have of course checked with my vet, and happily he agreed that what I was
doing for treatment was the best thing, and he also said "I don't know who
started the rumor that blackheads are a sign of adrenal..to put it
politely, it's bull."  I think it's more correct to say that a lot of
ferrets who get adrenal disease will likely at some point have blackheads,
but not that all ferrets who get blackheads will have adrenal disease.
 
To treat the blackheads, simply use your regular ferret shampoo, whatever
that may be, and an old, clean toothbrush.  We got some great stuff from
the vet called HyLyt made by dvm.  It's soap free hypo allergenic shampoo
that has fatty acids in it to condition skin, and it smells like coconuts.
As if our ferrets werent nuts enough to begin with!
 
In the sink give your fuzzy a tail bath, scrubbing gently at the affected
areas, doesn't hurt to do the whole tail, with the toothbrush.  Do this
about three times a week for a couple of weeks.  Also, approximately twice
a week, rub down the tail with a Stridex pad, made for unclogging pores on
human faces.  You don't want to use these very often because they are
strong, and you don't want to dry out the skin too much.  After about a
week of treatment, the ferret's tail will get (especially if it's a dark
coloured ferret), the purple/blue skin that appears before new hair
growth comes in.  In another week or so the hair will have grown back
significantly, nice and soft.  Occaisional cleaning with a stridex pad will
help keep those pores clean, and you shouldn't have a reoccurance of the
blackheads.
 
My new little girl's tail got significantly better between the time she was
dropped off by the shelter mom, and a week and a half later when the shelter
mom came back to visit, she was very impressed.
 
Good Luck, and don't forget the treats!
 
Robynn
Gargoyle ("I don't have a black head..it's brown!") and
Morticia ('I wonder why that is?")
[Posted in FML issue 2456]