Over the past few days my daughter has noticed that her ferret Jezebella
seems to be far itchier than usual.  She scratches almost constantly and is
losing the fur in the shoulders area and down her legs where her harness
usually goes.  Also the bare skin in that area is very pink and there are
orange-brown spots or specs in the pores which don't seem to wash off.  My
daughter also mentioned that she did notice some fleas (2 or 3) the last
time she bathed her.  Normally she doesn't find any.
 
The above details were given to me over the phone so they are second hand.
Unfortunately my daughter doesn't have net access and is too far away for me
to take a look myself, but I can relay questions if further clarification is
needed.
 
She did read through the FAQ and says she doesn't think the spots look like
the scaling described by Dr Williams.  I took a quick look through some
recent digests and spotted some posts about ferrets with similar sounding
symtoms, but in each case there also seemed to be some differences.  Even
so, I picked up on a few things that might be worth mentioning:
 
o Jezebella is a bit over a year old.
o Her litter is the moisture absorbent (clumping) type.
o The heat in the house is forced air (very dry).
o She's had her shots within the past month or so.
o She has a new velcro harness, but it's removed most of the time.
o Recent travel: first from southern CA to northern CA, them back.
o There are other animals in the house, but no ferrets.
o She does spend time outside, usually tethered in the yard, weather
  permitting.
o Possible use of baby shampoo.
 
I don't think Jezebella gets bathed excessively often; maybe 1 to 2
times per month.
 
I've already passed along what I've found in past FML postings, but
would be interested in additional input.
 
Roland
[Posted in FML issue 1461]