>Date:   Tue, 29 Jan 1991 23:06:48 -0500
>From: Sam Roseman <uxa.cso.uiuc.edu!sar26657>
>Subject: losing hair
 
>My ferret is losing hair on her tail.  It happened
>once befor for about a week but it all grew back.
>Now, almost all the hair on her tail is gone and its
>been like that for several weeks. What could be the
>problem? Diet? Stress?
 
I don't know what the cause is, but the cure is simple and you *don't*
need a vet.  Get a bottle of "TCP" - I don't know if it's available or
called the same in the States as here - and wipe the bald tail with a
tissue soaked in TCP.  Repeat this for a few days and the hair grows
back in a week or so.  TCP is a yellow watery antiseptic sold in UK for
cuts, grazes, wasp stings etc and it has a unique smell recognisable
instantly. If it's not available under that name, and there is enough
interest, I'll try and identify its makeup.  My ferrets have often had
bald tails over the years and this is a surefire (and cheap) cure.
 
[I would caution people from thinking that there's one specific cause
for hair loss on ferrets.  Our first ferret was missing a lot of fur on
her tail when we first got her.  If we had waited one extra day in taking
her to the vet, she would have died.  No antiseptic would have saved her.
She needed hormone shots, intensive hydration therapy, antibiotics and
surgery to survive.  Provided that there are no additional symptoms (dramatic
weight loss, vaginal discharge, no passing of feces), it's probably safe to
try things such as what Jonathan suggests, but be cautious.  BTW: what
you describe sounds like Dettol (yellow, distinctive smell).  It's hard
to tell whether it's the same stuff from the ingredients, because nomenclature
differs.  Our vet has prescribed the use of Dettol a couple of times as
a twice-daily wash of our ferrets' hind ends for the first couple of
days after they were spayed, so, diluted a bit the stuff is safe for
ferrets.].
                                                                          
[Posted in FML 0123]