This is for Tracy's question about ear mites.... I had to treat all of mine
recently for this and having done the ear medication thing with a bunch of
cats before, I was not looking forward to daily treatments on a group of
wiggly ferts.  So instead of using Tresaderm, we treated all of them with
Ivomec (given orally).  We treated all of them at the same time, and
repeated the process about 14 days later.  So far, looks like we got rid of
them.  Ivomec is not "approved" for use in ferrets (but what is???).  I was
told however that it was tested on ferrets, so it is safe to use....just
never officially labeled for it.  Since it is a heartworm preventative as
well, it might be recommended that the ferrets remain at the vets for a
while after the treatment, just as a precaution in case of a possible
reaction.  I already had mine on a preventative and knew that they were not
sensitive to it and they did not have heartworms so that may have had
something to do with my vet allowing me to use this treatment......not
really sure, but it is SO much easier than the standard treatment it is
worth checking with your vet about it.
 
If your vet doesn't recommend using it, then I would ask him/her about
treating the other ferrets with the Tresaderm as well, as a preventative
step.  Usually, if they don't have mites already, a couple of times a week
is sufficient until the mites are gone in the affected pet.  If not, there
is always a possibility that the mites will just keep moving from pet to
pet.  We also recommend treating the entire pet (paws especially) with a
safe flea powder or spray because mites can live on other areas of the pet
which makes it more difficult to get rid of them.  Hope this helps you!
 
Stacia and the fuzzies
[Posted in FML issue 2435]