Hi all,
 
My 6 year old ferret, "Scamp", is having some problems with his ears.  They
are either extremely itchy, or they are hurting him.
 
About a month ago, I noticed Scamp scratching his ears more than the usual.
When we went to the vet for Scamp's checkup, I asked the vet to check
Scamp's ears for mites.  She checked some ear wax with a miroscope, and
found no evidence of mites.
 
I let the problem go in hopes it would "go away", but it is getting worse.
Scamp will be in a dead sleep on my bed, then all of a sudden get up and run
full-tilt off the bed, and start scrathing his ears and shaking his head.
When I cleaned his ears yesterday, he went more beserk than usual, and acted
as thought it hurt him.  When he's laying down beside me and I try rubbing
his ears, he puts his paw on my finger and pushes it away.
 
We don't have any fleas right now, so that's not the problem.  The only
thing I can think of is maybe he's got an ear infection.  Or ... is it
possible that the wax the vet checked could be "mite-free", but there are
mites further down the ear canal??  It sure sounds like mites to me.  Other
than this ear problem, Scamp is eating and playing normally, and generally
seems happy.  I haven't done anything to change his normal routine like
feeding him different food.
 
Any suggestions would be greatfully appreciated.  Thanks.
Linda, Scamp, Waddy, Shreddy & Casper
 
Linda Prowse
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[Posted in FML issue 2306]