I have had about three occurances of hair loss on Gumby during the
last 3 years. It always occured on the back of his neck. The first
time, I took Gumby to the vet and he gave him a steroid shot and the
hair grew back. The other times, I just thouroughly shampooed the area
and it also grew back.
 
Some of the times, Gumby was wearing a collar (once was a cat flea
collar) and once he wasn't wearing a collar. Some of the times, Gumby
was infested with fleas. There doesn't seem to be a correlation, but I
don't remember the exact situations.
 
The flea problem is sort of interesting. When he gets them, he really
gets them bad. A bath would result in over 50 dead fleas in the tub.
Last time, I just gave him a daily bath as well as using a flea comb
in the morning and night (fairly effective). Fleas must be seasonal,
even down here in Fla. At this time, he is flea-free, but I assume it
may last only a few months. I also have a cat and even when Gumby is
filled with fleas, the cat may have only one or two.
 
Besides these two problems, the two animals have been very healthy.
 
What other animals do ferrets get along well with? I assume dogs are
OK, tho I would be cautious about a large dog crunching a ferret. What
about birds (loose or caged)? What about gerbils and other rodents (my
guess is that these would be trouble out of a cage)? Snakes?
 
We have a lot of little lizards down here. The cat plays with them
before doing them in. The ferret doesn't play around! I feel sorry for
any lizard that sneaks into the house. The same goes for cockroaches,
tho I don't feel sorry for them.
 
Gary
 
  Gary A. Davis
  Racal-Milgo, P.O. Box 407044, Fort Lauderdale, Fl 33340, (305) 476-4393
 
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[Posted in FML 0075]