Hi to all the Ferret loved and to those who love ferrets. Dr Williams, could you help please. In your professional opinion, could a severe infestation of ear mites in a ferret lead to neurological problems. Ssendelos, a rescue with cauliflower ear,came back to me a few months ago and had bad ear mites. I treated him with Ivamec oral and thought I had got on top of it. But maybe not as I can not see into his cauli ear. He lost an awful lot of weight and then lost the use of his back legs. He was still eating and pooping. Antibiotics did nothing..X-rays and blood and urine were good. He was started on Prednisone and was back up on his feet almost by the next day. Still very wobbly and falling and dragging often but at least UP.It must be 3 - 4 weeks now that he has been on pred and he has regained a lot more strength in his legs but is still very thin and not too inclined to put the weight back on. Second Ferret. A rescue called Fido came to me in late December. Always a very CLINGY ferret. This clinging on with his feet got worse and worse until we had to pry his grip off things. He slowly started to loose a bit of weight. I put it down to stress. He seemed to be O.K. otherwise. I rehomed him. Two days later his new family rung me to say he very lethargic and would stand in the one place staring, wobble and then fall over.He had also stopped eating but they were hand feeding him. Two days later they bought him back to me. He was arching his head right back and going kind of stiff for a few seconds and then relaxing a bit.He would repeat this over and over untill sleep and then sleep at a strange angle.He was only just standing but not walking. His front legs were very low to the ground and tight in to his body. His reflexes were poor and he looked as thow he had just gotten into someone's stash of cannabis oil his eyes were so blank. The lights were on, but know one was home. He was immediately started on pred.. He has been on the pred for the last two weeks and is 85% recovered. I think. Now. Shortly after he took ill I noticed He had quite bad ear mites. I gave both these boys a good dose of Ivomec oral. Coincidence i suppose, but they did start to improve and, well, I just wondered if earmites could trigger a neurological responce. Thank you so much for your time, Kindest Regards, Colleen and the Squilibrato ones. Ferret PAWS (NZ) Inc Ferret Protection and Welfare Society. [Posted in FML issue 3321]