Jeff,
 
Your ferrets hair loss may be due to blocked pores. Try soaking the
tail for a while then soap it up and gently scrape it with your
thumbnail. The dots that you mentioned should come off. Your vet may
have a shampoo called, I think, Oxydex, or something like that. Try
soaking his tail in that.
 
Cindy
 
[Posted in FML issue 0754]