From:
Bruce Williams, DVM
Date: 2001-05-16 19:45:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Hair loss on back feet
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., ginesrobin@a... wrote:
> hi I have a female ferret 3 1/2 y/o, I got her April 1, had her at
the vet
> April 2 for shots and check up and to get some thing for her
sneezing trouble
> but all was fine, but 3 weeks a go I notenss she was losing her
hair on her
> back feet up to her little anckels for the past week they start
to become a
> bright reddish pink and cold to the touch not warm are the lite
pink as the
> front I knew some thing was wrong and she been more itchy then the
2 boys, I
> took her to the vet Monday 14 the vet think its a skin virus so
started her
> on prednisone 1 mg 1 tab x 5 then 1 every other day x 10 days and
she also
> gave me Cefadroxil 5 ml x 2 for her sneezing trouble.she was on
> chlorpheniramine 1/8 capsule x 2 but it didn't help her. what would
coz the
> back feet to lose hair and change from light pink to a bright
reddish pink,
> today her back feet are a lite pink again and warm to the touch,
but goes
> back to vet in 10 days for check up and if the med did not help her
vet was
> going to do blood work and do a skin scrap to send to lab , she
might have it
> done any so I know nothing more is going on with her.
Dear Robin - I am unaware of a "skin virus" that can cause this
signs. Yeasr ago, Dr. Charlie Weiss told me that he was seeing a lot
of ferrets with adrenal disease which initially presented as hairloss
on the tops of the back feet. This is probably a more likely cause
here than either a skin virus or ringworm( which is the reason a skin
scrape would be performed.)
With kindest regards,
Bruce H. Williams, DVM, DACVP
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