From:
wolfkasl@aol.com
Date: 2003-02-03 20:50:51 UTC
Subject: Frequent scratching --> bald spots
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <31821216.1044305451558.JavaMail.root@scandium>
Hi, Everybody -
I just joined the list and tried searching for some info., but may not be doing it the most efficiently because I'm not coming up w/ many relevant posts. I thought I would just go ahead and ask, if that's OK.
My ferret is a young female, just barely over a year in age (have had her one year now), and for several months has been acting pretty itchy. I guess maybe we should've paid better attention, but I just thought it was because she has the habit of leaning over from her hammock to her food dish to grab bites of food sometimes, and that leaves crumbs in her hammock. I figured it was kind of like eating cookies in bed! :)
Anyway, I didn't notice this until just today because of her coloration, but she actually has two spots where she has scratched herself BALD, poor little puffball! :( The spots are on either side of her neck, and although they aren't especially large - and obviously are NOT all that noticeable - they most definitely are hairless, now.
One of the posts I pulled up said to suspect adrenal problems if there is hair loss anywhere other than the tail. If so, could someone point me to some good links for information on adrenal problems? (OR, is the hairloss from scratching something different - ??) My husband wondered if it could be ringworm. There's no sign of fleas.
How would you treat a ferret with adrenal problems? Is the prognosis bad? Should she even be having this problem at her age? She is so spunky and funny and friendly, I just never realized something was the matter. I feel so bad now that we didn't catch sooner that something worse than kibble crumbs might be to blame.
Thanks for any help you can send my way...I'm really worried, and would like to know what our options will be, and the risks associated with them.
Jaime & Gypsum