From:
sukiec@optonline.com
Date: 2003-04-23 03:19:21 UTC
Subject: RE: Ferret Age And Health Question
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <9150283.1051067961354.JavaMail.root@scandium>
Well, Nicole, I've never heard the fur-loss-about-to-die thing before, but I CAN assure you that it is NOT so. I'll bet that is reassuring for you.
Ferrets lose tail fur for multiple reasons. Yes, there is a Spring shed as well as an Autumn one, and they can be thrown into sheds by marked light amount changes (like too much) at times. Sometimes they get their own version of acne and for ferrets the tail is a big place for that. In this case you can even see blackheads in the skin. If you look up "rat tail" in the Complete Archives at
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/ that should help you see if it might be that. Sometimes ferrets do lose tail fur when they get adrenal tumors. These usually are nowhere near as scary as the word tumor makes them sound, and are usually treatable with surgery though some need meds instead. Those can be looked up, too. For them you might find some of the vet write-ups in the critical references links at http://www.ferretcongress.org to be most helpful for a compressed source of information.
Of course, when in doubt always seek vet help.
Your ferret is still only middle aged at 4 and 1/2 to 5. That is about like a human being in the middle fourties into the early 50s.