From:
autumn_whispers2me
Date: 2005-06-08 14:37:05 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Advantage - good or bad?
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <19551658.1118243871611.JavaMail.nobody@chromium.smartgroups.com>
First of all, I'm not a vet... so this is just what I've been told, etc. from our vet: :o)
The spot flea control stuff is supposed to be safe, as long as it's used as directed by your veterinarian, and the kind recommended by your veterinarian!
The differences between them, from what I've been told and from what I've read, is that one brand may work FASTER, but the fleas become immune (not sure if I'm wording that correctly) and the stuff not last as long. Another brand may take a little longer to work, but the fleas don't become immune and the stuff lasts a lot longer. Some brands, by prescription only, have heartworm protection, while others (that can be bought in pet stores) do not.
Fleas are nasty, and they make any animal that has them miserable. If the fleas get really bad---you may have a problem with anemia---but this, I'm told, is when there's an infestation so severe that the fleas clump and there's wounds and blood from the fleas biting constantly. I've heard of animals having to get blood transfusions from having massive amounts of fleas for long periods of time, and this is on dogs and cats. Imagine what a flea infestation could do to a very small animal like a ferret!
Then there's ticks---no need to go into that due to the recent threads. Ear mites---uncomfortable for the ferret, annoying to them, miserable, and I also heard they can cause serious problems when not taken care of. From what I've been told, ear mites can be taken care of with a) preventative like Revolution, etc., or b) drops. The drops are like incecticides, from what I'm told, and the Revolution... is far less harsh.
I guess you just have to research, and then weigh the odds (using spot treatment for parasites, or not using).
None of us wants to "have" to use this stuff on our little ones, but in order to protect them......
edfoss941@comcast.net wrote:
I've noticed that lots of folks seem to be using Advantage or some other type of flea control on their ferrets. I guess I have it in my head that this product is basically a poison, and so have reservations about putting something that stays on the skin for so long on one of my babys. I would never use flea dips or other poisons, so why is this stuff so much better?? Any thoughts?? :-) ~Mandi