From:
Ann Barzda
Date: 2007-12-27 19:37:17 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] hair loss in young ferret
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Some of my whole boys have strange coat changes as well. If this is a redness on the skin that you can clean off, I've seen something similar. It seems to be just excess collection of oils and dirt. Boys can be very very dirty when in season, they produce a lot of oil and scent. The first year is also the worst. Mine lose tailfur before anything else, though it usually starts in the middle or at the end before progressing up. At about 6 months, he's starting into season, so the fur change and increased oil production sound about right, as this is the time of year they get serious about looking for a girlfriend. I have ended up bathing the boys every two weeks they get so rank without any long term ill effects. (I am allergic to whole boys.) Last year two of them lost all the guard hairs, not the undercoat, so they looked totally plucked. I thought something was wrong with them, but nothing showed up on the tests, and their fur grew back thick and luxurious, and
they didn't do it this year.
You have checked all the basics, with a privately-bred, natural-fed, 6-month old baby, I doubt it is adrenal - but you never know. Did you ask your breeder what experience he/she has had with adrenal disease? Have they ever seen it this young? Any sign of it in relatives? If the answer to all that is no, then I'd be inclined to think this coat change has more to do with time of year, ferret-puberty, and going into season than some obscure skin disease or adrenal. However, it never hurts to be sure.
Hope that helps.
ann barzda
Ravenfeathers <ravenfeathers@yahoo.com> wrote:
My intact hob has had increasing hair loss since about mid November.
He is 6 months old and on a 2 mouse a day diet with Evo ferret and
gravy...
My breeder has suggested I ask the list in hopes that somebody has
insight. I am going to ask my vet for a skin/hair culture but before
I do so I'd like some feedback in case I should ask for anything else
so I dont waste the trip. At our last trip when the skin scrape was
negative he said it was just a weird seasonal coat change (on Dec
13th).
.
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