my little guy is about 7 years old iv had him since he was about 6 weeks he has always been healthy and so is his 12 year old brother sugar bear but iv noticed lately niko has been going bald down his back and tummy but his hair isent falling out he is ripping it out by itching constantly i know he doesn't have fleas im very cautious about that because niko is allergic to flea bites which does cause his hair to fall out i have scrubbed his cage a thousand times and even took out the bedding iv washed their hammock over and over iv stopped using shampoo on him when i give him baths i bath him twice a week he has never been allergic to the litter i use the food i give them is clearly healthy his brother is 12 and still healthy as he was when he was a baby aside from slowing down a bit i do smoke but about 3 weeks ago i put him in a room where there is no smoking and he is still itching can anyone pleas give me some ideas on what in the world could be going on?? is there anything i could use to put more moisture in his skin someone help me??
If you're certain it's not fleas, the most likely culprits for that behavior are either lice, or mites . They're incredibly difficult to spot, and often times people never see them, only the effects they cause in animal reactions. When animals are itching so severly that they're pulling their hair out, it's a good bet there's an external critter causing that problem.
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Now, if you're set on the idea that it might just be skin irritation you can try and treat it with an oatmeal or aloe supplemented pet shampoo. Those both help to soothe irritated skin, plus add moisture where it might be dry and cracked .
It's also possible that he's caught up in the scratch and itch cycle, which is fairly common in animals once they get a little irritation. They scratch to make it go away, and in turn only make the situation worse for themselves. A vet will be able to tell you what exactly is going on, but I would try with the moisturizing shampoo for starters and take him in only if you don't find any improvement. Regards,
Lice! My rodent had that and he scratched so much his hair fell out and he made himself bled. The vet gave me this smelly medicine that I was supposed to bath him in and let it sit. I don't think you can get it at a store my best bet is to go to the vet and get him checked out there just to be sure. Or you can check at home the vet told me that you can tell if he has them still if he has black scab looking things on his skin that was hard also like a scab that means he has lice or something close to that. I hope that helps and your ferret gets better!
It is more than likely adrenal disease, a common ferret issue due to the fact that they are spayed or neutered too soon.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com Here is some info.
One of the most common diseases of our pet ferrets is adrenal gland disease.
Adrenal gland disease is an endocrine disease of ferrets that is related to the removal of the gonads (testes in males, ovaries in females). As ferrets age (usually at 3 years or older but has been seen in ferrets as young as 1.5 years) the adrenal glands begin to become receptive to gonadal hormones from the pituitary gland. The affected adrenal glands then begin to produce excessive levels of feminizing hormones such as estrogens. These elevated hormones begin to cause problems for our ferrets such as hair loss, itchy skin, pot bellied appearance, lethargy, swollen vulva in females and prostatic problems in males. Additionally these overactive adrenal glands may become cancerous. Adrenal gland disease is a life shortening and life threatening disease for ferrets.
Currently treatment involves surgery to remove the effected glands of younger and healthier ferrets or life time monthly hormone injections with Lupron for older ferrets or ferrets not healthy enough to be good candidates for surgery.
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Future research will hopefully provide a slow release hormone that can be implanted in ferrets or perhaps an immunization that will deactivate the pituitary hormones affect on the adrenal gland to prevent this disease.
In the mean time some promising recent research from a study conducted by Cathy Johnson-Delaney, DVM on a group of ferrets found that a single injection of the hormone Lupron during the first breeding season (January - February) and then once annually (around this same time of year) may help to reduce or slow the incidence of adrenal gland disease in our pet ferrets.
For older ferrets that are already past their first breeding season (the first January - February after they were born) a single annual dose of Lupron during the month of January or February may help to reduce or slow the incidence of adrenal disease.
For those of you with ferrets that have active adrenal disease that we are currently giving monthly injections of Lupron you should continue with your current monthly schedule.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
For those ferrets that have had adrenal gland removal surgery and are currently not on monthly Lupron injections it may be helpful to have a single dose of Lupron during the month of January or February.
