Ferrets tail gone bald ?

Question

I have 5 ferrets, that live outdoors. They are cleaned out every day and bedding is changed every week. But one of my ferrets (the pronue to catching things e.g human cold, green slime disease, ect) is missing fur starting from the tip of his tail and going up for about 4cm. I noticed this about 3 days ago, and it hasn't got much worse but it's not getting better. Please I need help. Also do I need to seperate him from the others incase it's catching ? Help please.

Answer 1

Sigh. I hate always seeing such bad answers about ferrets.

Your ferret has one of two things. Either what is called 'rat tail', or Adrenal disease.

Rat tail sometimes happens after a change from winter to summer or summer to winter coat. Black heads form on the tail and the hair falls off as a result. Look at your ferret's tail. If you see little black dots, this it probably what he has. And the treatment is simple -- just scrub the tail gently with an human acne scrub once a day until they clear up. The fur will grow back.

If you don't see any black heads, then it is likely that your ferret has adrenal disease. For this, he will need to go to the vet, likely have surgery to remove the affected adrenal gland or glands, and be on medicine for the rest of his life.

Answer 2

that's what happened to my ferret last year. you dont need to separate him because the other ferrets cant catch it. we just left it because we didnt think it was anything serious. after about a month his tail grew back fully and it never happened again. i think its just a stage of molting, nothing serious.

Answer 3

could the other ferrits be pulling it out?

Ive red about guinea pigs chewing on other pigs fur, its called barbering. It is normaly due to either poor diet or boardum.

Answer 4

This sounds like a very common problem, just check if it has black spots at the base of the tail this is normally a sign of the ferrets going into there winter molt. It can affect just one ferret and it doesn't happen every year.

If it doesn't have the black spots at the base or you are getting worried I recommend you take it to your vet to check.

all the best.

Answer 5

I had got a ferret from a friend that had the same baldness. When I took her to the vet they said a cause of that could be malnutrition. He needs more nutrition in his diet. He bought her the Marshall's ferret food, and fed carrots and cabbage, and they fur grew back. Hope this helps.

Answer 6

Non-itchy hair losses in ferret is frequently associated with hormonal diseases:

- Hyperoestrogenism in female

- Cushing's disease in male

Both illnesses are surgically treatable:

- Spay the female

- Adrenal gland removal for the male

I recommend a visit to your local vet. He will make sure your pet is not suffering from a parasitic (contagious to the others) disease and might diagnose the above conditions.

Best of luck, Julien