Is Rat Tail in ferrets contagious to other ferrets if they are housed together?

Question

Is Rat Tail in ferrets contagious to other ferrets if they are housed together?

Answer 1

Rat tail? You mean.. Like there is no hair on your ferrets tail?

Well... You should immediatly take your ferret to the vet. It could be a sign of adrenal disease!

Answer 2

I agree, you should take it to a petstore or vet asap.

Answer 3

If it is at the base of the tail and working it's way up the backside, it possibly is adrenal. If it's at the tip or 1/2 from the tip it's rat tail. Not contagious. Get phisoderm and a soft tooth brush, scrub the tail lightly 2 times a week. What rat tail is, it's like the human having blackheads. They clog the pores on the tail preventing hair growth.

Answer 4

"Hair loss on just the tail is generally nothing to worry about. It can be caused by stress, such as a change of environment or the arrival of a new animal in the household. Even the normal seasonal coat change can be enough stress to make your ferret's tail go completely bald, and sometimes it will take several months for the fur to grow back. Often this seasonal "rat tail" shows up with tiny black spots.

If your ferret is losing hair other places, there's something wrong. Apart from shedding, by far the most common cause of hair loss in ferrets of any age is adrenal-associated endocrinopathy, a serious, but treatable, disease of the adrenal glands. Even if the hair comes back at the next coat change, it's probably still an adrenal problem. There's a separate Ferret Medical FAQ for adrenal disease, which you should take a look at if you even think your ferret might have this problem.

Other possibilities include poor nutrition, fleas, a severe mite infestation, a bacterial or fungal infection, dry skin, or allergies to food, detergents, or cleaning products. "

See: http://www.ferretcentral.org/faq/part4.h...

Also, ferrets are not rodents.

Answer 5

No, unless they have an open wound or cut on their tail then there is no way for it to spread. However, to be sure (there may be an open wound too small for the human eye) house them apart for a few days.