My ferret has fleas. Can I use dawn dish soap to bathe her?

Question

My ferret has fleas. Can I use dawn dish soap to bathe her?

Answer 1

Get ferret shampoo if you want to bath her, not dish soup. You can get a flea shampoo that is safe for cats and kittens. NOT DOG SHAMPOO!!!) You shouldn't give her normal baths very often or you will dry her out.

Answer 2

You can, but it won't kill the fleas.  I would recommend a treatment specifically for fleas.

Answer 3

Ask your local vet

Answer 4

Dish soap will not kill fleas and will dry out the ferret's skin. Use a pet flea soap that you can get from any Walmart or pet store.

Answer 5

No. If your ferret licks any of the soap it will get diarrhea which can kill her.

Use a kitten dose of Revolution. Your vet will be able to sell you a box. Remember that Revolution will kill heartworms so make sure your ferret has likely never been exposed (ie - never been outside, and you have screens on all your windows so she's never been bit by a mosquito) or just get your ferret checked for heartworm before giving Revolution. If not the worms will die and congest the heart, killing him/her.

Never use anything made by Hartz. Many ferrets and kittens have died from Hartz products. How they are still in business is a wonder. They should be banned from the US Market (and the world market for that matter).

Answer 6

You can wash it with soap and it will help get some off, but for best effect go to a pet store and get a small flee stripe its going to cost ant were from 4 to 20 dollars depending on what brand you buy.

Answer 7

You can use it, but it wont kill fleas.

check this link out, it gives lots of helpful info.

http://www.craftycreatures.com/forferret...

Answer 8

Dawn dish soap is ferret safe but is recommended to remove excess oils on the fur not for fleas. Many people use Dawn soap when the ferret has rat tail in order to remove the oil clogging the pours to allow the fur to grow back.

Recommended ferret safe flea treatments are Advantage, Frontline (spray or drops), and Revolution. All are available from your vet and depending where in the world you are Frontline spray is sometimes available at pet stores like Petsmart (in the US it is, Canada it is not available).

The dosages vary depending on the product, Advantage (Advantage-multi offers heartworm protection as well) takes half the cat sized tube applied on the ferret back between the shoulder blades.

Revolution Cat size (5-15lb) is the recommended dose for a ferret, it will treat Fleas, Mites, Ticks and prevent Heartworm. This is my personal favorite treatment as it is easy to apply (same as Advantage) but has the added benefit of Heartworm protection.

As I've never used Frontline spray, not available in my location I've attached a link with intructions on it's use. :-)

Do not buy over the counter flea treatments for your ferret, many contain pyrethrin and numerous ferret deaths have been reported due to contact with this chemical.

Good luck and check out the attached links, they are a wealth of information on flea control.

Answer 9

Dawn might be too harsh for her skin.

I would probably use actual flee soap but to be on the safe side you could always call a local pet place.

They would know for sure.

Answer 10

Petsmart, Petco, superpetz....etc... all have ferret supplies.  They have ferret shampoo (even flea shampoo) that is formulated for them.  Keeps from drying the natural oils from their skin.

I would assume that dish detergent would dry out their skin (since it's used to remove oil, food..etc from dishes) and it'll do nothing for the fleas.

Answer 11

Bath her with BABY shampoo (no tear kind) and try to get as many fleas off as you can. Then Give her HALF a tub of "CAT" atvantage (or something like that). Place it between her shoulders and back of her neck. In a day or two bath her agian. But watch for signs of her slowing down or not as hyper as normal. If she has that then take her to a Vet she will need some treatment. Fleas can a lot of blood from a ferret VERY fast.  Good luck!

Answer 12

That wont do anything... you need to get a flea comb and make mildly soapy water(a tad warm) and dip the comb in the water, and then comb your farret, and repeat.  This should take care of the alive fleas, but there could be flea eggs still on the farret... I would suggest then getting a kitten flea shampoo and washing it.  make sure you keep it warm after the bath!  Keep it wrapped in a towell for a while and towel dry as best as you can, I would not suggest a hair dryer.