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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2011 10:42:19 GMT -5
cats and dogs are more likely to spread ringworm to you than a ferret! especially dogs since they go outside more and they carry it in on their feet. my moms cats are allowed to go outside. this is why i always kept them away from my ferrets but the thing is that it the ringworm fungus can also be on the surface of an object. then you touch it and voila! i know that tea tree oil is safe for cats. my mom has used that and also apple cider vinegar but then again, she's kind of weird. she had it on her hand once and she would soak it in the vinegar. she smelled horrible for days. it did seem to work though. i'd google that and see if it is ok to put on your ferret. problem is how are you going to keep vinegar on your ferret! i think you are supposed to soak the affected area in it. keep the spot covered with a bandage for a few days while your meds work that way you won't spread it to anyone else. ringworm can only be spread through direct contact. is mojito biting scratching, itching at the area that you are referring to? if he is then that would be a sign of ringworm. Mojito and Kahlua are fine. SoCo isnt itching, scratching and doesnt seem bothered by it, unless im trying to get a good look at it and even then he just complains a little (he talks, a lot), and there is no fur loss. Before the bath it looked like on the left side of his neck was one big mark where the fur had a reddish hue and the skin seemed discolored/pinkish but there was no fur loss, no raised skin/blisters, i dont think i would've seen it if i wasnt under bright light- on the right side it looked like he had 2 little ones, again the fur had a reddish hue but the pinkish discoloration. After the bath in the two little ones on the right were completely gone and on the left it was still slightly discolored but not pinkish, it wasnt a raised patch or dry skin or blisterish or anything but the skin its self had almost the same tone as craddle cap on a skin baby. I am hoping the vet will take a quick glance when TTFR and I go on saturday.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2011 11:02:44 GMT -5
Please don't use Tea tree oil on your fuzzes (or any EO for that matter). Have you confirmed that your little one has ringworm? There is 2 different types local and systemic. Local infections tend to be small areas and readily respond to topical treatments (calendula is one suggested). Systemic infections occur in multiple areas on the skin usually require constitutional treatments to eliminate the disease. Another remedy that is also suggested is the homeopathic "Thuja" at 30C potency (this can be used along with the calendula ointment). You can reference this further in "Homeopathic Care for Cats and Dogs, Small Doses for Small Animals" by Don Hamilton DVM Just so you are aware this article does make reference to the use of Tea Tree Oil in combating this but this has proven to be detrimental to cats since the writing of my book. I don't know if there is a more recent book been published ciao OH NO!! I had already given him the bath!!! I just put a tiny bit and it was tea tree oil shampoo, not pure tea tree oil (i hope that makes a difference) into the tub that was deep enough that I was holding him up a bit. I knew tea tree oil was good for people skin and I thought I had read something about it being used on fuzz who were excessivly itching (though i could be confusing it with something else) It really seemed to have helped but jeeeze.... I hope I havent made this worse, I just wanted to help him. I mean he wasnt itching but i didnt want him to start having both psoriasis and eczema I know how torturus that can feel so I wanted to try to calm the skin before it started. TTFR and I are hitting the vet sat so Im considering bringing him and hoping that the Dr will take a second to look him over and tell me what he thinks. Do u think just a little in a bit of TTO shampoo in the bath, just once could be really detremental? Like should I be freaking out? I did it at like 6:40pm and thanks to retardedly noisy neighboors I was up till 3 and I checked on him repetitively- he seemed totally normal.
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Post by miamiferret2 on Mar 31, 2011 11:08:39 GMT -5
please do not worry. i believe they are referring to pure tea tree oil. it comes in little glass bottles and it is applied to the skin. it helps heal skin sores, etc. it is a natural antiseptic. this is what my mother has used in her cats and kittens in the past (the pure oil which is apparently not good). my mother has never killed any of her cats and they have all lived to be over the age of 13. anyway, as a precaution i am telling her not to use it ever again on her cats. FYI, i have been using ferret shampoo with tea tree oil for YEARS. marshall's (ferret company) makes one. to my knowledge, i have never killed a ferret with that shampoo. but, JUST IN CASE, i am not going to use it anymore.
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Post by miamiferret2 on Mar 31, 2011 11:11:03 GMT -5
oh i'm sorry i thought it was mojito that you found the little skin sore with. if soco is not scratching, etc. then i would not worry. ringworm is dry itchy and it kind of hurts sometimes. it is irritating. just keep an eye on it and if you want to be 100% sure take him to the vet.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2011 11:11:34 GMT -5
I agree, get to the vet and have it tested to be certain what it is before you try to treat it. SoCo could have the beginning a mast cell tumor or something else very benign. Did a doctor actually do a scraping to decide you have ringworm? If not, don't assume that it is! We recently thought one of our dogs (named Mojito, coincidentally) had ringworm. It was so confusing because it was the middle of winter and he'd had very little contact with any animals outside of our home. It happened that I had a dermatologist appointment already scheduled before I could get in to the vet's, so I asked that doctor about it. (We always talk about Mo because Mo has a a lot of interesting skin stuff going on, being hairless, and his wife used to have a crestie too.) I described it and he immediately and emphatically said no, it wasn't ringworm, even though yes it was a round, red, rough ring, with other small patches nearby. He was right, and Mo's skin cleared up in a few days with a tiny dab of my own corticosteroid stuff. Just keeping it clean with a little antiseptic and anti-itch cream probably would have done the same. I brought the whole thing up with the vet next time we were in, and the vet agreed with what we'd done, and said that if it looks like ringworm it probably isn't! So I'd get a definite diagnosis for both you and SoCo. Unfortunately I had already given him the Tea Tree Oil Shampoo bath before I even posted about it. I really hope I havent harmed my little butter butt. And to be honest, I didnt trust my doc's diagnosis until I saw the marks on him. I have psoriasis and exzema, my psoriasis has been breaking out on my ears and lips and to see a mark on my arm was no suprise to me so I didnt even believe it till I checked all the kids over and saw that on him. Miraculously everyone else is fine. I really hope its not a mast cell tumor either though! TTFR and I are going to the vet with Mojito and Dingo on sat, I am thinking of bringing SoCo and hoping that the vet will understand that this is an emergency situation the just poped up and at least take a quick look. I havent been using my psoriasis meds or my exzema meds because I lost them when we moved, doc said to try the ring worm script she gave me and if it doesnt work, then its not ring worm its my psorasis.................. If you read some of my replies to other people, after i used the tea trea oil shampoo in his very full bath- he seemed to improve. There were (in all) suspicious 3 areas, after the bath it was only one and the pinkish looking skin on the one that was left, had the texture of regular skin but the coloration was almost that of skinbaby cradle cap. I hope what I did helped as much as it seemes to have and i hope that I didnt hurt him
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Post by miamiferret2 on Mar 31, 2011 11:14:08 GMT -5
you did not hurt him. BTW I have also suffered with exzema for years and i use a cortisone cream for it. i also get it on my upper lip nose area and on my eyelids sometimes. it kind of does look like ringworm!
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Post by miamiferret2 on Mar 31, 2011 11:18:27 GMT -5
i'm going to research this tea tree oil shampoo some more. it sucks because i kind of like it. even though i only bathe my ferrets like twice a year. marshalls also makes a spray too. but i don't use the spray.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2011 12:28:35 GMT -5
Thanks honey, I am too. I've never used the vet TTFR and I are going to but she said they're great, I think she got Dingo and Mojito an appointment with the newer female Dr who seems to be super caring so I am really hoping that if I bring baby SoCo along, she will understand that its an urgent thing and have a look at him. Like I said, the little bit that I used in the tub seemed to help.. By the time my fiancee got home, he said he didnt see anything and told me to stop over-worrying but I am still hoping that the Dr will take a look. Wish me luck!!
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Post by Heather on Mar 31, 2011 13:02:31 GMT -5
Neither one of you probably hurt your little ones It's precautionary and one dose will not probably cause any type of sign or reaction unless it's an allergy. The problem is that their internal organs cannot flush toxins (which is what this is by the way, if it kills it's a toxin) There are a lot of "natural" products out there that are good on people so because our furkids are "little people with fur" we figure that what is good for us is good for them. Unfortunately, this isn't the case. Chances are the tea tree in the marshals product is a "trace" element so the damage in miniscule. I just have a tendency to fault on caution with ferrets....they're so sensitive and so prone to di-sease that I will avoid much of the heavier herbal remedies and lean toward what is bad for a cat is bad for a ferret. Tea tree is a documented health hazard for many pets, yet the pet suppliers continue to mix this product in pet products because we consider it a beneficial herbal product. Check out some of the crap in kibbles, it's the same thing. Often you will find a list of herbs and veggies that people are now eating..."in" or "fad" foods. They've no benefit for our furkids but because we like to think that they are beneficial to us, they've got to be beneficial to the fuzzes. Oil of oregano is one such "so called" beneficial herbs. It is a antibacterial, just like tea tree but in it's condensed or refined level is very toxic and can burn flesh but people insist on applying it to skin and even drinking it ciao
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2011 13:46:17 GMT -5
Thank you Heather, its good to know stuff for future situations. Im glad that I didn't poison him! You've got a very good point about corperations putting bad things into food, if they'll do that with out a care, why wouldnt they add detremental ingredients into shampoos, conditioners and sprays aswell? In highschool I was often ridiculed for being a conspiracy theory nut so forgive me if my next stament sounds a little weird but; I often feel that corperations often put detremental ingredients into pet food and other products so that pets keep crossing the bridge and we keep getting more, you know? Its pretty obvious they dont really care about our furry family members, so I dont know how far fetched my theory is. Its funny how people, and I am no different, hear the word Natural and automatically think that that means "This is a totally safe thing, you can use it however you want and have no fear of harming yourself and/or your beloved furfam." Like I said, I am no different, Ive thought that.. My spectrum of natural remedies that are "Safe" is constantly dwindiling since I hear several patients nonchalantly telling the Dr how they've been self medicating with natural supplements for X amount of time while ignoring the meds she gave them and then they dont understand why, not only is the original condition the same or worse but yet another condition has arisin. With this latest issue, I think I've learned that before I use any natural remedy, I will consult you guys and/or a vet.
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Post by crazylady on Mar 31, 2011 16:43:44 GMT -5
Hi for ring worm in ferrets there a few things oyu can try keratolytic shampoos ,povidone Iodine cleaning agents ,lime sulpher dips but simplest of all are topical anti fungal applications or your vet may give you Griseofulvin which is an oral medication ( dont give to pregnant or nursing jills ) and most importantly of all dont feel guilty ! it happens make sure you wear gloves when handling any of the others and do a good clean of cages using a solution of 1/10 dilution of bleach on everything including bedding ( sorry it may bleach some of you fancy fabrics ) the spores of the fungus can hang around for week and re infect so sorry its going to be a case of steam your carpets furniture and floors vacume curtains and wash your own bedding in hot hot water to prevent a repeat out break hope you get the all clear soon ring worm is a pain in more ways than one hope this helps take care bye for now crazy lady
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