Very dry fur and itchy??

[Sunflower]

Hi, I need a bit of sensetive advice to avoid hurting my friends feelings.
:(My ferrets (three hobs) recently came home after living with my friends whilst i was ill.
They lived outside in a specialy built shed/room with a number of other ferrets each with there own hutch etc and were fed a whole prey diet consisiting of rabbit, goose, venission etc

The boys have been home 24hrs and something isn't right, there fur is very very dry and they seem itchy beyond normal levels.I have looked them other for fleas but haven't spotted any.

I am thinking a bath, and flea treatment, clean there ears check for mites.

My friend has a number of ferrets and was very kinds to help me so i don't feel i can go to her and question there care, if it wasn't for her i would have had to rehome my hobs.

I know she dosen't use preventative flea treatments only if there is a sign of any invaders, so its certainly safe to put drops on them etc.

I am feeling a little in the dark, but something is certainly not right.

Thank You x

[katt]

If you are concerned a trip to the vet is never amiss. I would suggest a colloidal oatmeal bath. Also, you can get salmon oil, fish oil, or even extra virgin olive oil (or a mix of any of the 3) and start supplementing their diet. It can (and will) make their stools loose if they get too much. Generally 1tsp per ferret every 3 days or so should be good. Watch their poops though and you can give a little more if they do fine with that amount, or a little less if their poops get too slimy.

If their diet is imbalanced as well it can cause deficiencies that could possibly lead to itching. It sounds like overall they have been on a great diet. Are you going to continue the whole prey and/or raw? If so (I hope you do, it really is best for them), it's important to make sure that the diet is properly balanced. We can help you with that!

What is their cage like at your house? Also, what bedding did they have before and what bedding do they currently have at your house now? It is possible that they are having a reaction to their current or previous bedding.

[Sunflower]

Thank you for the oil tip, i am certain i have some extra virgin olive oil to be getting started with.

As far as i am aware they have recently been eating alot of venisson and goose, wild rabbits are in short supply this time of year, and i don't think we've had much pigeon recently.

Its fed as you'd expect for a whole prey diet just chopped into various sections fur, bone, offel, muscel meat and dropped into the cages for them to devour. I certainly intend to continue with a rae diet once i have my new frezzer (for now they are eating merlin biscuits and a venison/rabbit cat food) but it will be a tad more processed i struggle with feeding chicks so having half a rabbit sitting in my living room is too far for me. I want the best for the boys so like before i will find my way of feeding a balanced raw diet.

They are living in a uk equivalent of a ferret nation, its called a savic royal suit.
with wood stove pellets for litter on the lower level the brand of which i used last year.
They have numerous bedding items hammock, cat bed, large cat snug the washing powder han't changed.

At my friends they were in a 5ft rabbit hutch with wood shaving, but i dont think any of the above is related to the odd fur because 3 weeks ago they had silky soft fur.

They are also very orange in colour and a tad more smelly then i would expect for castrated hobs.

But there are a very good winter weight, except for my skinny boy who was a runt.

My friend is visiting tomorrow he is going to pick me up some oatmeal and a very other products and they shall visit the Ferret Salon hopefully there will be an improvement.

The have only been eating biscuits again for 24hrs so i dont think in such a short time is would have such a dramtic effect on the quality of there fur???

Thank you

[Sherry]

Odds are their bodies started going through the detox they do went switched from kibble to raw. Coats can become rough, skin itchy etc. it's the chemicals and so on from the kibble being excreted through the skin. That would also explain the stronger smell. Detox lasts anywhere from 2-4 weeks(if not put back on kibble) before they become truly healthy.

[Heather]

Could be a stress reaction too. I noticed that my guys when I brought them home seemed to go through a shed, their coats became a bit coarse and they were terribly itchy. They were raw fed and of course I raw feed but just the new changes from being an outside ferret to being an inside ferret might give cause for a shed. Adding a good fish oil will help them deal with the drier inside conditions.
ciao

[katt]

Sherry they didn't just switch from raw to kibble, they switched from kibble to raw. Which explains the dry skin and the smell. I am not surer familiar with the kibble brands in the UK but I can tell you if it has the word "Busciit" in the name that it is probably horrible for them. Hopefully one of our UK members can pop in here with some better kibble recommendations. Kibble is very bad for them. It dehydrates them, and it definitely makes them smell worse. What goes in, comes out. There are a lot of additives and processed ingredients in kibble that they cannot process. It gets filtered through their skin and their poop....and both will smell a LOT worse. It will also make their coats significantly more dry and coarse. And by putting them in a state of perpetual dehydration it can make them more itchy. So that could potentially describe all of the symptoms that you are seeing. It is also possible that they are going through their seasonal change and blowing their winter coats to prepare for spring. It's early for that, but it is possible. Another option is, depending on how old they are and when they were neutered, they may have adrenal disease. Though chances of all of them developing symptoms at once are slim. Kibble is still the most likely culprit.

Feeding raw doesn't mean that you have to feed whole prey. You can easily do a balanced diet of Frankenprey. Foods like chicken, pork, beef, Cornish game hen, etc. You give 1.5 meals a week of heart, 1.5 meals a week of organ (half liver half others), and 7-9 meals containing significant amounts of edible bone. (Chicken wings, turkey necks, etc). We can help you get the variety and balance right. It really is a lot easier than it sounds. And there's no need to feed whole rabbits or chicks etc if you don't want to.

[Sherry]

Must have misunderstood. I know the sitter was feeding raw, but thought the OP said she put them back on kibble when they came home until the new freezer comes in. So kibble(home)-> raw(sitter)-> kibble(home).

[katt]

She isn't let sitting though unless there is a thread elsewhere that I missed or I misread.

Previous owner fed raw. They are in their new home (with the OP) now and have been put on kibble for now, but may go back on raw again later. At least that's what I read it as... lol

[Sherry]

She is the original owner Friend took care of them while she was in hospital, which is where the raw feeding came in.
That is why I was assuming detox.

[Deleted]

At my friends they were in a 5ft rabbit hutch with wood shaving, but i dont think any of the above is related to the odd fur because 3 weeks ago they had silky soft fur.

Wood shavings, depending on the type are very dangerous for ferrets- pine, cedar and can definitely cause coat/skin issues along with respiratory issues. You might want to ask your friend what type she is using.