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Post by ruffledfeathers on Oct 10, 2019 8:52:58 GMT -5
Hello everyone! I wanted to ask about something that just started in my female ferret.. she's started to have like.. stained fur? on her face and I can't tell if her eyes are a bit squinty as well. i washed her face in warm water and the towel did have yellow/orange stuff on it. she doesn't seem to be having any other symptoms, she's eating and drinking, playing with her brothers like normal. It's more noticeable because she's light blonde in color. I haven't been able to find anything online to help me so I figured maybe someone on here would know!
EDIT: let me know if you guys want pics!
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Post by Heather on Oct 10, 2019 15:43:40 GMT -5
If you can post pics it would be appreciated. Also is she intact or spayed? ciao
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Post by unclejoe on Oct 10, 2019 16:34:16 GMT -5
She really shouldn't have any colored discharge from her eyes. If it persists she may need antibiotic drops or ointment
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cockneyferret
Adolescent Member
Raw and Whole Prey Feeder
Posts: 253
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Post by cockneyferret on Oct 10, 2019 17:05:26 GMT -5
Has she had any distemper vaccinations? If not, has she had any contact with any untreated dogs, or places where dogs spend a lot of time.
Ferrets can get Influenza in various forms from human strains through to equine flu. Normally you'd see a discharge from her nose mostly, along with a cough, lethargy, and high temp. Has anyone who handles them or spends time close to them had any cold or flu symptoms recently?
Conjunctivitis may affect eyes causing them to discharge.
Also a change in habitat might be to blame, but you'd possibly expect to see similar symptoms in your other ferrets. Can be as simple as new detergent for their bedding?
Could also be food allergy, or other environmental allergies.
Just a few things to ponder, but if in any doubt get her checked by the vet.
Cheers
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Post by ruffledfeathers on Oct 10, 2019 18:59:25 GMT -5
Has she had any distemper vaccinations? If not, has she had any contact with any untreated dogs, or places where dogs spend a lot of time. Ferrets can get Influenza in various forms from human strains through to equine flu. Normally you'd see a discharge from her nose mostly, along with a cough, lethargy, and high temp. Has anyone who handles them or spends time close to them had any cold or flu symptoms recently? Conjunctivitis may affect eyes causing them to discharge. Also a change in habitat might be to blame, but you'd possibly expect to see similar symptoms in your other ferrets. Can be as simple as new detergent for their bedding? Could also be food allergy, or other environmental allergies. Just a few things to ponder, but if in any doubt get her checked by the vet. Cheers She had her distemper when I got her, and she doesn’t have any access to dogs, she hasn’t had any access to any new areas or anything. No one in the house has had any cold or flu symptoms, none of the other ferrets have any staining and she doesn’t have any other symptoms. The only thing I can think of is that she might be allergic to a new cleaning product I just got and I’ve stopped using it to see if anything changes. She isn’t showing any other signs for distemper like the crusty foot pads or swollen vulva. I’ll post pictures when I get home. It isn’t like... severe staining or anything her face just looks darker and dirtier than usual and when I wiped her face the cloth had orange stains on it. Like I said she’s happy and I playful and eating so I’m gonna keep an eye on her for another day or two to see if it clears up... EDIT: she is spayed!
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Post by ruffledfeathers on Oct 10, 2019 20:06:39 GMT -5
If you can post pics it would be appreciated. Also is she intact or spayed? ciao she is spayed and here is a before pic and here is her right now. its in weird lighting but you can see how the fur on her face is kind of muddied? in the picture where she's squinting im scruffing her so she's not squinting like that normally right now
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Post by ruffledfeathers on Oct 10, 2019 20:24:31 GMT -5
She really shouldn't have any colored discharge from her eyes. If it persists she may need antibiotic drops or ointment its the same color as when they get oil buildup on their tails, that orange-y color? i'm wondering if she's making too much oils in her face? I'm keeping an eye on her and gently washing her face with water for another day or two and if it keeps up i'll make an appointment... the thing is it isn't clearly coming from her eyes, like her eyes aren't noticeably watering or anything. if she were showing any other symptoms i'd immediately rush her to the vet :0
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cockneyferret
Adolescent Member
Raw and Whole Prey Feeder
Posts: 253
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Post by cockneyferret on Oct 11, 2019 2:41:15 GMT -5
I recently had a chat with our vet after she remarked on how good the fur on our Bandida and Ladrona appeared, she said that most of the ferrets that she see's in the practice have a lot more oil in their coats. Now, taking into account that we live in a very rural part of England where most ferrets that are kept are used for working /hunting and primarily kept outdoors, and ours both came from a working breeder. She was really impressed and asked what we did to keep their coats so silky. My answer was simple, a weekly comb and plenty of play time in their rice box. I change the rice every couple of weeks as it does collect their excess oils. Have you tried her in a rice bath, rather than washing her face with water? Not suggesting that you are, but to much washing can lead to excess oil production. Glad it's not anything horrid like distemper cheers
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Post by ruffledfeathers on Oct 11, 2019 3:39:44 GMT -5
I recently had a chat with our vet after she remarked on how good the fur on our Bandida and Ladrona appeared, she said that most of the ferrets that she see's in the practice have a lot more oil in their coats. Now, taking into account that we live in a very rural part of England where most ferrets that are kept are used for working /hunting and primarily kept outdoors, and ours both came from a working breeder. She was really impressed and asked what we did to keep their coats so silky. My answer was simple, a weekly comb and plenty of play time in their rice box. I change the rice every couple of weeks as it does collect their excess oils. Have you tried her in a rice bath, rather than washing her face with water? Not suggesting that you are, but to much washing can lead to excess oil production. Glad it's not anything horrid like distemper cheers Oh!! They do have a rice box that I take out every few days and let them romp around in! They love it <3 and yeah, I was thinking about maybe just leaving it alone instead of washing just to see if it would clear up on it’s own. Like I said, if it keeps up I’ll take her to the vet but this has all given me some peace of mind! I was worried sick for a moment that maybe she had something bad ;o;
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Post by Sherry on Oct 11, 2019 9:08:39 GMT -5
As she is spayed, and producing excess oils- my biggest concern would be adrenal. One of mine was diagnosed when this was the ONLY symptom.
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Post by ruffledfeathers on Oct 11, 2019 9:19:04 GMT -5
As she is spayed, and producing excess oils- my biggest concern would be adrenal. One of mine was diagnosed when this was the ONLY symptom. I’m making an appointment for all four of mine to get vaccinated for distemper soon so I’ll ask about maybe testing her for it just in case when we go. I super hope she doesn’t have it I’m crossing fingers that since she’s acting completely normal otherwise that it’s just an allergy to something. I’m stopping using all cleaning products besides the vinegar water and I’ve never used fabric softener with their bedding so hopefully it’ll clear up :0
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Post by ruffledfeathers on Oct 11, 2019 14:41:31 GMT -5
OKAY hi everyone!!! I THINK I might have found whats wrong, her ears are suuuuper grody! I was looking at her trying to find a source for all the yuck and noticed her ears are much darker than usual inside so I took a damp paper towel and gently rubbed just the outside of her ear and its so gross, so when I take them in for their distemper vaccines I'm going to ask about maybe an ear infection treatment. I know from when my cat had a yeast infection in her ears that it made her eyes super leaky so I think that's whats going on! thank you everyone SO much for your input, I've learned a lot from this thread and I'll update y'all after their appointment!
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cockneyferret
Adolescent Member
Raw and Whole Prey Feeder
Posts: 253
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Post by cockneyferret on Oct 11, 2019 16:04:05 GMT -5
If the goop in her ears is black or very dark brownish, then could very easily be ear mites. Not uncommon at all.
The vet will be able to confirm.
Let us know how you get on.
cheers
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Post by Sherry on Oct 12, 2019 13:06:32 GMT -5
Ear mites are very possible. If she does test positive for them, you will need to treat all the animals in the house, even if they don't have direct contact.
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Post by ruffledfeathers on Oct 13, 2019 16:17:56 GMT -5
hi everyone! she has a yeast infection in her ear, shes getting treated for it! thank you everyone so much
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