Ferret has become uncomfortably itchy! Please help

[rocketgrootmoose]

Hey guys, i’m new to this literally found this forum in the middle of the night. I have three little noodle boys: Rocket, Groot, & Moose. The reason i’m posting this is to see if someone can help me figure out what’s wrong with my youngest boy, Moose.

Moose is about like 5 months? Somewhere around that age. Recently I’ve noticed that he’s been scratching & biting himself a lot, more than what the ferrets usually do. I finally decided to take a look at his skin under a bright light and saw these weird little brownish/reddish flakes in different parts of his body. One next to his left shoulder blade, the beginning of his tail on the underside, some on his neck & a little on his underside.

I’m aware that ferrets are itchy critters but, I’ve had my boys long enough to distinguish what’s normal and what’s excessive. Moose wakes up in the middle of the night scratching scratching, & scratching. Biting his skin and it goes on for minutes. He’s my little angel and I don’t want to see him suffering but I want to see if there’s anything I can do before taking him to a vet

Some background:
- I feed my boys Zupreem ferret food (bad i know, i’m about to switch them to Wysong) but he’s been eating it for a couple months and this excessive scratching only started recently.
- Recently, (as in a couple days ago), I did wash their beds in the washing machine with laundry detergent and fabric softener (i know, i’m dumb) but last night I soaked them in very hot water to hopefully get that stuff out of it.
- I feed all my boys some salmon oil as a treat when they poop in their box.
- I do give them baths with that dumb ferret shampoo which I recently threw away, I think the last bath was given maybe a week or two ago? I also bathed Moose in an oatmeal bath last night to hopefully relieve his itching.
- I know for a fact it’s not fleas, none of my other boys scratch/bite excessively and i checked his fur - definitely not fleas.
- Some people who work in vet clinics have said that it might be a skin allergy & that the little flakes are dried up blood from him scratching so much.

That’s all the background information i could think of that would be related to his itchiness. Basically I love my boy & I really want to get him the help he needs and if anyone could maybe help me identify what this could be I would be so appreciative.

[bishop24]

It sounds like you do your best for your fuzzies so don’t get down on yourself!!! None of us are perfect (at least I’m not 😂) and your being proactive about the problem.

The only piece I can add is when my boy was shedding his winter coat his skin got really dried out and he developed oily patches that were a dark yellow/orange/brown colour. He was super itchy too. Has his winter coat come in yet? I know that shedding/growing fur is itchy work and causes their skin to get upset

[rocketgrootmoose]

Moose definitely does have some yellow/orangey patches on him but, that's not really where he's biting/scratching. I'm not sure if his winter coat has come in b/c i don't know what that typically looks like. He sure does have a lot of fur though! I don't think he sheds as much as ferrets are supposed to during this season. when i pick him up I have very few hair stuck to me

[cockneyferret]

Hi, and welcome.

In my limited experience, it's usually something simple, like a change of cage cleaner or laundry detergent that causes these spikes in their otherwise normal itchy and scratchy behaviour. So that's worth considering first. The basic rule of thumb is to use products that don't have any strong scent. Better still is to use pet safe cleaners and detergents, and air their bedding outdoors well before changing.

As, has been said, it could be a change in seasonal coats, and should settle down within a short while.

At only 5 months old he's still going through lots of changes, so fluctuations in hormones levels are common and can cause all kinds of unusual. He's a little young for any adrenal issues, but that can't be entirely ruled out without a trip to the vet. It's not unheard of to have a young ferret with a predisposition towards Adrenal disease.

A few things to think about.

Does he spend any time outdoors? Sarcoptic mange is possible, more so here in the UK than the US, but again a vet can easily diagnose that and it's very easily treated. Ringworm is also possible which will cause itching skin and the red/brown flaky skin you describe.

Has he been altered or is he intact sexually? Again, having this done can put a strain on their system and cause outbreaks of various ailments. Both our girls recently had a Jill jab to bring them out of season, and they both dropped around 300 grams in weight, literally overnight. Hormones do weird stuff.

Has he had a vaccination for Distemper? Early clinical signs can be itching and red/crusty skin. Mainly around the chin, mouth and rear end. Also on the pads of paws.

Anyway, i am pretty sure that one of the much more experienced members will be along shortly to add their suggestions.

Once again, welcome to the forum and I look forward to hearing how Moose gets on.

Cheers

[unclejoe]

Hi. Some ferrets are more itchy than others, but when any of mine ake up they spend a good deal of time scratching and licking as part of their daily routines. Give him a good inspection, looking for skin lesions. fleas (just sayin) ear mites, etc. At 5 months, ferrets should be nearing puberty, so it could be hormonal as well. Most of ours have been Marshall ferrets, and the time between 5 and 9 m0nths can be interesting. Our Yoshi was nearly 4 lbs at 5 months, but by 8-9 months he was under 3 lb, and leveled off at 3 lb for the next 6 year. He had the cutest baby belly.
Tjis was Yoshi at 5 months
DSCF2471 by unclejoe1158, on Flickr

[rocketgrootmoose]

I just want to say that I have made an appointment with the vet for this Wednesday to find out what’s goin on. I’ll update this post once i find out.

[Sherry]

He could also be shedding his kit fur, and getting in adult fur.

[rocketgrootmoose]

Hi guys. Just wanted to let everyone know that Moose is okay, & the vet found some ear mite eggs in his ears. He said that the ear mites might be the reason for his intense scratching. Got some treatment for it & hopefully he’ll start to feel better soon! Thanks for the help!

[Sherry]

Just an fyi- you will need to treat all the animals in the house, or they'll come right back.