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Post by boogerlinzh on Aug 2, 2022 0:06:46 GMT -5
One of my boys, Booger, has blackheads. I am not new to keeping ferrets, but up until now, I never knew such a thing existed! I don't know if it causes discomfort or anything but he is losing some fur on his tail because of it and I'm wondering how I should treat this? I've heard that washing their tail once a day with a ferret safe shampoo can help. Is this true? And if so, what shampoo is the safest and most likely to help with this? If not, what should I do instead?
I hope this is posted in the right section, by the way. I am new and not good with technology.
Thank you in advance for any help!
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Post by Corvidophile on Aug 2, 2022 6:33:16 GMT -5
Hate to say it but this is probably the early stages of adrenal disease. Mine got blackheads on his naked tail too (and orange heads) and I never could get them to go away by my own hand, they just faded in and out in a few months time by themselves. I tried scrubbing with a washcloth lathered in baby shampoo/conditioner combo as I couldn’t find a pet shampoo that wasn’t full of tea tree oil, which I dislike. I think the baby shampoo is safer anyway.
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Post by boogerlinzh on Aug 2, 2022 12:40:07 GMT -5
Ah, ok. Thank you. I was planning on taking him in after I get paid next because I am worried about adrenal anyways. Just figured I'd also try washing his tail.
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Post by unclejoe on Aug 2, 2022 17:52:25 GMT -5
as I posted on another thread a couple days ago, every ferret I
ve had that had rat tail, as you describe, ended up with adrenal disease. I have not had a case in a few years, and I'm thinking that free roam during the day so they can find dark places to sleep may be helping.
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Post by boogerlinzh on Aug 2, 2022 18:45:57 GMT -5
Ok. I will be taking him to the vet asap after Friday. In the meantime, I will work on getting my 3 even more dark places to sleep. Thank you for letting me know. This is really helpful. I just want my ferrets to be as healthy as possible. My last girl had adrenal as well so I'm familiar with it but she didn't get tail blackheads so I wasn't sure.
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Post by abbeytheferret6 on Aug 3, 2022 3:42:34 GMT -5
 My Phoebe had blackheads she also had adrenal disease. Her blackheads were on her back. i guess that is what you would call it from oil clogging up pores. |
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Post by unclejoe on Aug 4, 2022 10:54:48 GMT -5
I've been pretty fortunate with I think 5 adrenals out of 30 ferrets. Mind you, I've had several escape and others with insulinoma and lymphoma, some comorbid, with average life of ~7 years for the ones that lived with me till the end and passed of "natural causes," including kidney failure and heart failure. when I jumped in to ferret husbandry, I knew very little. I did a few hours of research but I didn't know that even with our best efforts and thousands of dollars 8-9 years was max expected lifespan of these amazing little heart stealers. I have had 2 reach 9, and one till 10. out of 24 that died in my care. Lilly and Bobo are healthy and happy at 3. They will be my last.
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Post by boogerlinzh on Aug 4, 2022 17:41:15 GMT -5
My last 2 both died around the same time. One was 8, the other was 8.5. My little girl passed of kidney and liver failure (she also had adrenal and lymphoma) and I found my last boy in shock one day and rushed him to urgent care where they said he had fluid (likely tumor related) all around his stomach and there was nothing they could do that wouldn't prolong his suffering. He also had insulinoma and occasional harmless skin tumors. They meant everything to me. It was awful losing them. After my first one passed, the other quickly became depressed... or that's what it seemed like anyways and so that's how I ended up with my new 3, they will also be my last for various different reasons. Owning ferrets has definitely been a fun but difficult journey.... I just wish they didn't have so many health problems.
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