Tail Blackheads products ?

[Johnny and Demon]

Hi there,

Since Johnny's fur and paws are back to the normal, his tail however got blackheads. Poor Johnny, his fur on his tail just started to grow back and he now has blackheads on tail
I was wondering if there's any product I can get to get rid of this things to help him gets his fur back on his tail ?

[Tressie]

The best thing I've found for that is spray-in ferret shampoo. Just spray directly on the blackheads and rub in once a day. It clears them up in a couple of weeks. Don't use any of the products used for humans!

Unfortunately, I have never seen spray-in ferret shampoo in any retail stores here, I ordered mine from the U.S. But check with Global, they might have it now or could order it in for you.

www.ferretdepot.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=fd&Product_Code=P63032&Category_Code=2Shampoos

I would watch for signs of adrenal disease down the road, since tail hair loss and blackheads can be early signs of adrenal disease. Hope its just an allergic reaction and nothing more

Tressie

[Johnny and Demon]

Thanks Tressie

We do hope its not adrenal disease
His paws and skin (around the penis and so) were red and swollen. His eyes were a bit red too (proably because ferrets always put their nose in the litter when I clean it). Because we used this new scented litter and the symptoms started a few days after the use of this crap , Dr.Drmac thinks its just allergies so he told us to change the litter right away. Now his paws, eyes and skin are back to the normal. Even the fur on his tail started growing back but suddenly seem to stay the same and when I chek his tail I found blackheads. So ... I hope its nothing to worry about... In Ferret for Dummies and some other books and websites, they say ferrets are prone to the same blackheads as humans and its harmless. Some say they even go away themselves after a few weeks or months and the fur starts growing back. They sometimes talk about it as the cause of the "rat tail" but Johnny doesnt have much fur missing. You can even notice it if you are not looking at his tail carefuly. Oh ! & his fur his soft again (where there were hair missing on his tail, the fur was dry and seems itchy (as the skin was red). Now the skin seems normal ( - blackheads) and its so soft
Anyhow ..
He's playing just normal (well .. whats normal for Johnny). Dr.Drmac did not find any bump when he checked him .. Are there any other signs than hair loss, agression and so ? Just want to keep an eye on him. The early you can treat them the better it is I think ? Its always better to double check with furkids

[Tressie]

You are pretty diligent, so I'm sure you'll be on top of anything - should it develop.

Another sign in males is having a hard time urinating. It may start with a ferret squatting in different spots and finally peeing. Or dribbling.

Chinook was dribbling and had no other signs of adrenal disease. He had all his hair, no aggression, etc. The biggest surprize was Mariah who had no signs whatsoever. The post-mortem pathology results came back last week, and they had a host of health issues but the BIG surprize was that both had adrenal adenoma!

Dr. Dibblee said that during the necropsy both their adrenals looked perfectly normal and that Mariah's was hard to find because it was so small. Without the biopsy we would never had known they had adenoma.

Dr. Mitchell had told me 2 years ago that all adrenals should be biopsied no matter what they looked like because you just never know for certain there isn't adrenal disease.

Sampson who died last year had adrenal carcinoma and his adrenal also looked perfectly normal. Again pathology results confirmed carcinoma.

There are 3 forms of adrenal disease hyperplasia, adenoma and carcinoma. Adenoma is the rarest of the three. Hyperplasia is the most common.

I am reaching the conclusion that eventually every ferret gets adrenal disease, some get it sooner, others later. Dr. Johnson-Delaney recommends that all ferret kits receive Deslorelin implants at 4 months of age in hopes it will delay/prevent adrenal disease from forming. Another strategy is that ferrets receive a Lupron injection during their first season before they are one year old if possible. For males this is January to April, for females it is March to May.

Tressie

[mindy]

hi Tressie

i was considering getting oral melatonin for ginny. she had rat tail last summer and her tail stayed bald for over a month. will this be helpful?

i hope that it is not adrenal with johnny.

i feel the same as Tressie, though. it really does seem that every ferret ends up with adrenal eventually...

[Tressie]

Melatonin certainly does help if the hair loss is due to adrenal disease. In my experience there is hair regrowth on average about 2 weeks after starting it.

However, it doesn't work if not given every day at 7-9 hours after sunrise.

There is some thinking that it may also act as a preventative to developing adrenal disease:

pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/message/11209

Tressie

[mindy]

thanks i think that once i am back in school it will be difficult to get it exactly. i won't get home until about 4-4:30 most days. will that be too late for the fall and spring? i think that it should be fine for the winter when sunrise is about 7:30. what do you think?

johnny and demon, sorry for the hijack!

[Johnny and Demon]

lol its okay Mindy, actualy I find all this very interesting and I think it will help everyone in future So .. its just too bad I did not hear about these prevention before - my gibs are both 2 years old

Its been about a week now and Johnny's tail look about the same so I will wait about 2 weeks to see if things get any better and talk about it with the vet. At least right now things are not getting worst. For sure his allergies are gone and his skin looks good

My friend had so many bad experiences with adrenal disease with her ferrets - it became kinda a phobia to me (ahh what am I talking about ? I'm just scared that anything happens to my family ! lol ). Anyhow .. I will wait to see if his tail gets better and if there's no changes I will see the vet. Of course if things get worst within 2 weeks I will see the vet asap! Some sites say the blackheads and hair lost on the tail tip are harmless and there's nothing to worry about - hopefuly they are right ! :S

[Tressie]

It does sound like it was an allergic reaction.

I wouldn't worry too much about it at this time. His tail should get back to normal after the next seasonal shed. The spray-in shampoo will get rid of the blackheads.

If the hair hasn't fully come back on his tail after the seasonal shed, then I'd start thinking it might be early adrenal. Until then, try not to worry

Tressie