Itchy Ferret? - Try Plucking Him!

Question
Hi, im emailing you because I have noticed my ferret scracthing a lot more than usaul. I know its normal for him to jump out of bed and go at it for a min, which he does all the time and goes back to bed. but I've noticed that he scratches for a longer time he'll do his thing then go back towards his bed and jus stop and go at it again like he can't seem to get rid of the itch.he does the same when he's let out of is cage too every so often he'll dance around the same way he will when he plays and then jus throw him self down and start biting him self.I feel bad for him it looks annoying I can only imagine how he feels about it.I've checked his entire coat I don't see anything at all I've checked his ears (I clean them often)I don't see anything unusual.he looks healthy has been eating and pooping fine.I haven't given him a bath in about 3 or 4 months.I haven't changed anything like his bedding,litter or food. He is however sheding so could this be the reason I mean would it bother him this much? I also brush him daily.. Thank u in advance for ur help.

Answer
Hi Jennifer:

It's that time of the year for fuzzies everywhere to be dropping those beautiful full winter coats they've been sporting and don a stylish little light jacket for summertime! :-)  In all seriousness, it is the time of year when our ferrets begin shedding heavily, which can bring lots of itching along with it. This is the time of year when they DO get itchy and for good reason! {FLEAS: I do want to be sure to mention again, just in case you haven't seen it here previously,  that dog and cat flea remedies should never be used on ferrets..that's the short version of the flea treatment information :-) - and be sure to check my reply about fleas just a few days ago if you do ever think your ferret has fleas.} It sounds to me as if your ferret has just the itchies from shedding, Jennifer.  Those are quite easily calmed, actually.

I find that if I wait - don't do this when they first start shedding - but several days or a week into it they will get LOTS of loose fur and you can actuallly "pluck" your ferret and make it more comfortable!  Do check them regularly, tho, and don't wait TOO long or they will have already ingested too much fur, they will cough a lot and could actually get a hairball which can end up not only being very very expensive, but could actually cost a ferret his/her life if the symptoms aren't recognized soon enough to get surgical intervention. So that's a real concern - shedding season is no joke to ferret owners; we take it very seriously.

"Plucking" is best done to a freshly shampooed, WET ferret. I use Johnson's & Johnson's baby shampoo and do this in my kitchen sink. Lather the ferret up really well, then rinse really well. That 'squeaky' clean test? Gently grasp the fur (start at the back of the neck since that is a place where the skin is nice and tough until they get used to the feeling of the 'pluck') between your thumb and forefinger - as if you were doing the 'squeaky clean' test - and GENTLY begin pulling IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION AS THE HAIR GROWS...just a small section at a time at first.  As your ferret gets used to having this done, he will actually appreciate it and even welcome the relief! Be sure to have a wastebasket handy because you won't want all this fur going down your sink.  Remove only the fur that is loose at the time - the ferret may even be left with a really funny looking 'haircut' for a day or two while you wait for the rest of his shedding to happen, but just don't remove any fur that's not already so loose that it comes out with just a very very little nudge.

This was a big shedding season here. Not sure if it was the adrenal surgery we had in December or the cold winter we had, but Gilbert "dropped" his whole coat yesterday for me in one "plucking" session.  Afterwards I always follow up with a 3-day HAIRBALL TREATMENT just to be sure there is no hairball lurking in the digestive tract to cause problems later.  For the three-day hairball treatment, you will need "VETASYL" (a fiber lax that comes in capsules and is available at http://www.1800PetMeds.com about $15;  and "UNCLE JIM'S DUK SOUP MIX (at http://www.ferretdepot.com) in a jar for about $11. These should last a long long time (and you won't have to buy the icky petroleum-based hairball laxatives that are messy and don't work anymore).  

At the end of shedding season (or after the plucking bath): Put the contents of ONE CAPSULE VETASYL (toss the capsule itself away) and TWO LEVEL TEASPOONSFUL of UNCLE JIM'S DUK SOUP MIX and SIX OUNCES OF VERY WARM WATER......STIR WITH YOUR FINGER UNTIL WELL MIXED.  Then give to the ferret. If you need to dribble some Ferretone on the top to get the ferret to drink it, that's okay. Most ferrets love it; the goal is to get the ferret to drink as much as possible; ALL of it if they will.  Give this mixture ONCE A DAY FOR THREE DAYS IN A ROW.  IF the ferret passes any foreign items (or fur) in the stool on the third day, be sure to give the mixture a fourth day; and so on. You will give it until the stools come out with ONLY big fat poops (only poop, no foreign objecjts or fur at all, so you know everything is out).  For this to work, you MUST know that the ferret drank MOST of the mixture, so if you have more than one ferret, you will want to treat them separately, OR separate them when treating them so you can keep track of who is pooping what and who has been treated, etc., so you know when to continue treating and when to stop. This can be different for each ferret, so it's a good idea to keep a little "log" book if you have multiple ferrets.  Certain ferrets seem to be much more prone to blockages; some ferrets are just more likely to ingest foreign objects and/or fur.

After the ferret drinks the hairball treatment mixture, you will need to watch the litterbox starting about four hours later. Especially on the first treatment, you are likely to find 'parts' of toys or other items and you just want to be sure you can account for *all* of an item, such as balloons, ear plugs, erasers, etc. Be sure to keep any pieces of any item that comes out just so you can account for the whole item by the time the treatment is over. You may be surprised - I've had folks report their ferrets passing things they never even had in their homes (i.e., things their ferrets ingested as kits that they had NO idea was still in their bellies years later!)  So, it really is a good idea to treat every ferret with this and to get them on a schedule, maybe once a month do a 3-day treatment just to be sure their intestinal tract is nice and open and operating well.  You will notice the ferrets have nice big fat poops after treatment and this is a good, healthy thing. Any time your ferret's poops aren't big and fat, you need to repeat the 3-day treatment above.

That kind of got far from "itchiness", but not really.  The itchies are probably caused by shedding...the shedding causes hairballs....plucking the ferret and giving the 3-day hairball remedy will ensure that your ferret does not itch and does not get a hairball too!  I think you'll be surprised at how much more comfortable your ferret will be after you get him 'plucked' and 'cleaned out'.  A clean intenstinal tract is great insurance for good health when it comes to ferrets!

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers