Can I be allergic to my ferret

Question
Divorced, and just recently regained custody of my ferret Nikki.  I haven't been around her for about 2 years and I've had her since Thursday 2-8-07.  I seem to be coughing and sneezing alot since she has moved in, could it be possiable that I'm allergic to her?  I had nasal surgery in 2005 right after leaving the family. After surgery I have had no problems up until now and I even have a yorkie (but I know that they are a allergy friendly dog).  I have noticed the odor being a issue I have bleached her cage and bathed her twice already.  Please help! I really love her and I fought hard to finally get her but what should I do?  If I remember correctly she is around 6-7 years old now. Could it be that her odor is getting more potent and her oils ore maturing?  I definatly don't want to stress her out by finding her yet another home she has been with us since she was a baby.  But Ex gave her to me because he has a new grandson and doesn't want baby exposed to the odors.  

Answer
Hi Sandi:

Congratulations on getting custody of your little girl :-) They certainly bring a lot of love, life and laughter to a home!

Ferrets are generally considered to be 'allergy friendly' pets also - even folks who have horrible reactions to cats and dogs can usually have ferrets without a problem.  In fact, in over 14 years, I've never heard of a person having an allergy to a ferret.

One very common, but often overlooked source of ferret odor is dirty ears. You may clean them  yourself with Q-tips saturated with baby oil, or take her to your vet and let them do a really thorough job of flushing them out and have a microscopic check-up at the same time.  

If you do clean Nikki's ears yourself (I do my kids ears - it's really not difficult as long as you can 'scruff' well), you will dip the end of a Q-tip into a little cup (or even the cap)of baby oil (makes them smell sooo good afterwards :-)  until it is saturated with oil, then scruff Nikki very high up and very firmly on the back of her neck and get a good hold, as this is usually a ferret's least favorite activity. Talk softly to her and stroke her face before you start to help calm her. Stop anytime she starts wiggling really frantically because you don't want to poke her in the eye or injure her in any way. Be sure to rest her back feed down on your lap while doing this - that also helps. Get a good firm scruff, way up high on her neck/head, then, insert the *very* oily Q-tip and gently clean all the little folds on the outer portion of the ear. Change Q-tips often as they get dirty (I usually use at least 5 Q-tips - both ends -  per ferret and I do their ears about once a month)- just remember to always saturate the new Q-tip with baby oil before putting it into her ear (makes the Q-tip glide smoothly, as a dry one is painful for them).  

Next, with a well saturated Q-tip, go into the ear and straight DOWN with a rolling motion.  A feret's ear in in an "L" shape and you are going down the upright part of the L, so you cannot hurt the inner part of her ear as long as you don't get into the horizontal, bottom part of the L (hope that makes sense) - in other words, keep your Q-tip always pointed straight DOWN while it's in her ear, always keep a twirling motion to pick up any ear wax. There is a little 'pocket' at the bottom that you will want to 'scoop' out where a lot of gunk hides out.  If she hasn't had her ears cleaned before, don't be surprised if you go thru 10 q-tips before you're finished - also, if this is the case, give her a little break after you do the first ear before going on to the second one. A nice rub where you've been scruffing her would feel good too - you don't want to scruff one place too long and keep the blood flow where your fingers have her scruffed make it painful. Don't hesitate to take a break for a minute, rub her neck, then RE-scruff - it gives her a break and you too! I find my ferrets a lot more cooperative if I give them breaks. The whole job probably won't take more than 10 or 15 mins the first time and much less time the subsequent ear cleanings (about once a month).

Now, here's some very important information and very possibly your problem:  If what comes out of Nikki's ears is a honey brown color, she just has dirty ears, keep soaking Q-tips and repeating the twirling motion down into the ear until they come out almost clean...BUT if the Q-tip comes up with stuff that looks like coffee grounds, Nikki has ear mites. Ear mites not only make the ferret scratch like crazy (the mites are nasty bugs that actually move around in the ear, eat the ear wax and poop out the coffee ground looking stuff...and it is STINKY.  If you do get the coffee ground looking stuff from her ears, Nikki will need two visits to the vet. He will give her an injection each time - it takes a series of two shots (I think it's called "Ivermectin" given two weeks apart (be sure you do this on time so you don't have to start over)...and the mites will be gone. Be sure to insist on the injectible, as the other option is giving eardrops daily for six weeks really gets tiring, their ears get greasy and stinky...just not good. Some vets do try to get rid of mites the old fashioned, ear drops way. **ALSO: If you have other pets in the house (maybe even your Yorkie), they should all be tested for mites and treated at the same time, otherwise they will just keep passing the mites back and forth between them.  

I *hope* Nikki doesn't have ear mites, but it would certainly explain any 'extra' odor she may have. Ask the vet to let you see an ear mite under his microscope - you will be shocked at how UGLY and nasty looking they are!! They look like some kind of prehistoric animal with legs galore - no wonder the ferrets scratch!!  Some people think that ferrets just 'normally' scratch, but it is NOT *normal* for them to scratch a lot. A healthy, pest-free ferret hardly ever scratches! I shudder when I think of how many ferrets live their whole lives with ear mites needlessly, but because their owners just don't know how to check for them.

Another possibility that could be making you sneeze and cough - what are you using for litter?  If you're using a dusty litter, that could be making you sneeze and cough. You may want to consider going to a compressed newspaper litter (the most common one is called "Yesterday's News"), and/or pour the litter very slowly, which will keep the dust to a minimum. Be sure to NEVER use 'clumping' litter with a ferret - although easier to scoop out, it can get stuck in between the pads of their feet, they chew it off and often swallow it and get intestinal blockages, so it's reallly important NOT to use any clumping litter - you MAY use clay litter as long as it's not clumping, but compressed newspaper litter or even wood stove pellets work well (the wood stove pellets are incredibly cheap, but for me, they didn't mask the strong urine odor enough, so they may not be your best choice. I know a lot of folks who use them and love them tho. They 'melt' when they get wet and leave urine soaked sawdust in the litterbox.

Also, giving the ferret too many baths will actually cause her scent glands to go into overdrive, so you want to keep bathing to a minimum - once a month at the very most (unless she gets into something, steps in poopies, etc; and then you can usually do 'spot' washes of feet or tail, etc).  

The best ways to cut down on odor of ferrets is to keep the cage clean (so you are one ahead on that one - but I hope you rinsed it REALLYY WELL since you used bleach, because that can really be poisonous to ferrets and even the fumes from it can burn and damage their eyes. If you have any doubt, just take her stuff out and hose the cage down again really good, dry it off and put her back in - because that's realllly important for her wellbeing). In the future, you can use Nature's Miracle (as suggested below for daily wipe-downs of the cage) to do the cleaning. It still has to be rinsed after washing, but it's much safer around the ferrets, who are VERY chemically sensitive.  

Wash her bedding, blankies, hammocks, sleep sacks, any fabric about twice a week. I have multiple 'sets' of bedding and just switch them out twice a week, launder them, and keep rotating them with clean ones.  Wipe the floors of the cage morning and evening (that's how often I do it - if your ferret is neat and tidy, you can get by with just once a day) with  Nature's Miracle (available at any pet store). It's an enzyme cleaner, so is safe for Nikki and also very effective in removing odors and the things that cause them.

Keep the litterbox scooped at LEAST once a day. Remember that the little tiny wet spot you see on top of the litter is only hiding a huge puddle of wet litter underneath it, so gently scrape the top layer of litter back, then you will reveal the *real* source of odor - wet litter. Be sure to scoop out all poopies AND any litter that is wet (if you use Yesterday's News, it will be the pellets that are puffed up).

The above things I *guarantee* will keep your ferret and her cage from smelling (she IS neutered and descented I presume?  If you got her from a pet store, she is; if she was purchased from a breeder, it's possible that she still has scent glands intact (your vet can tell you if you don't remember or are not sure). At her age, however, you wouldn't want to put her thru a surgery to descent her. She's a little old for an 'elective' procedure.

If the above fails, you definitely need to take her to the vet to see if something else could be causing an odor and for a closer, microscopic examination for ear mites. Hopefully not, but it wouldn't be impossible.

I hope that at least gives you some directions you can go in to solve the problem. Most animal allergies show up as itchy red eyes, rash on the skin where the pet has been, such as on your inner arms if you've been holding her, etc. The coughing and sneezing you describe almost sounds more like maybe a cold or upper respiratory infection rather than an allergy, but I'm certainly not a doctor :-)

I hope you get feeling better soon; and that Nikki doesn't have ear mites.  The rest is a little bit of work, but trust me, I've always had multiple ferrets, their cage is in my livingroom, and everyone who comes in is surprised when they realize the little ones in the cage are ferrets and generally comment things on the order of "gosh, I always thought ferrets stunk - I can't even smell yours!!"  I truly believe if you do the same cage care and check those ears, and wash everything BUT the ferret :-), be extra generous in the litter you remove from the box -if it's wet or poopy, out it goes....and don't be afraid to dig around a little bit; it's not unusual to find several wet areas below the surface.   I truly think that you and Nikki will do just fine following these few suggestions.  

Congratulations again on getting her back - I know it will work out just fine with just a little effort :-)  Don't hesitate to write again.  I'd LOVE to know if mites are contributing to the problem if you have a minute to let me know and tell me how all of this works for you in a week or so.  Best of luck!!

Sincerely,
Jacquie Rodgers