Sores in ears

Question
I noticed today that one of my ferrets has some scabs in his ears.  I was wondering if I need to take him to the vet, or wait and see what happens.  I haven't noticed any unusual behavior recently.

Thanks
Bethany

Answer
Hi Bethany, I answered this a couple of days ago but apparently it didn't come through........at any rate, are you sure it's not dried wax?  Ferrets get tons of ear wax in their outer ears and it needs to be cleaned out every couple of weeks or so.  Wet a Q-Tip and gently swab one of the ears and look to see if what you pick up is wax (should be very dark brown) or dried blood. If it is dried blood, he may have ear mites or he may have been scratching hard at his ears. Take him to the vet in that case and have his ears looked at.

I recommend you join the Ferret Health List at http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/ and ask this same question there, too. People (including a few vets) monitor the questions every day and you're likely to get several responses.

Good luck,
DG