What Causes Hair Loss In Ferrets?

My ferret lost most of her hair. It started at the tip of her tail and had little black dots on it. I read up on it and it said to bathe the ferret and by the next time their new coat comes in, it will grow back, but it didn't. She lost all of her fur on her belly and the back of her neck and its getting worse. Now my other ferret is losing her fur on her tail also. I tried giving them better food, bottled water, and giving them another bath, but it doesn't seem to be working. What is causing this and how can I fix it? (Grace Becker - Illinois)

Ferrets do lose hair during shedding season but this will normally only be on the tail and will be quickly replaced by new hair. One of the most common cause of hair loss is ferrets is adrenal tumors, which is normally treated by surgery to remove the affected gland, as drugs are only available to treat the symptoms not the disease. The fact that your second ferret has now started to show the same symptoms however indicates that it is more likely to be a result of skin parasites such as mites (or a fungal infection). I would recommend taking them to the vet who can so a skin scrape and a thorough exam to identify any external causative agent. There are simple treatments such as revolution which can be used if mites/fleas are the problem.

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