Why does my ferret have black spots on his tail?
Is your ferret losing hair on the tip or the underside of its tail? Is the skin covered with black, brown or orangish spots? If so, your ferret is experiencing what is known as "rat tail".
Rat tail occurs when there is too much oil on the body, so what you're seeing are actually blackheads. You can clear it up by washing the ferret's tail daily with an over the counter acne treatment, such as Stridex pads, or with a gentle dish soap. If you use the acne treatment, make sure the strength is no more than 5%. Anything higher than that can hurt your ferret's skin.
Wash the tail daily until the skin is smooth, pink and clear again. The hair should grow back, though it may take as long as until the next coat change. Keep an eye on your ferret's tail after this point, especially around seasonal coat changes, and repeat the treatment if the rat tail comes back.
Rat tail often occurs for no reason other than a coat change, but overbathing can also cause rat tail. Ferrets should be bathed no more than once a month. Bathing strips oils from the coat, so over bathing results in too much oil being stripped from the coat. This causes the ferret to overproduce oil, which leaves your ferret with an oily coat and a stronger body odor.
If your ferret has hair loss that starts at the base of the tail, or if the rat tail is accompanied by hair loss or thinning elsewhere on the body, you may want to make a vet appointment to have your ferret checked for adrenal disease.
