Fleas.

Being around pets, you may find that fleas can sneak in to your home if you aren’t diligent. Fleas don’t just like cats and dogs they also like other animals and if left untreated can kill smaller animals.

Did you know there are several species of fleas? The two most common ones are Ctenocephalides felis and Ctenocephalides canis. Can you figure out which animals these two species infect?

Ferrets can get fleas from a number of sources like cats and dogs. For ferrets that get to go on outings can get fleas left behind by wild animals such as squirrels and mice.

Some signs that a ferret may have fleas is scratching, chewing, and in some extreme cases hair loss. But this doesn’t always mean there are fleas present. Many ferrets will leap out of their beds from a sound sleep to vigorously nibble at their fur before going back to bed as if nothing happened. Hair loss can also be a sign of Adrenal Disease

While it may be easier to see those little buggers on Marcuz and Marylin, it is Manny that makes finding evidence of fleas harder due to his darker coloration.

Of course the best scenario is to keep the fleas off my fur kids but I am limited to what preventatives I can use on them. Most flea control products fall under the Minor Species Act of 2004 (MSA) this allows vets to prescribe medications that are often designated for dogs or cats to other species that the medication might also help.

In my case that is the use of kitten advantage flea preventative. The use of kitten advantage for kittens is to use the whole tube I only need a drop or two per ferret giving me quite a savings thankfully.

Before application the fur kids get baths with T-gel. T-gel is a shampoo that has an ingredient that basically stuns the fleas and makes it easier to wash the little buggers off the ferrets with a second shampooing with baby shampoo.

Once out of the bath all three of the ferrets go crazy drying themselves off by doing the snake dance that someday I will have a great video of it. Once they are dry then it is spa day for them. They get their teeth and coats brushed, nails clipped, and then a drop of kitten advantage.

I live in Western Pennsylvania so flea season doesn’t last year round thankfully.

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo