My ferret has fleas. How can I safely treat them and my home?

No, do not use coconut oil. He will lick it off and ingestion may cause pancreatitis. Not only that but it will be extremely messy and everything will stick to him. Not a good plan. He is scratching for a reason and rarely will they scratch so much from dry skin to make sores like that on their skin. If you are not treating him EVERY month for fleas then I would be doing that. It looks and sounds like a flea allergy. Even if you are not seeing fleas, I suspect they are there. Fleas usually will bite ferrets but not stay on them too long so you may not find them. Treating for fleas is easy and inexpensive so I suggest you try this plan. It is not going to hurt him and it may very well help. You can use Advantage II for small cats. https://www.1800petmeds.com/education/ferret-flea-control.htm Don't forget to treat his environment for fleas too! So, could it be dry skin.....sure, but I really doubt it. Like I said above it is really rare for the skin to be so dry that he would scratch that much unless you were feeding a very poor diet (which I don't think is the case) . His coat looks soft and shiny from the photo. So, be sure you are feeding a good diet (like Mazuri, Marshalls or Oxbow). And you can try this supplement for his coat if you want. https://www.petsupplies.com/item/8-in-1-ferretone-skin-and-coat-supplement/650101/ For the current sore - you can treat it with this. Just use a very thin layer 2-3 times per day until healed. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Thanks for reaching out about Fezbomb. Topical flea medications are probably not recommended with heart condition. Has the heart condition been diagnosed? A flea comb and treatment of the environment would probably work best. Treating all other pets in the house is necessary. Vacuum and clean bedding often to decrease re-infection. A veterinary visit is recommended for a consultation. Good luck.

Frontline is off-label use for ferrets, but is safe and effective. You best wear some rubber gloves and spray the frontline on the gloves and then rub it on the ferrets, including legs and tail and head (be careful not to get Frontline into their eyes. If you think you have fleas in your house you also need to follow the following instructions: Unfortunately fleas only hop on the body of your pet when they want to feed, then they hop off again and stay in your pet's environment. So you need to treat all pets in the household as well as the environment (which contains the fleas, their eggs and larvae). Flea treatment:  1) Get some flea medication such as a Flea spray or a spot on from a pet shop or your veterinarian and apply monthly 2) get flea powder, put some in your vacuum cleaner bag and vacuum your house and furniture and also non-carpeted areas frequently to remove flea larvae and eggs which live off house dust., Dispose of the bag in the trash outside. Hot-wash all the pet's bedding, If you do this diligently for a few months you will get rid of the fleas.

Hello, if the product you are using is not working, you might want to try Advantage Multi, but I would think between the drops you are using & the bathing, the fleas should be gone. You might also try completely changing out your enclosure, using a completely different substrate, just in case Mike is sensitive to what you are using now. If he continues to itch, you may have to check him for adrenal disease, just because it is so common in ferrets. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I would not recommend coconut oil. This will close the pores of the skin and cause a skin infection. I recommend an over the counter aloe and oatmeal shame. This is going to cause a nice shinny coat. I do understand your diet preference but cats do eat protein in the wild and is needed for there proper growth. However if you have Holly on a proper diet she does not need any type of supplements the normal food is enough. For any type of bug- maybe fleas - I would recommend a topical flea prevention every 30 days. Typically the baths only wash off the fleas but does not prevent them from coming back.

Hello. Please only use something labeled for ferrets. The Bravecto for cats may get a ferret label down the road, but don't let your ferret be a guinea pig. Stick with the Advantage Multi medium cat as this already has a label for ferrets. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello there! Just to let you know, the message caps off at 500 characters, so it ends at "I usually don't even". I think I have enough information to answer your question appropriately, I just wanted to let you know in case you said something pertinent after that. I'm sorry to hear about your flea invasion! Those are very frustrating! Fleas have a complicated life cycle that requires multiples angles of treatment to totally get rid of in a household. Coconut oil will only give you a greasy dog, which it sounds like you have already found out. Flea and tick shampoo is a great place to start!. Your next step is putting Boogie on a flea preventive that lasts a month. You can get a brand called Advantage from Petco without a prescription. 90% of the flea eggs are going to be wherever Boogie usually sleeps. When Boogie has the medication in his system and is going about his usual routine in the house, any new fleas that hatch will not be able to feed on him and thus starve. During this month, you need to be very diligent about cleaning all the fabrics in the house to eliminate the flea egg population. If you have carpet, I would recommend vacuuming at least three times per week. I would recommend washing any bedding that Boogie sleeps on at least twice per week with hot water. This, combined with Boogie's flea prevention, should eliminate fleas over a period of weeks. I know this is a lot of information, but tackling fleas is a big issue that requires a lot of work! I hope you find this helpful! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.