Q: Both my ferrets, Bandida and Pucho, have a flea infestation. I haven’t done anything except give them both baths, but as I checked them again, they had fleas. I searched the net to see what you can use besides expensive ferret products. I can’t use flea products made for cats because I think it might hurt my ferret. Does anyone know?
Answer: I use “Furminator” combs for fleas, and for really bad flea infestations I use Revolution. Frontline, Advantage, Revolution are all safe and effective flea control products, lasting about a month.
There are several safe flea treatments available for ferrets:
- Frontline: kills ferret fleas, ticks and works on ear mites as well. The spray form which should be used 1 spray per pound, is the most effective and most economical. It is alcohol based, it smells a bit until dry, but it also has water resistance. This may last longer than Advantage, but if your ferret is allergic to it, it could be more difficult to remove.
- Advantage: kills only the ferret’s fleas. You can use cat-sized tubes (1/2 to 1 per ferret). It is applied to the shoulder blades, which ferrets can not easily lick, once a month. Most ferret owners report that it will work very well. It is water soluble, so you should not wash your pet prior to an application. The ferret must be completely dry before the next dose.
- Revolution: kills ferret fleas, ticks, ear mites and skin mites and can be used for heartworm prevention. Your ferret must pass a negative cardiac worm test before using this product, for your ferret’s safety. You can use 5 to 15 pounds cat size.
Dosage: Most flea drop ingredients are not a problem to use with ferrets, but tricky parts are getting the proper dosage. Because they weigh only about 3 pounds, the full dosage will be too much for the ferret. They make flea drops for pets 3-9 pounds that you would like.
Put the contents of the flea control packet in a small vial and then use a very small syringe to inject the medicine. A small “kitten” size vial will treat 4 ferrets in a single dose.
Ferrets can get anemia from flea bites quickly, so take care of this as soon as possible. Otherwise, you run a real danger of your ferret dying.
Pill Treatments
Flea pills can also be used for ferrets. The pills can be crushed and mixed with a treat or food, or the suspension can be put directly on the food. Be sure that the right ferret gets the whole dose. It should be taken with a meal; in fact, the more food it’s taken with, the more effective it will be.
Ferret Flea Species
The cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) is the most common flea affecting ferrets and other pets. However, ferrets that are allowed to go outside can potentially acquire various flea species, from going into holes occupied by wild animals, such as wild dogs, rabbits, and squirrels. Fortunately, all fleas are sensitive to the same treatment.
Symptoms of Fleas in Ferrets
Fleas chew and suck blood from the wounds and cause anemia. They cause itching skin, and sometimes allergies causing hair to fall off. Ferrets are small animals that can be weakened seriously by the burden of heavy fleas.
Symptoms of heavy flea infestation include the following:
- Anorexia
- Swallowing bile
- diarrhea
- vomiting
- Drooling
- Extended pupils
- Stumbling
If he is crawling with fleas, he can die a slow & painful death. He suffers from anemia more than everyday, blood slowly disappears like every day, it gets weak and cold.
How to Tell If Your Ferret Has Fleas
If your ferret has fleas, you will be able to see fleas running around on their fur. You will also see black spots on their fur, and flea poop everywhere.
You can also comb some of the black feces stains left by fleas from the animal coat and sprinkle on damp paper towels. Immediately, the paper will turn red with partially digested blood.
Causes of Ferret Fleas
I would look for sources of fleas, like cats, in your house. Take all the animals at your house at the same time and use the outer spray to remove the outer fleas. If your garden has stray animals, this could be a problem. I only have to dose once or twice a year or if I get a new kid who comes in with a problem. Otherwise, I don’t have to worry about fleas on the ferrets.
Spreading Fleas
When your pets have been infested for a while, most of the fleas will be in your house, not on the animals. Any good flea control program can kill not only all the pet fleas that you spend anytime in your house, but anywhere an animal can go. You need to focus on places where ferrets, cats, or dogs sleep. Eggs hatch in larvae of these areas.
Several drugs spread from ferret to the environment, solving problems instantly. Clean up your house, evacuate (and take the bag out of the house) and wash bedding. Please consult your vet about what kind of spray to use in your ferret’s environment. Many are very bad for the ferret, so please ask the vet to recommend it.
Get Rid of Fleas Steps
Here’s how I got rid of my ferret’s flea infestation:
- First, I placed my ferrets in a cage.
- Then I cleaned my house thoroughly. I sprinkled salt on my carpet where fleas eat and die.
- Then I washed all the ferret bedding with hot water and all natural laundry detergent.
- After that I gave my ferrets a bath in Thera neem pet shampoo. It is organic and neem in a pest repellent for humans and dogs
- Then to make sure they were all gone i picked through their fur and killed the stragglers on their face.
- Next I sprayed the Burt’s Bees honey insect repellent onto my hand and rubbed it onto the ferrets’ fur, avoiding their heads. You can also use the therneem herb outdoor spray, which may be better as you can spray directly on the animal.
- Finally, wash the bedding once a week, clean every day including furniture, and keep putting the salt in the carpet.
Here are other tips to prevent and treat ferret fleas:
- Use a “bug bomb” insect spray around the cage, but often the house needs a bombing. Get bug bombs from your veterinarian, including methoprene (flea growth regulator). This allows you to complete the job in two applications, two applications for killing adults and larvae (two weeks after getting hatched from the first spray). (Of course, please remove the ferret from home at the time of the bombing.
- Add apple cider vinegar to your ferret water (3 tablespoons of vinegar to all gallons of water). Apple cider vinegar makes the taste of ferret’s blood repellant to fleas and ticks. Many people use this as an inhibitor, but they can also be used to deal with infections. This is also effective for cats and dogs (we recommend doing this for other pets in the house). Note: Since some pets may not immediately like the apple cider vinegar water, it may be necessary to gradually add up to a full “dose” after adding a little.
- Sprinkle your carpet with baking soda (if you are at home, even if it is just a small area rug), let sit for 3 to 4 days, then vacuum your carpet. Baking soda kills fleas and regular cleaning (with or without baking soda) is suited for killing live fleas and eggs (empty the vacuum bag in the outside garbage – eggs in bags can still hatch into fleas). I would also clean the hard floor as fleas can live on the carpeted floor cracks.
- You do not need to use flea shampoo. Any soap that produces suds will kill fleas. Please wash your ferret and rinse after bubbles have sat for a few minutes. Once your ferret dries, comb it with a flea’s comb to remove dead fleas and potentially living fleas (you can remove the live fleas and soap to kill them If you put it in a bucket with water, let it all flow into the toilet).
- Comb your ferret with fleas every day. Please drop fleas with a bucket or soapy water, please flush it under the toilet.
- Clean the cage and all bedding, such as hammocks, thoroughly with soap and hot water at least twice a week.
- Some people suggest placing a small cup of water near a light source (such as night light) on the floor. Light draws fleas and they jump in the water (I would add a small amount of soap to make sure fleas die). I have never done this – between a cat and a dog, the cup would be knocked within a few minutes, but if you do have a pet that roams at night, this is worth a try.
Baby Shampoo Treatment
If all other treatments fail, you can use baby shampoo like Johnson’s or Johnson at any time. They do not kill fleas, but because fleas do not like the taste, it is advisable to use them in young ferret kits instead of harsh adult cat flea soap. The fleas just jump off, and leave your ferrets alone.