Ticks/fleas on ferrets

[ferret100 47]

So how does being covers in insectiside not iritate the tick ? Just a question maybe it paralyses instantley or the ticks become insanely stoned and pull a whitey before death , not that I'm right botherd like ,part and parcel of keeping ferrets

Frontline is not an incesticide. As said before, for many reasons removing the tick with a tick remover is the safest option. Should your ferret have a tick, Frontline is designed to be absorbed through the skin of certain mammals, including ferrets. The treatment is absorbed through the skin of the host and into the bloodstream, therefore directly able to be absorbed by blood feeding parasites and therefore kill them. It's not rocket science.....!

[Jamie m 668]

So how does being covers in insectiside not iritate the tick ? Just a question maybe it paralyses instantley or the ticks become insanely stoned and pull a whitey before death , not that I'm right botherd like ,part and parcel of keeping ferrets

Frontline is not an incesticide. As said before, for many reasons removing the tick with a tick remover is the safest option. Should your ferret have a tick, Frontline is designed to be absorbed through the skin of certain mammals, including ferrets. The treatment is absorbed through the skin of the host and into the bloodstream, therefore directly able to be absorbed by blood feeding parasites and therefore kill them. It's not rocket science.....!

so howcomes if you put frontline on a cotton but and dap it on a tick likes for say a dificult one right in the ear the next morning it's gone ?

[ferret100 47]

Because you have directly applied anti-parasitic treatment onto the body of a parasite (not how it should be applied) and caused enough stress to cause the tick to regurgitate and drop off. You may as well have covered it in vaseline/alcohol etc, all can cause a tick to regurgitate and drop off, a dangerous way to remove ticks. Frontline is designed to go on the host, not the parasite, due the implications already explained. By dabbing the anti-parasitic treament directly to the tick you are NOT using the treatment correctly and exposing your ferrets to fatal diseases.

 

As explained before Frontline is not particularly suitable for treating ticks, use a tick remover.

Edited June 7, 2011 by ferret100

[Jamie m 668]

Because you have directly applied anti-parasitic treatment onto the body of a parasite (not how it should be applied) and caused enough stress to cause the tick to regurgitate and drop off. You may as well have covered it in vaseline/alcohol etc, all can cause a tick to regurgitate and drop off, a dangerous way to remove ticks. Frontline is designed to go on the host, not the parasite, due the implications already explained. By dabbing the anti-parasitic treament directly to the tick you are NOT using the treatment correctly and exposing your ferrets to fatal diseases.

So when you wear gloves and rub the ferret all over with frontline this does not affect ant parasites just the host

As explained before Frontline is not particularly suitable for treating ticks, use a tick remover.

[ferret100 47]

Because you have directly applied anti-parasitic treatment onto the body of a parasite (not how it should be applied) and caused enough stress to cause the tick to regurgitate and drop off. You may as well have covered it in vaseline/alcohol etc, all can cause a tick to regurgitate and drop off, a dangerous way to remove ticks. Frontline is designed to go on the host, not the parasite, due the implications already explained. By dabbing the anti-parasitic treament directly to the tick you are NOT using the treatment correctly and exposing your ferrets to fatal diseases.

So when you wear gloves and rub the ferret all over with frontline this does not affect ant parasites just the host

As explained before Frontline is not particularly suitable for treating ticks, use a tick remover.

 

No, obviously applying Frontline to the ferret will affect the parasites, that's why it kills them, the treatment is designed to be absorbed into the bloodstream of the host to kill blood sucking parasites.

If the ticks were on the ferrets head/ears etc then you could apply the Frontline to the body of the ferret without touching or stressing the ticks, the ticks would then absorb the treatment via the hosts bloodstream. But if the ticks were on the ferrets body and you then rubbed Frontline over the ferret, then there is a high risk of stressing the tick whilst doing so. So safest bet for removing ticks is the tick remover.

 

Ticks use hosts on a temporary basis, i.e they feed, drop off and will find another host when they need to feed again. Ticks do not lay eggs in or on their host.

 

Fleas/earmites/parasitic worms etc use their hosts on a permenant basis, as in they don't have a feed and move on, they remain constantly feeding off the host and they also rely the presence of the host to produce their young.

 

So Frontline is much better adapted to treat infestations of parasites that use their host on a permenant basis. A way to ensure your ferret remains parasite free is to use the Frontline as a preventative rather than cure. By applying the treatment every 6 weeks whether any parasites are present or not should keep them at bay. The only downside of Frontline is that the version suitable for use in ferrets is actually designed for cats, personally I wouldn't want to apply it regularly as there may be a risk too much would be bad for the ferret.

 

Using a tick remover for ticks and the Frontline once every 3 months might be a suitable compromise. Obviously if fleas/mites/or hard to reach ticks(as you said tucked up in the ear somewhere) where spotted in the interim, I'd use another application of the Frontline until the infestation was gone.

 

Obviously no-one is a fan of parsites, but knowing as much as possible about how they 'operate' helps to ensure you treat them correctly.

[ferret100 47]

So how does being covers in insectiside not iritate the tick ? Just a question maybe it paralyses instantley or the ticks become insanely stoned and pull a whitey before death , not that I'm right botherd like ,part and parcel of keeping ferrets

 

Sorry, you are absolutely right, got my insecticides and pesticides mixed up there! Fipronil, the active ingredient of Frontline is classified as an insecticide. Again, as ticks are not insects, the Frontline is not a particulary suitable treatment for them.

[nobjerk 161]

try diatomecious earth in your pens/cages as a precautionary measure for insects , apparently all mites etc are covered in a waxy protective coating and the de is very sharp to them and damages the coating causing them to dry out and die . the de is a fossilized shell of a small crustation that is completely harmless to mammals , so very safe and a cheap easy solution .

atb

 

 

Diatomaceous Earth

Diatomaceous Earth (or D.E. for short), is a big name for an amazing product with a long, long list of uses.

DE is, in fact, the fossilised remains of countless millions of microscopically tiny unicellular plants, called diatoms, that live in every sea and lake. DE powder is produced by grinding DE bearing rock into a fine, white powder that is used around the world to undertake all sorts of tasks from purifying water to polishing metal!

Our DE is a special food grade version called CelTix and is designed to help control parasite infestations, keep animal bedding fresh and odour free and as an animal feed additive.

Although these may seem very different problems they can all be solved in the same way: by absorption. The intricately woven shells of the diatoms in the powder act as a super sponge, soaking up huge amounts of water and oils and their associated smells. Parasites cannot cope with BE powder, it sucks the liquids and lipids from their skin causing them to dehydrate and die

 

[Kay 3,709]

£5 tick picker job done