Bald Patch At Base Of Tail?

[Polkey 70]

I noticed a couple of days ago one of my jills had thinning hair at the base of her tail. Checked her over this morning and its quite bald now but has a bit of downy type hair still. She also has a small patch at the base of her neck to. What could be causing this? I have just put them into a new much bigger hutch so I don't know if the move has stressed her out or if its more sinister. Any advise welcome, cheers.

[Jarvis 277]

If your really concerned I would suggest the vets, but one of my hobs lost pretty much all its hair off its tail last summer but all came back in the winter. Ferrets can loose condition on the summer especially if they have had a litter of kits.

[Kaiserdog 20]

As Jarvis says vets opinion is a good idea, a few years ago one of my Jill's showed similar symptoms & I found out it was an adrenal gland problem with can now be treated but back then there was no treatment for it.

[Markieboy 0]

hi i new here

but your post caught my eye ,as the above poster said it could be an adrenal gland problem,

ive a 19month old jill and she lost the hair at the base of her tail this year and my vet thinks it could because she had to have 2 jill jabs this summer .

but it also could be as simple as moulting , most ferrets should be getting ready for their winter coats now ,if this is the case you should see it coming back in the next few weeks

hope this helps

[The one 8,474]

Rats tail quite common in jills the now her hair on the tail will grow back in soon one the nights become darker

[GreyRake 108]

My jills lost hair on her tail too, im thinking rat tail. Most ferrets under the age of 2/3 wont get adrenal. I have a suspicion it could be partly linked to her jill jab too, i noticed a few other side effects also, wont be jabbing a jill again.

[Polkey 70]

Thanks for the replies I appreciate it! She seems absolutely fine in her self which Im hoping is a good sign. I have been reading about adrenal disease online which implies the bald patch at base of tail could indicate is the case but would you expect the ferret to be showing signs such as weight loss and she is only about 18 month too. Im wondering with the small patch at the back of the neck if she has been scratching and nibbling at the fur rather than it falling out due to an illness. I think a trip to the vets is inevitable to find out one way or the other, hopefully its nothing an fingers crossed they don't rob me blind

[Polkey 70]

Well went to appointment this morning and thankfully its nothing sinister. Turns out they can some times get a back log of poo and because its uncomfortable they tend to pluck the hair out which I had seen her doing. Any one else ever come across this? They just squeezed the sh!t out of her and charged me £17 which I was happy with. Bald patch on back of neck is from jill jab, so all looks fine with her for the season ahead