AHHHH, Monsters!

[nori]

Hey guys, so as some of you may know, Nori is my first and only pet- meaning I might get a little more worried with things than most pet owners. As of right now, I'm super worried, and I'm really hoping someone can give me some advice. I apologize in advance for the long post, but I want to give as much detail as possible so I can decide what to do. Anyways-


I started taking Nori to the park if not every day, every other day, about two weeks back. The park is pretty close to my house, and even though its not a pet park, there are a lot of people there with their dogs and what not (I could say I ignorantly and naively assumed this meant it was "safe" ). Whenever we went she would run around and play and end her day by digging a hole and just laying in it for a while. Whenever we got home, I would clean her paws and give her a quick cleanse with baby wipes or water (depending how dirty she got). About a week ago we went to a different park, which is more like a beach- so it has sand. I let her play in it a while but she didn't seem to like it much, so we went back to the original park. As usual, she played, ran, dug and took a mini nap. When we got home and I went to clean her I noticed there were some weird bugs on her- which had me guessing it was fleas >< I bathed her and took out all her bedding (from the cage and carrier, and even my bed sheets since she likes to play there too), and I spent a couple hours taking those things off her. There were only about 5, and once everything was clean it seemed that was the end of it. I also bought a home and flea spray which I applied to just about everything before letting her back in the room. Anyway, during the weekend (this 4th of July weekend), we went on a mini vacation, so she was in the hotel with me the whole time. Then yesterday when I got home and was getting ready to play with her, she seemed kind of down. I also noticed she had pooped on her bedding (which she has never done) and I thought maybe she was sick, but I saw she had been eating, her poop looked alright and she felt normal. I took her to the park in hopes of lifting her spirit, but she just slept in her carrier. I was pretty worried, but then this morning she woke up good as new and was ready to play! I figured everything was all alright, until I noticed the bugs were back! I had to leave to work soon, but I was able to get off about 6 of them. I'm pretty sure that was all, but now I have no clue what to do. I keep assuming they are fleas, but when I look up online what fleas look like its not the same. I don't know if there are different types of fleas, or what other bugs could it possibly be? I tried taking a picture but my camera is really bad. They are small (very small), fast, black and brown, and have maybe 3/4 legs on each side. I keep ruling out fleas because they don't seem to jump, but maybe thats just a saying? I don't know anymore :/ Also, I know they are making her itchy because I did she her scratching and I saw small red dots on her. LASTLY, when I was looking at the bugs this morning, in hopes of getting enough details to share with you guys, one flew... or jumped? idk, it was just gone. And it looked a lot like these little bugs I used to see near her poop whenever I would clean her litter box. Gahhh, please advice on what to do? I plan on bathing her when I get home and cleaning her bedding again, but I just don't know if they'll be gone forever or come back in a couple days D: And now I'm not even sure if they are from the original park, the sand park, or just being outside o.o 

I really appreciate any help we can get! 

[unclejoe]

Sounds like fleas. Fleas will burrow into fur rather than jump off when you find them on an animal. They are tiny, maybe 1/16 inch, and flat. Try Advantage, Revolution, or Frontline. Don't use flea products you get from stores like walmart. They don't work, and they can actually harm a ferret.
to be safe, use kitten or small cat drops. Make sure it gets to the skin and not just in the fur. You can also try borax on the carpets. Broom it in and leave it a couple days. Worst case, Advantage makes flea bombs. It worked pretty well for us. Follow directs carefully. Fleas here are getting resistant to a lot of stuff. Good luck.

[ordinarygirl]

yep - it's fleas....or worse deer ticks??. I use Revolution on Daxy - it's from the vet and I paid almost $50 for a three month supply but it takes care of fleas, ticks, ear mites and prevents heart worm in case he gets bit by an infected mosquito.

And there's no such thing as 2 or 6 fleas - once they have fleas - they have a bazillion and they and all of their surroundings need to be treated.

Please, please, please do not use Heartz ANYTHING - their products are known to kill an animal. If you can't get to a vet to get a prescription please use something that's intended for kittens and again, NOT Heartz.

Also for the future - well, it won't matter now because your ferret will be treated and protected going forward but a park, the beach etc anywhere where other animals go is exactly where you'll pick up fleas and ticks.

Even so my ferret is treated - when we get home I give him a good inspection for bugs cause he can still get bit or still bring them home with him!

[nori]

Thanks for the help guys. I should have responded earlier but I was busy with Nori.

SHES OK!

Like suggested, I washed all her toys and bedding, and mine. I also treated my room and got her Advantage 2 for kittens. And I also started checking her before getting home (whenever we go out) to make sure she's all right.

Thanks again.

[ordinarygirl]

Awesome!

[unclejoe]

Yay! Fleas are no fun. IN Florida we have them year round.