Ferret losing hair on it's tail?

My roomates adopted a ferret a few months back from a family who could no longer keep her. When we got her she was pretty thin and had hair loss on her tail.





We had never had a ferrett before, but everyone we went to said that hairloss like that was normal and happened sometimes.





She's been on good food since we got her, and has gained a lot of weight back to a healthy weight. ( I have no idea what those other people were doing to make her so thin when we got her ).





And she seems to be fine, but the hair on her tail never grew back. The season is changing now and I just peeked at her and it looks like even more hair has fallen off of her tail...





any idea about what could cause this? Should we be concerned?Ferret losing hair on it's tail?
You absolutely should go to the vet and have it checked out. Ferrets can shed seasonally, but they also can develop adrenal disease, which is all too common in the species, and short of having the adrenal tumor removed (which is often a very risky surgery), the only thing you can do is treat it. I am not trying to scare you because this is not a definite diagnosis and I am not a doctor, but I had three ferrets, and two of them had adrenal disease that started out as hair loss on the tail. While this may not be what your ferret has, better safe by going to a vet than waiting until it gets bad and then kicking yourself for not going to a vet sooner. Call around to find a vet that sees ferrets because a lot of vets don't know much about them, so be selective about who you see. There are treatments for adrenal disease, such as Lupron injections and melatonin implants, but they only slow it down and can't cure it. But definitely have it checked...don't wait around! Your pet should be seen even when it's well for checkups, not just when there is a problem.Ferret losing hair on it's tail?
Adrenal tumors can cause hair loss in ferrets, and is not at all uncommon. I'd be concerned if it were my pet. Find a vet who treats exotic animals and have her examined. There are options to treat it, like medications or surgery.
She may lose more fur on her tail, which is referred to as rat tail, but she most likely will grow the fur back again when she grows in her new coat, next Spring. The hair loss can be anywhere on the body, top of head, base of tail, stomach, flanks, it is hairloss that does not grow back that is a sign of adrenal disease. Go to: www.miamiferret.org Click on Healthcare and then on ADRENAL DISEASE.





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There is NO need for you to go to a vet right now, so stop worrying, there is nothing that needs doing yet. If the hair loss progresses, then you will already have a diagnosis and you will have your options from reading the info that I suggested. She may not have anymore hair loss and grow in a beautiful new coat. Next year around the same time she may lose hair again, but she might not. I studied about ferrets that have had rat tail but then grow back in their coats and others that have hairloss on their bodies and never had a rat tail.