QUESTION:
I did read your postings about fur coloration changes, I actually have a male who was dark with a mask up until he was about 2 years then turned all cream with some peppering of black. He is now about 5 and his cream coloring is turning like a brassy orange/gold. The other cream male we have has the same thing happening. Is this bad?

ANSWER:
Are the males breeding males? With the change of season, colors in the fur are accentuated by the undercoat or lack thereof. Plus breeding males sometimes exhibit a more golden undercoat, due to the exces of oil in the coat. Ferrets kept outdoors always have a much brighter gold/orange coat, as the oils in the skin
oxidise, turning the coat a deeper color. Personally I love the rich colors of ferrets kept outdoors, these are natural ferret colors.

QUESTION:
I have had my ferret for about 8 months, and she's almost a year old. When I got her she had black, with very little gray, and white fur. I thought i noticed a little color change about 2 days ago but it was hardly noticeable. I gave her a bath about 20 minutes ago and when I began to wet her I really saw the color change. Her fur has now turned so gray it actually looks silver. Is there something wrong with my her? Is that normal? I'm getting worried that she may be sick. Is it her food, because I recently changed it? Could it be the change in the weather? I thought it might be because of the weather change because I also noticed that she is shedding A LOT, but I don't want to just stick with thinking its the weather when it could be something serious.

ANSWER:
There is nothing wrong with your ferret! As the seasons change and the days get longer, or shorter, the ferret will change its coat. Everything in a ferret is governed by the amount of light, not the weather, right now the days are getting shorter, so less daylight hours and hence the shedding. Each time the coat changes there will be a variation in color, dark ferrets often seem much lighter with their thick white winter undercoat which they will shed in Spring and become much darker again. Albino ferrets often look much whiter with winter coats and then can go quite yellow in Summer, or the opposite may be true. Silver ferrets go much lighter with age, each season becoming more silver and losing a lot of black markings. Some ferrets who have patches of color loose these patches as they age with each change of coat and so color changes are quite normal.

QUESTION:
I have a Silver Tipped ferret. When he was a baby he of course was white and silver. Now after a bit his white has become more yellow. The spots where it looks like he grooms are more yellow than the other areas. Is there any way for me to get that yellow out of his coat safely without hurting him?

ANSWER:
Is he a breeding ferret? If so the coloration may be due to oxidation from the hormones and that color cannot be removed. Has he grown in a new winter coat? You will find with seasonal changes the coat will either go whiter or he may turn out more cream than white.

I have a brother and sister that started out the same color, now one is snow white with hints of silver/black and the other is a creamy color. They also have a brother who is an albino, but his winter coat has a beautiful orange glow to it.

You will find withtime that your ferret's coat will even out in color and each time he changes coat you may be surprised what color coat he will put on. Definitely do NOT try to lighten or whiten color, let him be himself.