It seems no matter how much I clean out the cage and litter box, as well as giving him a bath, the smell is still as strong as it was before I cleaned it out!
And how do you train ferrets to use the litter pan? I have tried everything. He will use it once in a blue moon. But mostly, he will push the litter pan out of the way and use it in the corner of the cage itself? I even bought one of the pans that attaches to the cage and he still figures out how to move it and get to the corner of the cage!
2006-09-06 05:45:50 · 9 answers · asked by Jen 2 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
I know they are related to the skunks. But I'm not talking about the "musky" smell in general. The smell I mean is the smell of their poop and pee. If you walk in the room with my ferret, it smells like a 5 gallon bucket of pee is sitting in the room!
2006-09-06 06:08:00 · update #1
As for the neutered response, where I live it is illegal to sell or own a ferret that is not neutered. So yes, mine is neutered lol!
2006-09-06 06:39:23 · update #2
as far as litter pan training, i have no idea. but for the smell of his waste, i HIGHLY recommend Bi-Odor Internal Waste & Urine Deodorizer. it's this stuff (that is totally benign--it doesn't harm them at all) that you put in their water and it literally neutralizes the odor of their waste internally. it's made by this company called Marshall Pet Products (http://www.marshallpet.com). They actually specialize in ferret products and they may even have some tips for litter pan training on their site.
2006-09-06 06:16:22 · answer #1 · answered by souixzeequeue 2 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Don't bathe them too often (once every 3 months or so at most) they say that ferrets will produce more oils after being bathed...more smell.
No ferret is ever 100% litter trained. I have 2 litter boxes in my ferrets cage, as well as 3 in their play room. If you can find where they are going, put a litter box in that spot. When you clean the pans, don't clean them too good. You still want the ferret to be able to smell where he has gone. But do clean really well where he is not suppose to go (hope that makes sense)
2006-09-06 07:02:07 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
First off, the myth that a ferret can be litter trained like a cat is a myth. You can litter train them, but they will always have times where they miss. Also, is your ferret an adult or still a kit? If an adult this will be a bit difficult. If a kit, then you should be ok. Here's what I've done with mine: 1) Make sure the litter pan is big enough to fit their whole body into 2) Before letting them out of the cage, tell them "Go potty!" and every time they step out of the litter pan put them back in. Do this repeatedly until they do something. When they do reward them with Bandit treats or ferretone & love on 'em & praise 'em & let 'em know he/she is the best ferret in the whole wide world. This will get them in the habit of going potty before leaving the cage. 3) Re: roaming time (outside of cage) you need to have litter pans everywhere. They're intestines & bladders are tiny, and when the urge hits them to go they go quickly, because they don't have time to search for "one" litter pan. As a result you'll have little surprises here & there to clean up. Again, love & praise & treat your ferret every time he/she uses the litter pan.
2016-03-27 00:20:49 · answer #3 · answered by Jeanne 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have raised ferrets for years, ALL of mine HATED the corner littler boxes. What I did was get a 6-8 quart Rubbermaid container (the tallish square or rectangular clear or semi translucent kind worked best for me) and I cut a square hole (biggish hole) in it on one side about 3-4 inches from the bottom, and I secured it to the cage with bungee cord. I have one of these on the top and bottom floor of my Midwest cage, one for each ferret. If your guy has a multi level cage like a Midwest I would suggest a box on each level too. Think about it, how would you feel if you had to go all the way down stairs just to go potty in the middle of the night. Ferrets digest food super fast, that’s why they eat so much, and when they have to go, they have to GO! I am sure you have seen him dart awake from a dead sleep and run to the corner. So when the ferret is out of the cage make sure you have lots of litter boxes out as well. If it is a problem of him going to the bathroom just anywhere outside the cage, make sure to watch him closely, if he starts to back toward anything, pick him up and plop him in the littler box.
Now on to the smell, not only do you have to scoop the box out say up to 5x a day. But you should be cleaning it with bleach once a week as well (rinse rinse rinse). Also it helps to change all the bedding at least every two weeks because the smell seems to leech into the bedding.
Ferrets like to dig so if he is making a mess of his littler by kicking it around everywhere try this. Buy a large cat litter pan and enough uncooked rice, about 5 or 6lbs of it and put it in the pan. You might want to put the pan on a flat bed sheet to make it easier to clean up later. Your little guy might need some encouragement so get him in the rice and let some rain from your hand down on him, flip him on his back and play-drag him through the rice. Mine loved this, and none of them ever ate the rice. I got the idea from a Bob Church article. Google Ferrets and Bob Church for more ideas.
Good luck.
2006-09-06 10:31:58 · answer #4 · answered by Blu 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Keep the litter box very clean. And make sure you use a large box that he can fit his whole body in.
Ways to keep ferret smell down:
1. Don't bathe too often. Bathing strips natural oils from their skin and then their body works overtime to replace it resulting in a stinkier ferret. More baths=more smell.
2. Feed high quality food with little to no fish in it. Definitely do NOT feed Marshalls ferret food. Use this chart to pick out a couple of brands: http://everythingfert.proboards36.com/index.cgi?board=kristen&action=display&thread=1109195167 . Any brands that rate a "1" or a "2" are excellent choices.
3. Keep their ears clean. A lot of stink can come from them.
4. Keep their litter box clean
5. Wash their bedding frequently
6. Do a complete washing of the cage as needed.
2006-09-06 13:29:20 · answer #5 · answered by Em 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well is he neutered?
Having a ferret neutered is the best answered to the smell problem. My mum and i have kept ferrets for 12 years and have had over 150 ferrets pass through our door. Currently we have 38 of the little rascals and every male and female has been neutered. When we get visitors they don't realise that we keep ferrets has we have rabbits as well. I sold my tortoise other day and we was out on the garden, the gentleman just happened to glance around at my penn with my continental giant rabbit in. Then he spotted in the next penn were ferrets, he turned around and said 'I have always wanted a ferret but the smell put me off but i can't smell yours'. It was only because they were all neutered.
Has for the litter trays, we screwed them to the base of their hutches and Penn's and so far so good.
2006-09-06 06:35:58 · answer #6 · answered by Steph 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
well coming from another ferrit fan i can telll you two things.
Remember that a ferret is realted to the skunk, you are not going to get rid of that smell, best piece of advice, get some air freshners that will not harm the ferret and put them just outside his cage.
ferrets tend to use the corner of the cage several pet stores make a remedy for this, find a corner litter box, which looks like a triange, and latch it securly to the side of the cage.
this should work,
best of luck with your furry ferret friend
I see a good oder eliminating litter should do the trick then, ask a vet that specializes in exotic species
2006-09-06 05:53:44 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
I would look at the food that you are feeding you ferrets I have noticed that if my Ferts are feed food that Has fish in it... they their excriments smell really bad... There are foods that have all Chicken in it... I would wean them on to something with no fish in it...
As for their litter pan I had a problem with this too... so... I drilled holes in them and wired them to the cage... haven't have a problem since...
Also don't give him to many bathes... that will make the musk smell stronger... if you have any questions please let me know ...
2006-09-06 08:01:14 · answer #8 · answered by A_Soldiers_Wife 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I don't have a ferret. I have rabbits which can be stinky too. i've found that wood stove pellets work really well and this website http://www.rabbitcentral.com has litter odor absorbers which I think would work for your ferrets. Also try this website http://www.clickertraining.com for litter box training.
2006-09-06 06:06:23 · answer #9 · answered by sugarcarat 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋