Does anyone know how to keep Ferret's from stinking?

Question

We have two ferrets & know matter what we do they smell up my whole house.We give them a bath,put special drops in there water & they still stink.

Answer 1

Even descented ferrets stink. You can do a lot to try to minimize it, but you will not eliminate it. Still, they are cute!

Have you tried one of those new things that constantly put scent into the air? There are all kinds of those things on the market now.

I never really understood the ferret for pet thing. My neighbors daughter wanted one. I warned him. The pet shop said they could be descented...no problem. He bought her two. Within six months they were taken to the animal shelter. I have no idea what happened to them from there.

Answer 2

Ferrets will smell like ferrets, something to be considered BEFORE becoming a ferret owner.
If you live in the US chances are that your ferret has already been descented, so that's not the problem at all. If you life in the UK it is illegal to descent them, so you'll have to live with that.
The term "descenting" only refers to the removal of the anal gland. Much like skunks, ferrets naturally have an anal gland that they use to show their dismay, disgust or fear. They spray like a skunk would. Descenting removes that gland.
Ferrets also emit a musky odor from glands on their body, especially in the head/neck region and those glands cannot be removed. The smell really isn't that bad if you keep up with your ferret chores.
Do not bathe them more than once a month. Bathing strips them of oils that keep them from itching. You take them away too often their skin will just make more faster, resulting in a smellier ferret even sooner.
Make sure you clean their ears when you bathe them, they can get smelly.
Scoop their litter boxes twice daily. Wash the entire cage down once a week and change the bedding as needed, but completely once a week. I use old t-shirts for bedding. Ferts love sleeping in them and they're washable and will smell good if you use good softner. Also change and wash hammocks and anything else they sleep in or on.
Read the label on your ferret food. Ferrets will smell worse if the major source of protein is fish or fish-by product based. I also noticed that mine smell worse on Marshall's food and Totally Ferret, but not if I mix several foods together. Right now I'm feeding 8in1 Ultimate Crunchy and Maxximum Kitten.
Make sure the room they're in is well ventilated and if the room is big enough plug in a Febreze Noticables.
My house is not very big and I have FOUR ferrets, but you would never know it unless I haven't been keeping up with them for a day or you're right in their room.

Answer 3

Even with regular bathing, and the drops, ferrets are going to just smell. People think that just because they are decented, they won't have a scent, but that is far from the truth. Just make sure that they are on a high quality ferret food, and there are no underlying skin disorders. Make sure that their living conditions and litter boxes are clean.Bathe them regularly with shampoo made for ferrets. You can get some ferret "freshening spray" too, which is like a "ferret cologne" and meant to be safe for them. Even after all that, they will still have some odor..that's just the way they are.

Answer 4

Ok, bear with me because I might sound insane... Don't give them baths very often. Yes, I said DON'T give them baths. The more frequently you give them baths the more they will smell because their bodies are trying to replace the oil on their fur which is the main cause of what you are smelling. The more you bathe the oilier they get. I let my ferrets swim around in water every so often but I don't actually bathe them except a few times a year. I'll tell you every time I bathe them the stink worse for a short period of time until the oil calms down.

The other thing is those ionic air fresheners work wonders at taking ferret odor out of the air.

Best of luck to you!

Answer 5

Take to the VET and get them descented-only a vet can do it safely but even then they ill have a faint odor but not near as bad as now. Also keep the baths to a minimum for bathing them is making them release more of the gland secretions that give them the odor -ithe odor comes from a gland and is not due to them being dirty------instead of a wet bath-get the dry powder that you brush through and leaves a pleasant smell.

Answer 6

they dont stink because they are carnivors, They have scent glands that can be removed it calms down the stench quite a bit, but not all the way, its still a faint smell. Ferretts love to swim though at least my two did.. sucker him into a bath with some smelly shampoo. should help some too

Answer 7

Ferrets stink because they are carnivores. Their poop and breath is going to stink and there isn't anything you can do.

I would check into the Marc Marrone website.

They're cute and fun to play with but the downside is what you're talking about.

Answer 8

Emile King.