How do you stop a ferret from smelling?

Question

I HAVE FOUR FERRETS, TWO FEMALE AND TWO MALE. THE FEMALES SMELL WORSE THAN THE MALES WHICH IS CONFUSIN, COZ WE ALL KNOW BOYS SMELL WORSE THAN GIRLS!!!!!
ANY IDEAS ON HOW TO STOP THE SMELL?

Answer 1

Bathe them no more than once a month or every other month. If you bathe them more often their oil glands(the ones on their body that cannot be removed) will replace the smelly oils faster and they'll smell worse. At the same time clean their ears.
Clean their teeth.
You can buy wipes at the pet store to wipe them down with inbetween baths. I've never tried them, but a friend of mine uses them when she knows picky people with hypersensitive noses are coming over (get real people, you don't smell like roses either).
Use washable bedding for them to sleep in and change it weekly(I use old t-shirts). Wash their cage weekly and also their hammocks.
Keep them in a well ventilated room.
Scoop their litter box at least twice a day and remove all soiled litter.
Use good quality litter like Yesterday's News. I actually use a mix of Yesterdays' News and Feline Fresh(Yes, I know it's pine and pine is not good for small animals respiratory tract, but pine in PELLETED form is safe, shavings are not).
Last but not least READ YOUR FOOD LABEL. Ferrets need a diet high in protein and fat and low in carbohydrates. Make sure that the prime source of protein does NOT come from fish or fish by-products. Ferret foods containing fish will make your ferrets stools smell worse. .
And yes, Marshall makes a CHEMICAL you can add to their water named Bi-Odor. I personally do not use it. I do not believe feeding animals or people chemicals to make them smell better is right. Ferrets WILL smell like ferrets.

Answer 2

All ferrets have some level of odor. You didn't tell us if your ferrets are descented or not. If you bought them from a large pet store such as PetCo, then they are more than likely from Marshall Farms, which is a huge ferret vendor up north. This means that they should have come to you already neutered/spayed and descented. This is where the majority of ferrets come from.

You most certainly CAN and should bathe your ferrets. You can use a ferret shampoo or a kitten shampoo. Typically, what is OK for kittens is OK for ferrets. You should bathe them when they get 'smelly' which is usually once a week or so, or every other week.

The smell may also be coming from the bedding. Do you have them trained to a litter box? You should scoop the box daily and wash it really well at least once a week. You need to wash all their bedding/hammocks/etc. once a week. A lot of the smell depends on their conditions. We never used any sort of pine, wood chips, etc. in the cages, and this will also help them to become litter trained. You can use Yesterday's News for the litter and put it in a small cat box or a corner pan. If there is nothing else in the bottom of the cage, they will usually 'go' in there. They catch on pretty quick. Also, you need to scrub out the cage with hot water and soap every week or two. I know this sounds like a lot of work, but ferrets ARE a lot of work.

I hope this helps you.

amanda

Answer 3

Well I'll tell you i know where your at on this one... When i had Ferrets my girl really smelled badly but i did find that if you buy some sort of coat conditioner and bath them often well to be blunt about it almost daily the smell will go away and then you'll be able to skip a day here and there.... It works but you'll have to work hard on this one....

Answer 4

hold their little nose's. Being a ferret owner, you should know that ferrets, even though they're desented, they still have a musky Oder. If you bath them regularly with a good ferret shampoo and Cream rinse, it should keep the Oder down to a minimum. at first, back in the day's, Ferrets didn't come de sented and my hubby used Selsem Blue Shampoo and Horse Mane and tail cream rinse to keep they're itching down. Ferrets are itchy little weasels and keeping a good ferret skin conditioner on them helps them from scratching a hole in they're hides. hey, gotta love em!! :)

Answer 5

They have glands in their anus or around there. Get a vet to remove them and the smell will disappear. Plus if your females get into heat with the males around they will smell worse.

Answer 6

THEY MAKE STUFF TO PUT IN THEIR WATER TO HELP WITH THE SMELL I WASH MINE ALSO IT HELPS MOST FERRETS BOUGHT IN STORES HAVE ALREADY HAD THE SCENT GLAND REMOVED BUT THEY STILL HAVE AN ODOR

Answer 7

Neutering and spaying usually does it, and keeping the hutch clean. Clean it every day, not once a week.
Use a damp cloth to wipe them if they live indoors.

Answer 8

first off u cant bathe a ferret it will get sick! second you could have the ferrets descented

good luck

Answer 9

CLEAN THEIR EARS weekly, use the bedding that looks like newspaper all crumpled up, it's the healthier kind, lasts longer, and eliminates odor

Answer 10

I tried everything they just smell bad, when I say bad they're actually quite good at it!!