How to Control Your Ferret's Odor

It's not difficult to keep your ferret and his cage from having an offensive odor. Getting into the habit of routine ferret care with the right products should help to solve your problem.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Many would-be ferret owners hesitate to take the plunge and buy a ferret for themselves because of what they've heard people say about ferret odor. It is true - ferrets do have their own distinctive scent. It has been described as "musky" or a "cheap perfume" smell. This odor is as natural for a ferret as it is for a clean dog to have a slight case of doggie odor. Many people make the mistake of bathing the ferret often, attempting to get rid of this smell. This only makes the scent stronger and more pungent.
2. Ferrets have skin oil, just as humans do. It helps to keep their skin and coat from getting too dry, and is one of the main sources of the faint odor all healthy ferrets have naturally. When you give a ferret a bath, his skin goes to work to produce more of the oil that was just washed away. The more often you bathe your ferret, the more skin oil is produced. This can turn into quite a vicious circle, as the overabundance of oil from the scent glands located throughout the body is what causes some ferrets to simply reek.
3. Another cause of ferret odor can be associated with unsanitary conditions in your pet's cage. Ferrets are like cats in that they are clean animals, and can be litter trained. A corner litter box filled with an absorbent litter suitable for ferrets should be provided to minimize waste matter scattered about the cage. The litter box should be cleaned out daily, along with any areas in the cage where your pet may have relieved itself.
4. The entire cage should be cleaned on a weekly basis. All litter and/or bedding should be removed, and the cage washed down with a cage cleaner and deodorizer. Everything your ferret has come into contact with should be cleaned and/or washed. You will be pleasantly surprised, as will your nose, at how much odor can be controlled by maintaining a cleaning routine.

Tips & Warnings

• Baking soda is a good deodorizer for you ferret's litter box.
• Instead of using that ferret shampoo on your ferret, put it to work on his hammock or other bedding. The odor-killing ingredients in the shampoo will work quite well in eliminating odor from these items.
• Try feeding your ferret a diet that is not fished based. For some reason, this seems to help keep the natural musky smell from being quite as strong.
• Only use animal-safe cleaning products in your ferret's cage.