Stinky Ferrets

Keeping the Smell Down

By Holly

-Scoopin poo daily - Don't forget to clean the actual box every once in a while too

-Washing their blankets every week, or more if they're messy

-Air purifier - GermGuardian is the best! (it's kinda expensive but if you can afford it, yay! Make sure it’s ozone free/not ionic. Ozone is dangerous for small animals. *Note: humidifiers/diffusers are different than air purifiers, and use water. They just make the air more moist. If you use humidifiers/diffusers, don’t use any essential oils! They are toxic to ferrets & cats)

-Those charcoal bag purifiers (only mildly helps - must keep out of reach of ferrets)

-Leaving a window open a tiny bit

-No baths - that generates even more oils and smell (for emergencies, just do warm water. For REAL BAD emergencies, you can use an oatmeal bath - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y57zX92-nH_bQV8BiZgSO9KvctOAZZuE/view )

-Good diet - less fillers & veggies means less stink (freeze-dried raw or full raw diet instead of kibble can greatly help with this!)

-Rice dig box - only non-instant rice! (If it’s instant, it can puff up in their stomach if ingested and cause a blockage. The non-instant rice absorbs the skin oils without totally stripping it like soap does) Note: This should be a dig-box outside of the cage, never in the cage.

-Vacuum/mop on a more regular basis!

-If you are currently transitioning their food to something better quality, they can be going through a “detox” for a few weeks where their poos will be smellier and they may be more oily

-...it’s unlikely, but are they in-tact? If they are in-tact and in season, this can increase their odor for sure.

Note they'll always have a mild musky odor, just like dogs have that doggy odor. Not much you can do about that. Hopefully you learn to love it

(What NOT to use: scented candles, essential oil diffusers, air fresheners, incense, fragrances, spritzers, sprays, dryer sheets. These are toxic to ferrets and should be AVOIDED)

Please note that ESSENTIAL OILS and a lot of other scents are TOXIC to ferrets. Here’s some ferret-friendly scents for you to use:

https://holisticferretforum.com/safe-scents/

Risks of essential oils (article is about cats, but ferrets have the same structure and would process them the same way): https://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/blog/essential-oils-cats/

Oatmeal Baths

By Tara Whithawk PDF form

Oatmeal contains compounds that have anti-inflammatory and moisture-retaining properties - so it can help freshen up your fuzzy and get them smelling good without drying out their skin or stripping oils 😊

What you need:

Plain old fashioned oats work best (instant is also fine as long as it is PLAIN / unflavored & additive free).
Old sock, face cloth, or cheesecloth (pouch to hold oats, but allows water to move freely through).
String to tie the pouch (or other fastener).
Tub, sink, or water basin (vessel to bath in).
Ferret(s)

What to do:

Fill the pouch with the oats, then tie or fasten closed.
Fill the bath vessel with warm water (never hot!).
Place the pouch in the water to soak, and gently massage pouch to infuse oats & water.
Once the bath appears "milky", remove the oats pouch and add ferret(s).
Rinse the ferret with fresh water when the bath is done.

Bathing Ferrets

By Holly

Ferrets shouldn’t be bathed regularly. They are a bit smelly by nature, so hopefully you grow to love their musky smell. If bathed with ANY soap, it strips the oils from their fur and skin. This dries out their skin, and their body works over-drive to replace the oils that are suddenly gone...making them even stinkier! I would suggest a bath (with oatmeal) no more than once a year. Otherwise, any warm-water bath/spot-cleaning is fine!

If your ferret gets into a potted plant (keep these out of reach, some soils & plants can be toxic!), rolls around in poo, or anything else, and NEEDS a bath, an oatmeal bath is recommended. Most of the time I just do a warm water bath and it’s good enough (even when washing poopy butts!)

A lot of ferrets don't like being submerged in water - with my boys I plug up the bathroom sink or I use a small cat litter box to use as a "ferret tub" while supporting their tummy underneath.

The only ferret-safe shampoo is the "BioGroom Protein Lanolin" shampoo - still, this should only be used in emergencies. (Ferret version of the shampoo was discontinued Summer 2019 but the company confirmed the recipe for the dog shampoo is the 100% exact same)

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