Ferret advice:

[xxDusti]

Hi everyone

My mom said If I could pay for a ferret and the cage, I can get one. But he main issue is that she thinks they smell too much. My room is the converted garage, so I do have a lot of ventilation, but she's afraid it'll "seep" into the house. I already have a hamster and a pair of rats in my room. I'd like to know if theres something to make a descented ferret smell "pretty"?

[nakedrats]

I have a ferret.



I didn't have one for a long time because of roommate issues (just finished college) with "the ferret smell".   Ferrets have a musk that they produce with their skin oil, and there's pretty much no getting away from it.  It's kind of like "doggy smell".  Dogs have a smell to them, rats have a smell to them....even clean animals in clean housing have a certain odor to them.  Ferrets have a bit more than other animals.  In my experience, the best thing to do about ferret smell is get them to use a litter box.  A lot of the stinky smell associated with ferrets is because they are carnivores and meat-based droppings smell really bad.  With cats, their litter dries up the droppings, eliminating most of the smell.  Ferrets can't use conventional clumping or clay based cat litters because a ferret will squat and go directly onto the litter (and wipe afterwards) unlike the cat which squats over the litter without touching it.  Yesterdays News works really well to dry out the droppings and soak up the pee, and since it's pelleted, it's safe for ferrets to use.  To keep the smell down, dump the litter box every day.  Between using the litter box, changing out all the bedding at least once a week and bathing once a week or so (everyone does this differently, some say once a week, some once a month, some never. I do about every other week.)  Always change out bedding before returning your ferret to it's cage after a bath or it'll just rub on all of it's dirty bedding and get musky again.  That's pretty much all you can do.  I'd stay away from "ferret-descenting food additives" or "conditioning sprays" because a ferret licks itself to groom and you don't want to be feeding your ferret chemicals.  If you simply keep your ferret cage clean and keep after the litter box, you'll be fine.

Now that your question is answered, I have some practical advice.  Please please please don't get a ferret unless you can afford it's vet bills.  The initial cost of acquiring the fuzz, it's toys, cage, hammies, etc is pocket change compared to what goes down WHEN it gets sick.  Ferrets are considered exotic animals, so you'll have to find a vet that will see them.  They need to be kept up on their rabies and distemper vaccinations every year, and melatonin implants every three months are a great idea as well to help stave off adrenal disease.  You can pretty much expect to see either adrenal disease or insulinoma or both in a ferret's lifetime, and these can be seriously draining on the pocketbook.  If you think a couple hundred dollars is bad for an e-vet visit for a rat, try getting about a thousand dollars together for adrenal surgery for your ferret after you've spent a hundred dollars a month on Lupron injections for the last 6 months.  Insulinoma costs at least a hundred dollars a month for the rest of the ferret's life for medication, and then emergency visits for seizures.  These aren't just old age diseases.  Adrenal disease hits as early as 2 years old, and ferrets are natural trouble makers and hurt themselves all the time.  Ferrets are expenisve expensive pets.  Trust me, when you buy the cage and everything, you're only getting started.  It's great that you're willing to pay for stuff, but make sure you (or your mom) are able to take care of your ferret when it gets sick.  I volunteer at a ferret shelter and I can't tell you how many ferret owners I'd love to strangle because they show up with a seriously ill ferret and sign it over to the shelter because they couldn't afford the vet bills.  Please do your research, talk to other ferret people, find a vet and ask how much they charge for adrenal surgery, a month's supply of Predisone, or a series of Lupron injections.

If you do get a ferret, please rescue!  If you aren't sure you can afford your own ferret, do what I do and foster.  I have an older and slightly bitey ferret that sat in the shelter for 2 years and without being adopted.  Rather than make her live out the rest of her days in the shelter, she was placed with me as a permanent foster.  She's basically mine, but I can fall back on the shelter for help with vet bills if neccessary.  The shelter is just glad for the extra cage space and for the expenses I can cover.

Some good references:
www.ferretvillage.org
www.rockysferrets.com (our rescue site)

[Ktina]

I definately don't recommend getting a ferret unless you can afford the vet bills, they can get outragious.

Please do NOT bathe that often!  Not only does bathing strip them of their natural oils, but it also can make them smell worse since they try to make up for the lost oils.  Don't bathe unless you need to since it does nothing.

[weelass20]

I bath my ferret once a week using "ferretsheen 8-1" for a few months now and haven't had any problems with it so far, and he smells nice aswell - I wash his hammocks before putting him back too! So get 2 beds. I've also got an Oust odour eliminator, it has a built in fan and works to eliminate odours and it keeps my room smelling freash. I also don't have any carpets or rugs and had to attach 4 stumps to the legs of my bed to make it higher(being 21, I'm Not getting bunkbeds lol) so he can't climb up and play on my bed and sheets. Also I feed him dry cat food and that keeps his shites from smelling.

[Ktina]

You cannot wash them once a week, it's not only needed but I've also explained why above.  Sigh.  I hate when people don't listen. 

[weelass20]

Well 6 months of washing him with no problems and he smells nice and he's so soft and fluffy - But sorry, attitude - wow!! All ferret owners aren't complete idiots and I'm sure they would stop if there was a problem - so please don't come out with that "I'm an experienced ferret owner and you don't know any better" hehaw - I could have listened to you and ended up with a smelly ferret 

[Ktina]

I'm not acting like I'm a know it all, I just feel that you should listen to advice.  Don't give out advice if you don't know what you are talking about.  Any ferret specific forum you join will tell you washing them anymore than once a month is bad for them.  You're only hurting your ferret.

[weelass20]

I wouldn't have shared MY advice if his hair had fell out or his eye balls came out his sockets after doing this - I don't have any problems using this shampoo and it keeps the smell down, so sorry but those are all the things I do to keep his smell down, and I sugested a pacific make of shampoo not any old crap off the shelf - That's hardly giving bad advice. Sorry for what I said was so offensive to your knowledge   

[Ktina]

Actually, try not washing him for a while and just cleaning his cage out regularly, you'll find that he will not smell.  You should have known about ferret's smell before getting him and learned how to deal with it (that doesn't include anything that's bad for him i.e, washing him every week).

[weelass20]

Well I have learned how to deal with, 1 of them being washing him regulary with a good shampoo that doesn't dry his skin out. If it was going to cause harm to him it would have done it after the first few washes. I wouldn't care if he did smell it's just nice that he doesn't. People get used to bad smells in their house and don't realise it smells at all untll someone new walks in.

Anyway, I love my little frankenstein and all my other animals very much and he has a great home, he could have went to abusive owners and had a crappy life but he didn't - so what's the problem - none? great - good! 

[Ktina]

Your choice not to listen. 

[DragonTamer]

honestly don't bathe a ferret once a week, it strips their natural oils off their skin.  When that happens, they work overtime to produce more of that oil, and their odor will increase because of it.  once a month is going far, even, but it's better than once a week!   

This is just EXTREMELY common knowledge amongst ferret owners who've done their research, not the crap that pet stores tell you that have no clue what the heck they're talking about, or ferret mills who just want people to buy from them anyway and are looking for a profit. 

[Sarahha]

Just wanted to comment on the fact that you have rats & a hampster in the room you will put the ferret(s) in. Be extra careful about this. Rats & ferrets will kill eachother. You wouldn't want to go through that  Be sure the housing is secure and free range happens under close observation. Also, it is quite obvious that hampsters don't have a chance against ferrets. Careful of that too.  Not telling you not to get the ferret, just to be careful 

[nakedrats]

Hmm...maybe mine is just extra stinky.  When I first got her she smelled really bad.  I started with the once a month bath schedule, and it didn't do much.  She was back to her really stinky self in about two weeks.  My friend bathes hers every week and hers smelled much nicer than mine.  I tried bathing her more often and it helps in my particular situation.  I kept a close eye on her skin for signs of increased dandruff or irritation/itching.  I didn't bathe her over the winter much for warmth reasons and she went back to her stinky old self.  Maybe i'm missing something, but every other week seemed to help.  Ferret websites all say different stuff.  Some do say once a month, some less, some more.  I just worked it out for myself and so far nothing bad happened.  Is there something concrete I should be watching out for?  If the ferret seems happy, healthy and comfortable, is there something else I need to be worried about?  Sorry to hijack, just looking for other people's experiences.