Expert: Jacquie Rodgers - 4/19/2007

Question
QUESTION: Hi,
I was just wondering if both male and female ferrets smell and what is the best way to stop the smell?

Thankyou!
ANSWER: Hi Steven:

Yes, both male and female ferrets both have odors to them. They smell a LOT less 'ferrety' once you get them home from the pet store and give them a nice sudsy good warm bath in Johnson's Baby Shampoo and rinse them really well, then rinse again just for good measure.

The best way to make sure you have the least smell possible is to  purchase neutered pets, either male or female, and to keep their cage clean DAILY, scoop their litterbox and add fresh litter DAILY and also to change their blankets and bedding at least twice a week.  I wipe my kids cage out morning and night with a very weak solution of Pine Sol (1-tsp per qt).  There is a LOT of work to keeping ferrets if you are going to keep them without them stinking, but it *can* be done.

I highly recommend that BEFORE you purchase a ferret, you buy the book FERRETS FOR DUMMIES by Kim Schilling and read it cover to cover and make sure you are willing to make the commitment it takes to have a pet ferret - they are very very unlike any other pet. There is a LOT more care involved, more work, and more one-on-one DAILY playtime that MUST be supervised (2-3 hours a day).  Also, consider what may be happening in your life in the next 8 to 10 years, as ferrets bond strongly to their masters and often die when they are re-homed, so if you are going to go away to college, have a family, etc - those are all things to consider.

Also you can do a lot of reading here:

http://www.ferretcentral.org and click on "FAQs" and read each topic for some general information on ferrets, health problems, etc.  Ferrets are prone to many diseases, and owners often end up with huge vet bills before the ferret's life is over, so you need to keep a bank account for them (at least that's what I do).  It's not unusual to have a $1,000 vet bill just because the ferret ate something like a rubberband or an eraser - so you will want to make sure you know ALL about FERRETPROOFING your house (or maybe just one room if you want to keep him out of the whole house) to keep those $1,000 "accidents" from happening.  ALso, the quality of food, water, playtime & toys and attention your ferret gets contributes to his/her health - so be sure to read up BEFORE hand and save yourself a bunch of money IF this isn't the ferret for you - and IF it is..then, you will know how to keep you ferret healthy and happy for a long life.

Don't hesitate to write again if I can be of further help. Best of luck!

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thankyou,
That was very helpful. How do you keep ferrets outside in a cage, is this a good method or should they be inside?

Answer
Hi Steven:

Ferrets are definitely inside pets. They should *NEVER* be in temperatures above 82 degrees, so that eliminates most of the country in the summer time. Ferrets cannot cool themselves, so they die in a matter of minutes in 80 degree weather!!  My ferrets have a stroller (like babies have) and I take them outside for walks when the weather is cool. The stroller has mesh sides so they can look out, so they LOVE to go outside and smell all the new smells and see all the new things to see!)  They also have harnesses and leashes, but they aren't great about keeping up with you, pretty much you have to just follow them on a leash, which is very slow as they check out everything and you try to keep them out of dangerous places :-)

Mostly we keep them in cages large enough they can play with full, flat floors (not wire floors and not the little "perch" shelves some cages have. Tney need room to roll around and plastic shelves clean up really easily. Even ramps, if they are wire, should be carpeted so they don't hurt the ferret's feet. Ferrets LOVE to play indoors, run and play with you, play hide and seek, chase, all kinds of games. The house has to be "ferretproofed" however, or it is dangerous for ferrets - things like rubberbands and erasers are deadly for ferrets - they eat them and get intestinal obstructions, which means nothing can move thru from their stomach.  IF the ferret is lucky, his owner can recognize an intestinal obstruction and get him to emergency surgery before he dies.

There are MANY MANY things about ferrets that are very very different than dogs and cats, which is why I wanted you to read the URL's I listed in the previous answer. There is just too much to write in one place.  The other option is to read a book called "FERRETS FOR DUMMIES" by Kim Schilling - it's a really good book and you can get it pretty cheaply on eBay.

IF you are considering getting a ferret or two, it is very very important that you read a LOT before choosing the ferret, the cage, the food,and the area the cage will be kept in; also before you decide what toys he will be allowed to play with and what things need to be removed from a room before he can run free to play (and how to litterbox train him so he doesn't go poop and pee all over in the house too!)  So, it's very very important to READ, READ, READ to have a happy experience with a ferret - they are VERY different than any other pet!

In case you need it again, the URL is:

http://www.ferretcentral.org  and click on "FAQs", then click on each link and read all about each topic.

Best of luck!

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers