Ferrets are often over looked as a household pet, which is a shame as they make very loving pets. Often this is because of their smell, in particular, the unneutered males. They have an unusual, pungent, distinctive smell that puts many people off from considering them as a pet.
The associated smell with ferrets is rather musky. Which is mostly produced by their sweat glands around their tail and bottom. The smell marks as a form of scent marking and from keeping other ferrets from entering their territory in the wild. The musky smell also forms an important part of the ferret reproduction, attracting a mate and mating, which is why the unneutered male ferret is far smellier than the female ferret.
However, owning a pet ferret doesn't mean that you have to have a smelly house. There is a whole host of things you can do to help eliminate the smell that they produce.
Listed below are some helpful, handy tips on how to keep your home fresh and clean if you're a pet ferret owner.
Daily clean of their dwellings
Urine and faeces is found in every litter tray as thats the reason for the tray. This will require to be cleaned on a daily basis to help improve the smell of your ferret and their cage. Owners that don't clean their pets litter tray fall foul of having a smelly home as one of the main culprits to the smelly home is the ferret's cage. The cause of the smell comes from the ferret's glands that produce the musky scent are found in their back passage.
Cleaning your ferret
As with any pet, it is important that they're not bathed too often as this can lead to dry skin and damaged fur. An overwashed pet can cause the overproduction of sebum and other bodily fluids which all contribute towards the ferret smell.
Taking this into consideration, you will need to keep on top of their cleaning rituals and wash them when they are very smelly.
Bonding with a gentle brush
Grooming and brushing your ferret every now and then will help with the bonding and communication between you both. They will most likely enjoy it and it will also help stimulate the skin and healthy grow of hair. Giving your ferret a good brush will also help significantly with the shedding of hair that can spread around the home and further pollute with the musky smell.
Open a window
A house or room that has not gentle airflow will soon become very smelly and stale. This is more likely to happen if you also keep a pet in there all day. Airing the room whilst your ferret plays or sleeps elsewhere, will help reduce the smell and stagnation. If the ferret is unable to reach the window, then you could leave it open ever so slightly to enable a continuous flow of fresh air.
Choosing their dwelling carefully
When choosing the room that the ferret will reside in, it is important that you choose wisely. The same goes for the room that you allow the ferret to run around and gain exercise. It's worth considering choosing a room without a carpet, for obvious reasons. Rooms with very little furnishings and no carpet, make better rooms for your ferret to play and not cause any lingering smells
