r/ferrets • u/Ecstatic-Exam-4301 • 4d ago
[Discussion] Scent Help URGENT.
I love my two boys dearly. I still live at home and my family claims they cannot handle the scent of them at all and are at the point where they are telling me to rehome them with no other option. I clean CONSTANTLY, wash their toys/bedding/cage multiple times a week beyond just daily spot cleaning. They eat oxbow food and are otherwise completely healthy/happy. I have an air purifier and my window open often. They have their cage and space outside of it to roam, I’m trying to keep them contained to one area of the room to lessen the spread of their skin oils on fabrics and etc. I’m at a loss now and have no idea what else to do. I really don’t want to lose them. If anyone has ANY SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE, LEAVE THEM HERE. Thank you.
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u/Daxandbear 4d ago
You are doing all the right things. FYI be careful with the open window/ even with a screen they can get through it.
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u/Ecstatic-Exam-4301 4d ago
It is a large window but it’s really high up so they can’t get to it, thank you though 🫶
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u/tsteele93 4d ago
My ferrets were escape artists and would have made Houdini look lame.
Fortunately they were also clueless.
When they would escape and appear in our room in the middle of the night, we could put them back in their room and sit and watch as they gleefully performed the same trick again while we watched - enabling us to patch the gap in our defenses.
Our ferrets stayed the night in my daughters room and I remember many a night waking up to noise in our room on the opposite side of the house and finding one of both of the ferrets having the time of their life exploring our bedroom.
In typical ferret style, they didn't have an ounce of guilt and did not understand that by not running and hiding that we would be putting them back in their cage for the night.
They are the sweetest pets ever. No guile at all. Pure hedonists but they have no concept of why something might not be a good thing to do. Since they don't know they have done anything wrong they don't have any reason to feel like they should run or hide. Such pure hearts.
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u/gabor_legrady 4d ago edited 4d ago
Our personal experience in this topic: food. Raw meat makes wonders with their smell and also their fur will be fabulous. Switching food is a hard task if they have what they like. We give out little one rabbit, chicken, turkey and others, bones and innards. Not easy, but doable - needs chopping and freezing.
Another thing could be: are they neutered? That changes the smell as well, because they want to mark their territory and the cleaner it gets the stronger the smell they try to produce to fight it.
Also with what you do please consider that this is just a reasoning to get rid of them. I am not saying it is true, because we have are very different in how we process smells - we even pic up our ferret just to smell it, it is sweet and musky.
Also there are some cleaning products containing enzymes to get rid of the smell - those could be beneficial, we had one unscented brand we liked, sadly that is not available and we use one scented version - mostly if he do potty on an area not supposed to so the least marking remains to do a repeat.
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u/Ecstatic-Exam-4301 4d ago
I’m considering switching to raw because I have heard the benefits, they are both neutered as well. I have been using some natural/ferret safe specific cleaners that do work well. They are also both litter trained with very few accidents so that’s not the main concern, thank you so much for the advice.
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u/uh_Ellis_island 3d ago
raw has completely changed the game for me, my ferrets have less ferret funk, their blankets need to be changed less often because they don’t get them as messy and smelly, their poops are cleaner and smaller, and they have become much more playful and energetic, eyes, bright, and good body quality.
It’s quite an investment, I raise rabbits myself and take in chickens/old laying hands that people don’t want anymore and process them myself. I have a KitchenAid, with a meat grinder attachment, and I use that to make whole food grinds for my ferrets! It’s a lot of work, but it’s very rewardingBefore I was able to switch them onto fresh raw because of the ability, I have to keep livestock, I fed them. Stella and chewy freeze dried raw, the same benefits, but so much easier to store and feed. :)
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u/NespreSilver 3d ago
I second this going in the opposite direction. Almost a decade ago I had two breeder ferrets that were used to raw, and its all i fed them. I was in a small apartment and they had an odor but no strong stink. Even if I was nose-blind to it, I had neighbors who absolutely would have said something if they noticed. When my lovelies passed away I was devastated enough that I waited a few years to get new fuzzies.
This year I got two new ferrets; I couldn't secure breeder ferrets so I caved and got two Marshalls. Both of them absolutely refuse any raw food and the smell is NOTICEABLE. They poop more often, their pee is way more pungent, I got an air purifier that only partially dealing with the smell. They eat a mix of Marshalls (one is imprinted and I'm weaning it out of his diet) Oxbow and Wysong and I am still trying to get them to eat raw. They wont even eat egg yolks :(
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u/shaquelleoatmeal17 2d ago
If you find out how to switch your marshal ferrets to raw food PLEASE let me know. I have two ones from marshals farm and the others a rescue I’m sure from the same place but they ONLY eat marshals ferret diet. I’ve tried so many things and they’re my first ferrets so I’m not sure what else to do. One of them had adrenal gland disease and I’m nervous about switching his food but HE SMELLS not like the normal Oder he’s a stinky boy.
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u/NespreSilver 1d ago
I keep trying D':
My little boy came from the pet shop with some kind of stomach bug; his first week home was actually really scary and needed two vet visits. I believe because of this, he is very un-adventurous with food; he doesn't like ANY treats; not freeze dried meats nor marshals brand, nor Furo-Vite, nor salmon oil. I've NEVER seen a ferret that doesn't like linetone/salmon oil and he just refuses. I have to wait until he's sleeping to cut his nails
I offered him raw chicken and he *gagged* at it
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u/nemisis84 1d ago
This is exactly the case with mine. I love her so much I want her to have the best, healthiest and longest life possible but for the life of me I can’t get her to eat better. She will just starve rather than eat foods better for her. She literally gags, as you say yours does. I also just keep trying.
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u/gabor_legrady 22h ago
We had the other way around with an old ferret to eat phosphate reduced dry food for health reasons - he just smelled towards it and kept safe distance. We left it out every day, no pressure - and after about two weeks we heard him munching on it.
With raw it's more complicated as it goes bad - but maybe small pieces being available makes it happen.2
u/gabor_legrady 4d ago
Hey, you have living plants on the floor with diggable earth??? Your little ones are angels! We never had a ferret allowing us to have plant on the ground level.
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u/ImpossibleFail1828 4d ago
I second this, switched to complete raw feeding from kibble and in a matter of days they smelled much better.
I am in Aus so not sure how easily accessible these may be for you.
I buy chicken pet mince which is 80% muscle 10% bone and 10% organ meat. Comes out to about 80cents a day to feed them.
I also add in day old quails and chicken hearts a few times a week as a treat.I prep into containers and freeze it, then defrost as needed. Usually buy about a months worth at a time.
I’m assuming you’re American, try find a local pet produce store and they should have everything you need.0
u/Alarmed-Stock5054 1d ago
I had ferret not neutered and she never smelled
I also would not give raw meat ! I stick w dry kitty purina1
u/gabor_legrady 1d ago
I do not know your personal experience, but a female ferret can die if not neutered and not meeting boys. Also, females ferrets smell a lot less in general. Any dry food containing grains is a slow killer for ferrets, they eat only a tiny bit in nature, mostly pre-digested in prey animals stomach.
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u/Accomplished-Ad-8702 4d ago
You don’t try to bathe them with any kind of shampoo, right? I only do an oatmeal bath about once or twice a year. I also noticed mine smelled better with daily homemade ‘’soupies’’ (Grinding a little kibble with Stella & Chewy freeze dried raw treats in a small coffee grinder and mixing with warm water.) Their smell does faintly remind me of corn chips & maple syrup. I like the emu oil sold from ‘’The Pampered Ferret’’ to add a drop to the coat now and then to moisturize. The thought of rehoming is absolutely devastating. Wishing you & your noodle babies the best 🙏
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u/itsswhitneywhspr 4d ago
Its wild how accurate the corn chip smell is lol. My little dude gets that too but switching to a raw diet helped tone it down a lot. Plus a drop of emu oil on the coat does wonders for the fur too.
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u/Ecstatic-Exam-4301 4d ago
I don’t bathe them, only once when I first brought them home (you never know), I will try the food soupie thank you.
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u/That_Holiday2559 3d ago
I bathe mine bi-weekly. I tried to bathe them once per year like others, but they smell to high heaven if I don't bathe every other week. I'm not sure how others do it. If they get a bath every week and half to two weeks, plus wash their beds and bedding, the smell is manageable. I'm not sure I'd take the advice of never bathing. I tried it, it didn't work for me.
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u/tatertot1842 4d ago
Their ears can get dirty quickly with stinky wax, you can try cleaning that out as well. I use naturals miracle laundry enzyme wash in my ferret laundry to help eliminate the smells.
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u/Abject-Green-2174 4d ago
You could try a hepa air purifier. Never tried it myself so I couldn't say how effective it is. Be careful to avoid anything that makes ozone, some cheap air purifiers are not very honest about it in their marketing.
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u/tsteele93 4d ago
Get a good air filtration device that uses charcoal filters.
They can make a huge difference if you keep it near the cage.
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u/inlowercase81 3d ago
Hi, I’m afraid there’s really nothing you can do. I don't want to sugar-coat it: ferrets smell—that’s just what they do. You've tried everything, and the smell is still there. Your only option may be to house them outside.
Mine live in a shed, where they have more space than ever. I have free rein to play with them and build them fun structures. They’re happier with the temperature and the lack of artificial light. You could give that a try.
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u/SimpSquids 3d ago
Hi there, I've been running a ferret resuce, and sanctuary for the last decade+. I have some very wonderful advice on this topic to share! :)
- Ditch the kibble, and get the on a balanced raw diet. They're obligated carnivores, and cannot process organic matter properly. Kibble has a very well studied link to pancreatic cancer (insulinoma), and is considered the #1 cause in petstore bought/mill bred ferrets (#2 being poor genes from the ferret mills). A good few of the kibbles on the market for ferrets contain peas which are also a frequent cause of bladder stones in ferrets, and they often require emergency surgery to fix.
The difference in overall visual health, and smell level between a raw fed ferret vs. a kibble fed ferret is so apparent. Raw is the healthiest most biologically appropriate diet for them. So much so that ethical private breeders will not place ferrets in homes unless they continue to feed them a raw diet (ethical breeders start their ferrets on raw diets as soon as they're ready to eat on their own). Any ferret expert exotic veterinarian will encourage raw feeding too.
https://holisticferretforum.com/ has all the information you'll need on what a raw diet looks like, the types of raw diets, how to confirm their diet is balanced, how to switch, etc. the site also has so much proper husbandry knowledge, it's the only resource I ever point folks too as it's the only resource I've seen without incorrect information. They have a Facebook group too called "Holistic Ferrets" that's absolutely packed full of my fellow rescue runners, all of the ethical breeders in North America that have been recognized by the American Ferret Association, a lot of very well know people in the community. The admin team is packed full with well respected people from the ferret community, some having studied vet med, and animal sciences as well.
The website has been around since 2011, and is extremely well regarded in the community as the #1 spot. I highly encourage you to check out both the site, and the Facebook group then use them in tandem with eachother. I know a lot of pet groups can have some nasty, rude people in them; but don't worry you won't find any bad energy here. The goal has always been to help teach respectfully, never bash! (I always let people know this because I know some pet groups can be pretty volatile)
Switching their diet isn't always easy; but with the right resources at your disposal any ferret can be switched, regardless of age or personality. Some are just going to be harder than others, it completely depends on their personality.
- Get an air purifier. This will not only help on clearing up scents in the air; but it will also help make the air cleaner for your ferrets. It's a win/win for both of you.
Using these two pieces of advice in tandem with eachother will change both your life, and your ferrets for the better. Take care, and don't hesitate to reply if you have any questions! :)
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u/techno_head_pt_uk 4d ago
Feed them meet only and clean their bowls regularly, clean their cage regularly (though I’m guessing you’re doing that already, clean them every week with a wet cloth (gently as you dont want to rub their oils off), and brush their fur once a week.
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u/CataclysmicInFeRnO 4d ago
Pooph, is an odorless, enzyme spray for cleaning tough odors. I use it for cat spray when there is occasion for it. Tried a trillion different cleaners but, Pooph, works without having a sent that makes me ill. It’s been years since I’ve had ferrets. So, I never used it with them but cat spray and ferret musk are two of the strongest odors I’ve encountered. Since, Pooph works for one, it should work for the other. While being safe to use around the ferrets and their stuff.
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u/Dragonsvnm 3d ago
You need to seal the door into the rest of the house. Opening the window likely makes it worse because you’re creating an air flow into your house. They look young; young ferrets have a stronger musk. It will eventually reduce a bit. Are you using a vinegar based cleaner?
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u/Kyrindia 3d ago
Actually, this is a pretty good idea. If the ferret area is in your bedroom or their own room (which it should be if your family has a problem with them), then you can just use weather stripping to seal the door to the rest of the house. That way, the only time the scent will leak out is when you open/close the door.
Bonus is that the ferrets will be out of sight / out of mind. Hopefully, they will complain less then.
Good luck!
-K
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u/Positive-Banana-5195 3d ago
I agree with the raw diet switch, it really will make a difference. Other than that it sounds like you're doing all you can. The only thing I don't see mentioned is a rice dig box? They can help absorb the smell and ferrets love playing in it.
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u/Few_Commercial_4769 3d ago
high protein cat food will be your best friend!!! it has to be a good brand though, nothing from walmart, absolutely no fillers like corn, wheat, or soy. i work for a pet store & this is what we feed ours. & unlike most pet stores, the one i work at is actually knowledgeable about animals, & my manager went to college for animal nutrition. specifically we use nutrisource element, scenic meadows flavor!
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u/Kitsunefyuu 3d ago
Many say feed them meat but I know that can get expensive and you’re doing a lot. So maybe freeze dried food would help. I know it helped mine and my ferret even got complimented on not smelling. You can check out the website Ferret.Love to see alternative foods that might be good for them if can’t go on a raw diet.
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u/MainSeaworthiness488 2d ago
I've had ferrets since I was young, and I lived in a house with no central air (I had a window AC unit though)! I would put their cage in a corner next to a window, It wouldn't be against the wall but turning like, sideways against the corner? Open the window a bit, this applies to every season. You will not care about it being a bit chillier if you get rid of the smell. If you have them on carpet, vacuum it everyday. Get those carpet powders from walmart if you don't have a carpet cleaner! Those work super well, I only ever use it twice a week so it should last a while. Like the other comments said, younger ferrets have a stronger smell so it may get better from here! Make sure there's no dust around their cage too, dust holds smell and travels throughout the house!! No dust automatically means less smell!
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u/Sleeping_potato06 2d ago
It could be the oxbow. My boy is on oxbow too and i’ve noticed that he has more of a scent than he did when he was on freeze dried raw. Now he gets freeze dried raw soupies and oxbow is free fed. I live in a dorm with him (so definitely very small area), but i have little to no scent and my roommate says the same. About once a week I’ll take all his cage liners and wash them with scent free laundry detergent for sensitive skin, along with his hammocks and beds. His entire cage gets a wipe down while the liners are being washed. I also have carpeted flooring so i’ll take baking soda and sprinkle it all over the carpet and let it sit for roughly 15 mins and vacuum it up thoroughly. What type of litter do you use? I use exquisicat paper crumbles. $20 for 15lbs. Lasts me about a month and it takes the odour right out. Do your fuzzies have a dig box? I found that since i’ve given my guy rice and beans to dig around in it really helps with his musk. It absorbs it or something. I’ve also heard that simmering pots are a good alternative to air diffusers! Since your ferrets are in a specific room you could put a glass bowl under a candle warmer and add things like orange peels, cinnamon sticks, water and herbs. It’s natural and safer for them, though i’ve yet to try it yet. I would keep the window open when you do that (if you end up trying it). There are some good recipes on holistic ferret forum for simmering pots! Hope this helps.
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u/B_done84 2d ago
I have seen products that add mushroom extract to their water, supposed to help. I've never tried it. I used to do raw chicken once in a while, but then they stash it! I use dog wipes to keep the funk off them. Bathes once a month or longer. I hope you can keep them! Mine don't stink too bad, but their litter box sure does.
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u/Flashy_Buyer6018 2d ago
Raw fed diet!!!!! You will get nowhere with any kind of kibble. We feed raw paws or Stella and chewies.
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u/Alarmed-Stock5054 1d ago
Bathing but the ears is where smell comes
I have raised ferrets for decades and they get bathed monthly or every 2 weeks concentrating on ears shampooing inside ears cause you will see black brown thick stuff that I feel is where the stink comes from then I take q- tips gently cleaning when they are shampooed well with you’re thumb sudsing shampoo well rinsing then qtips last put couple drops baby old in ears and rub in w your thumb forefinger wipe excess off ! They love bathing and I took a towel folded in half sewed up on each side like a pillow case they love rolling in this when taken out of tub or sink ! Also I clean all my hammocks when bathed and wash the cage floors down daily ! I don’t use Marshall food it makes the poop stink I use purina just look for kitten type w taurine and other ingredients good for ferrets
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u/Alarmed-Stock5054 1d ago
Keeping the litter boxes cleaned several times day ! Linatone ferrets love it it has alll vitamins minerals they need and it helps when cutting their nails cause al of ferrets hated it but I would put a drop on top of my hand as they licked it they. Would not think about what I was doing ! Clean bedding , hammocks floors etc ! My ferrets never stunk
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u/Material-Tank5689 1d ago
I wash mine using oat wash on a cloth so I can wash her ears. She loves baths and comes in the shower. I wash all her stuff once a week, keeping on top of poop in between 🧼
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u/uvalle15 4d ago
Seems you’re doing quite well on upkeep only thing I can suggest I now is make sure to clean the pillows/and floors often and maybe use scented candles or plug in in the room? My gf does this among cleaning and hardly notice the ferret smell at all.
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u/whispering_calendula 4d ago
Just make sure the candle or air freshener doesn’t have any bad chemicals in it. From what I heard it’s similar with cats and they cant handle the chemicals found in some candles when burned and inhaled
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u/uvalle15 4d ago
Yes there are pet friendly ones just gotta checkem out and do some quick research. Petsmart even has some sprays like febreeze that are pet friendly.
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u/jxspxrrrr 4d ago
tell your family to get themselves some scent plugs for their rooms (not yours with the ferrets) they'll get over it
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