Pet Forum

Admit it- ferrets smell really bad. Be honest- ferrets stink. Sure, I think that ferrets are one of the best pets that you could ever ask for, but their smell can be just horrendous. Let's talk about why ferrets stink, and what you can do about it.

Ferrets have a certain odor, just like all animals have a distinctive odor. Yes, we all stink to other animals. Everyone assumes they smell horribly! My ferrets don't stink at all to me, I use Bi-Odor, and when I ran out of it last week I could really tell a difference in the smell of their litter pan. We also wash their bedding weekly, and also clean the cage weekly. Their litter pan gets dumped daily and I also have an air cleaner for my allergies. These are things you have to do if you want to keep their cage clean and smelling fresh. I still say my hamster smells worse then my ferrets.

I think when people see/smell ferrets in the pet store, their cage is so dirty, they use the wrong kind of bedding, their cage hasn't been scooped, and they are in a small, glass, aquarium type of thing, which doesn't allow for good air circulation. People wouldn't even know we had ferrets if it weren't for the huge ferret banner we have in the middle of our apartment.

So ferrets do have a distinctive odor, and it does stink to a lot of folks, but you can cut down on that smell by keeping them in a clean home. If you keep their litter pan clean on a regular basis, and you keep the ferrets in a circulated area, the really don't smell bad at all.

I like the way that ferrets smell! i guess I'm just weird like that. lol

My ferrets are not that bad - but anyway they are mostly (from what I have learnt) only smell when are dirty and haven't been bathed in a while or sometimes they smell when they are excited,scared or frustrated. Hope this helped a little bit!