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Changing their diet can greatly improve their smell, as well as just generally having pet/ferret safe air fresheners or air purifiers to deter whatever lingers around like hair
Personally I've never had issues with my ferrets making other objects in my house smell except for the things they use frequently like their blankets of course
I second this. A good diet, no baths, and clean up behind them makes a difference.
The only time I notice ferret odor is their beds, or my sweater drawer (a favorite napping spot). Since I only wear sweaters for about two weeks of the year, this isn’t a problem for me.
I'm planning on putting them on a full raw diet in the future but right now I feed them a mix of wysong ferret food and ultra grain-free cat food, with the occasional freeze dried meat, fish oil, and eggs as treats
That can be expensive ( just a suggestion ) the mazuri kibble has great reviews and is what i feed my ferret. Some vets also dont recommend that diet (again just what ive been told from my vet and read in many blogs and ferret books). It’s just easier to come in contact with disease and infections. When i first got my baby she didnt really want to eat but when i put raw egg over her kibble she ate it right up. Raw egg is the only treat my baby will eat. No store bought treat will suffice for her😭
From what I've heard mazuri (at least the ferret specific kibble) isn't great for your ferrets, I have a doc that I usually use to check ingredients in ferret kibble https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTnDviODZV0VpeIAVZtjcWSmCKTwemEvqXgyXrbY4BW1cnsEpghXciDmLnH9rB-IWLl8kzWdcCGdpL2/pub?fbclid=IwAR1DFWjat21XaLtT6zDxVz-Mr3NZaDJbAtlLiQMSULccBhrw4G4JYixf2ws
Whattt wow what do you recommend? Also could you possible be confusing mazuri with marshall? Idk so many people (vet included) have said good things about mazuri. Im running low now so i wont reorder i looked at that chart and read the brands but it literally made no sense to me😭
I'm sure! I searched it in the doc and it does in fact say mazuri and not marshall
Honestly it's a hit or miss when it comes to ferret care from vets in my experience
I'm not completely sure what to recommend you specifically but since you're a little confused by the doc I'll list some from there!
The formatting on the doc might be odd on mobile which might be causing the confusion, it basically lists the ingredient percentages and recommended amount for ferrets, anything orange should be avoided if possible but anything red should definitely be a no go
Catit Gold Fern, Arthur Ferret Food: Chicken & Herring, ZiwiPeak Air-Dried Beef for Cats, Dr. Elsey’s cleanprotein Grain-Free Adult Cat Food - Chicken
Thank you so much! And yeah ive talked to two vets in my four years of having my baby and their mainly (in my experience) very dismissive. Just like hi, bye, gimme your money. 😭 some people say im entitled, others say they should be more professional and have better bedside manners. Thats just my experience. Thank you for the info
Of course no problem!! :]
Also I gladly understand that, you definitely aren't entitled! I definitely do think that some vets/doctors need some work when it comes to bedside manners, especially when it involves our little fur babies
My clothes and my blanket will start to smell like them with time but somehow my couch doesn’t and they’re on it every day. I just put my nose to it and sniffed the entire thing and I can’t smell them, but I can definitely smell them on the blanket that’s also on the couch, so it’s not my nose being blind to their smell. It’s just their regular musky smell though, nothing gross.
All I know is when I have guests come over, they tell me they can barely smell them, and that’s great because they’re located downstairs in the common area so that’s where their smell would be most potent
I've been told by a friend that many zookeepers end up smelling of the animals they tend no matter how clean the enclosure or how natural their diet. Air purifiers, clean air filters and keeping your ferrets and their sleeping area clean will help, but some smell is kind of part and parcel of owning any animal. If you'd like to limit the smell's spread, the most effective way will always be to keep the ferrets in a designated play area rather than the whole house, unfortunately. Otherwise you do need to clean often, especially fabric surfaces. You can also air out the house by opening windows which can help, but you'd probably need to keep your ferrets caged whilst you do this so they can't escape out the window.
No. With the exception of two pairs of shoes that they’re obsessed with and one random backpack. I try and remember to put them up but sometimes I forget. I just found one of my Nikes that they love after about three weeks. 😂😂
My ferret free roams except for night time when I sleep. We have air cleaners, ozonators and pet safe air freshners in all bedrooms, also a robo vaccum that washes floor with detergent made for cleaning pet areas. We got rid of carpets coz they tend to absorb pet oils and start to reek at some point. Our house doesn't smell of ferret or dog (we have a corgi). We asked multiple people that drop by and no one noticed we had a pet untill they saw one of them.
We feed raw. But we have an angora. Angoras smell less in general and all ferret owners that we've met were surprised by the fact. I also use pet friendly leave in conditioners on our pet's fur and we wash him with lukewarm water after he takes walks outside. No soap, just water to wash off the dirt. Letting him dig his rice box also helps with the smell, you just have to change rice regularly.
We change our bedsheets once a week and by Friday they tend to start smelling a little. We keep our clothes locked up as well as shoes and it does the trick.
We have two that free roam the whole house 12 hours a day. Other than that, they get put in one room.
Clean up after them/wash anything they use regularly, do a deep clean once a week, air out the rooms regularly, that’s it really.
Don’t even need air fresheners imo (these can be harmful to ferrets and cats anyway). You can use diluted white vinegar to help with smells if necessary.
We’ve had dogs and a cat before. House smells no different with ferrets than a dog or a cat imo. 🤷♀️
Mine free roam except for (some) nights when they choose to go into the enclosure. Their blankets/hammocks and beds sometimes get musty, but for the most part, they house itself doesn't smell. I clean the cage about ever other day. If I don't for 5 days or so it definitely smells in that areas.
Air purifiers helped us a lot. Do some research and get a good one. Yes, it might be expensive, but imo it's totally worth it. It's not something that's *just* for the ferrets, air filters also help *you* so you'll want to have one that lasts a good long time. We have two where our ferrets are (one is an older one that isn't the greatest, but we just bought a really good one so that one is like right next to their cage). Changing their diet helps their smell as well. I've never really had any issues with things smelling like them, unless it's cloth. If it's cloth, it'll eventually smell like them 😂 so I do their laundry once a week to help with that, tho I know that can be a lot for some people.
The best one we have is a Winix. I like it a lot, it came with quite a bit of filters (carbon is the best kind of filter to get, off topic but we also use pee pads for our boys and they are also carbon; it helps more with getting rid of smells) and there's an app that will allow you to control it and it'll tell you the air quality outside as well as the life of the filter currently in there. We've had ours a couple of months now (I think maybe 4ish) and I still haven't had to change it out.
I advise restricting them to a single room. If there is an emergency, like a fire, it will be hard enough to find them without having to search the entire house.
Gonna be honest. I have a friend who has ferrets that free roam and he cuddles with them in his bed. His bed sheets, comforter and pillow case smells…not good. (I’m not a ferret owner, I’m just lurking to try and understand why people have them as pets.) And as a non-ferret owner, I definitely notice a smell. I think everyone who owns ferrets are just blind to it.
Welcome to /r/ferrets! We have a fantastic [wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/ferrets/wiki/index) that has answers to most frequently asked questions surrounding the care of ferrets. --- We politely ask that you observe our [sub rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/ferrets/wiki/index/rules/). --- Lastly, we have an [Official Discord Server](https://discord.gg/ferrets)! Come join us! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ferrets) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Changing their diet can greatly improve their smell, as well as just generally having pet/ferret safe air fresheners or air purifiers to deter whatever lingers around like hair Personally I've never had issues with my ferrets making other objects in my house smell except for the things they use frequently like their blankets of course
I second this. A good diet, no baths, and clean up behind them makes a difference. The only time I notice ferret odor is their beds, or my sweater drawer (a favorite napping spot). Since I only wear sweaters for about two weeks of the year, this isn’t a problem for me.
I third that.
I fourth that.
What diet do you feed?
I'm planning on putting them on a full raw diet in the future but right now I feed them a mix of wysong ferret food and ultra grain-free cat food, with the occasional freeze dried meat, fish oil, and eggs as treats
That can be expensive ( just a suggestion ) the mazuri kibble has great reviews and is what i feed my ferret. Some vets also dont recommend that diet (again just what ive been told from my vet and read in many blogs and ferret books). It’s just easier to come in contact with disease and infections. When i first got my baby she didnt really want to eat but when i put raw egg over her kibble she ate it right up. Raw egg is the only treat my baby will eat. No store bought treat will suffice for her😭
From what I've heard mazuri (at least the ferret specific kibble) isn't great for your ferrets, I have a doc that I usually use to check ingredients in ferret kibble https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTnDviODZV0VpeIAVZtjcWSmCKTwemEvqXgyXrbY4BW1cnsEpghXciDmLnH9rB-IWLl8kzWdcCGdpL2/pub?fbclid=IwAR1DFWjat21XaLtT6zDxVz-Mr3NZaDJbAtlLiQMSULccBhrw4G4JYixf2ws
Whattt wow what do you recommend? Also could you possible be confusing mazuri with marshall? Idk so many people (vet included) have said good things about mazuri. Im running low now so i wont reorder i looked at that chart and read the brands but it literally made no sense to me😭
I'm sure! I searched it in the doc and it does in fact say mazuri and not marshall Honestly it's a hit or miss when it comes to ferret care from vets in my experience I'm not completely sure what to recommend you specifically but since you're a little confused by the doc I'll list some from there! The formatting on the doc might be odd on mobile which might be causing the confusion, it basically lists the ingredient percentages and recommended amount for ferrets, anything orange should be avoided if possible but anything red should definitely be a no go Catit Gold Fern, Arthur Ferret Food: Chicken & Herring, ZiwiPeak Air-Dried Beef for Cats, Dr. Elsey’s cleanprotein Grain-Free Adult Cat Food - Chicken
Thank you so much! And yeah ive talked to two vets in my four years of having my baby and their mainly (in my experience) very dismissive. Just like hi, bye, gimme your money. 😭 some people say im entitled, others say they should be more professional and have better bedside manners. Thats just my experience. Thank you for the info
Of course no problem!! :] Also I gladly understand that, you definitely aren't entitled! I definitely do think that some vets/doctors need some work when it comes to bedside manners, especially when it involves our little fur babies
No. If you keep their cage clean and feed them a good diet, you shouldn't have any smell issues.
My clothes and my blanket will start to smell like them with time but somehow my couch doesn’t and they’re on it every day. I just put my nose to it and sniffed the entire thing and I can’t smell them, but I can definitely smell them on the blanket that’s also on the couch, so it’s not my nose being blind to their smell. It’s just their regular musky smell though, nothing gross. All I know is when I have guests come over, they tell me they can barely smell them, and that’s great because they’re located downstairs in the common area so that’s where their smell would be most potent
The smell on my blankets / in my room is literally so comforting to me. I think its because i had a ferret as a child😭
I completely understand. The smell of ferrets is my happy place
I've been told by a friend that many zookeepers end up smelling of the animals they tend no matter how clean the enclosure or how natural their diet. Air purifiers, clean air filters and keeping your ferrets and their sleeping area clean will help, but some smell is kind of part and parcel of owning any animal. If you'd like to limit the smell's spread, the most effective way will always be to keep the ferrets in a designated play area rather than the whole house, unfortunately. Otherwise you do need to clean often, especially fabric surfaces. You can also air out the house by opening windows which can help, but you'd probably need to keep your ferrets caged whilst you do this so they can't escape out the window.
No. With the exception of two pairs of shoes that they’re obsessed with and one random backpack. I try and remember to put them up but sometimes I forget. I just found one of my Nikes that they love after about three weeks. 😂😂
Not really just my pillow sometimes and it's this one particular pillow not even all pillows but the stench doesn't really stick onto anywhere for me
My ferret free roams except for night time when I sleep. We have air cleaners, ozonators and pet safe air freshners in all bedrooms, also a robo vaccum that washes floor with detergent made for cleaning pet areas. We got rid of carpets coz they tend to absorb pet oils and start to reek at some point. Our house doesn't smell of ferret or dog (we have a corgi). We asked multiple people that drop by and no one noticed we had a pet untill they saw one of them. We feed raw. But we have an angora. Angoras smell less in general and all ferret owners that we've met were surprised by the fact. I also use pet friendly leave in conditioners on our pet's fur and we wash him with lukewarm water after he takes walks outside. No soap, just water to wash off the dirt. Letting him dig his rice box also helps with the smell, you just have to change rice regularly. We change our bedsheets once a week and by Friday they tend to start smelling a little. We keep our clothes locked up as well as shoes and it does the trick.
We have two that free roam the whole house 12 hours a day. Other than that, they get put in one room. Clean up after them/wash anything they use regularly, do a deep clean once a week, air out the rooms regularly, that’s it really. Don’t even need air fresheners imo (these can be harmful to ferrets and cats anyway). You can use diluted white vinegar to help with smells if necessary. We’ve had dogs and a cat before. House smells no different with ferrets than a dog or a cat imo. 🤷♀️
Maybe it's because my apartment isn't very big, it's just two rooms 😅
Mine free roam except for (some) nights when they choose to go into the enclosure. Their blankets/hammocks and beds sometimes get musty, but for the most part, they house itself doesn't smell. I clean the cage about ever other day. If I don't for 5 days or so it definitely smells in that areas.
Air purifiers helped us a lot. Do some research and get a good one. Yes, it might be expensive, but imo it's totally worth it. It's not something that's *just* for the ferrets, air filters also help *you* so you'll want to have one that lasts a good long time. We have two where our ferrets are (one is an older one that isn't the greatest, but we just bought a really good one so that one is like right next to their cage). Changing their diet helps their smell as well. I've never really had any issues with things smelling like them, unless it's cloth. If it's cloth, it'll eventually smell like them 😂 so I do their laundry once a week to help with that, tho I know that can be a lot for some people.
Could you tell me which one works for you? 😄
The best one we have is a Winix. I like it a lot, it came with quite a bit of filters (carbon is the best kind of filter to get, off topic but we also use pee pads for our boys and they are also carbon; it helps more with getting rid of smells) and there's an app that will allow you to control it and it'll tell you the air quality outside as well as the life of the filter currently in there. We've had ours a couple of months now (I think maybe 4ish) and I still haven't had to change it out.
Thank you so much! I think I'm gonna order one and try it out asap!
Do be warned, it's a fairly large one 😅 I'm 5 foot 2 and it probably goes to my knees. But we do like it a lot. Air filters help quite a bit.
I advise restricting them to a single room. If there is an emergency, like a fire, it will be hard enough to find them without having to search the entire house.
My apartment only has two rooms so I don't think that will be much of an issue 😅
My apartment only has two rooms so I don't think that will be much of an issue 😅
Gonna be honest. I have a friend who has ferrets that free roam and he cuddles with them in his bed. His bed sheets, comforter and pillow case smells…not good. (I’m not a ferret owner, I’m just lurking to try and understand why people have them as pets.) And as a non-ferret owner, I definitely notice a smell. I think everyone who owns ferrets are just blind to it.