Ferrets!

[Krazeekkc]

Does any one here have ferrets? I was thinking about getting one in a couple of years. I have done some research and they might be a good pet for me. I was wondering if any of you have one.

 

[Krazeekkc]

Hmm.... no ferrets.....too bad!

 

[Judilyn]

Yes we have a ferret. His name is Jake. he is sooooo cute and funny but very stinky!!!!!!!!!!!!

they are a high maintenance pet. With Ferrets they must be bathed once a week, change their bedding and wash out their cage too.

We have ours litter box trained and leash trained. Be sure that you get a good book on training and care and spend a lot of tme with him to get him trained. Then he will be a great pet, but stinky.

We even had ours fixed and his scent gland removed but he still is stinky. They excrete a musky oil in their skin and are related to the skunk.

Ferrets love to play and they love their people. You must spend a lot of time with them or they can get depressed. Also watch them when you let them out to run because like small children they get into everything and get hurt easily.

 

[HeatherJay]

I heard someone say recently that some ferrets smell like grape Kool-aid. I always thought ferrets were stinky, too (my aunt had some). Maybe you bought the wrong flavor at the pet store?


Love, Heather

 

[Judilyn]

I heard someone say recently that some ferrets smell like grape Kool-aid. I always thought ferrets were stinky, too (my aunt had some). Maybe you bought the wrong flavor at the pet store?


Love, Heather

LOL/ I once hear someone say that skunks smelled like lemons to them
And skunks and ferrets are related. Wierd!

I wish mine smelled like grape anything it would be an improvment over his current smell.

 

[Im4HimiHs]

Yup, ferrts have made their nest in our home.

They are very high maintenance. They need alot of attention, love, and patience. We only bathe ours every season to maintain the oils in their skin. Ours are descented, however, their bedding gets washed almost daily to reduce the odor. Some just stink but others can have no odor at all.

Other than the quantity of time needed for them, the medical care is very extensive. The health problems these animals can get, is just a shame.

 

[Judilyn]

I guess we're blessed. We have had our Ferret 4 years and all he has ever needed from the vet is annual shots and check up.

Ours is descented too but he still stinks! I have had others say that it is because he is amle, females do not stink when descented. I wonder if that is true?

 

[Myah]

I did have a ferret, a sweet little thing named Spaz. (trust me..she earned her name) Unfortunately, she passed away from cancer. I used to have a total of nine, actually..and we never had a problem with odor. Our vet said to bathe them often and said descenting wouldn't actually help.

Oh..btw..learned an excellent way to trim a ferret's toenails without having to take them to the vet. Take a fingerfull of ferret-vite and rub it on the said fuzzy's tummy. They will actually hold still, trying to clean up all of it long enough to clip their nails.

 

[Salsa_1960]

I've also heard they were smelly. Grape kool-aid, huh?

 

[wolflady]

I have one Ferret. His name is Bandit. I love him very much. He is very cute.

Christy

 

[Judilyn]

I did have a ferret, a sweet little thing named Spaz. (trust me..she earned her name) Unfortunately, she passed away from cancer. I used to have a total of nine, actually..and we never had a problem with odor. Our vet said to bathe them often and said descenting wouldn't actually help.

Oh..btw..learned an excellent way to trim a ferret's toenails without having to take them to the vet. Take a fingerfull of ferret-vite and rub it on the said fuzzy's tummy. They will actually hold still, trying to clean up all of it long enough to clip their nails.

Hey thanks for the info, I willl be trying that with our Ferret.

 

[Myah]

It worked on every single ferret I had (but they REALLY loved their vitamins)...so I hope it works for you!

 

[Im4HimiHs]

Oh..btw..learned an excellent way to trim a ferret's toenails without having to take them to the vet. Take a fingerfull of ferret-vite and rub it on the said fuzzy's tummy. They will actually hold still, trying to clean up all of it long enough to clip their nails.

Our vet also suggested using Nutri-cal or ferretone or whatever they have acquired a taste for.

That technique works really well, but at one point we had 12. I would lock us all in the bathroom with a bunch of towels on the floor. After the bath and towel tunnels, I just "scruff" them, one by one, by the nape of the neck, and like a kitten, they usually will go limp, which allows me to clip their nails.

Sorry about your "Spaz" Myah. They just don't stay with us as long as we would like them to.

 

[Marie-Novelle]

Hi! I'm new here. Thanks Erin-Joy for telling me about this thread.

Ferrets are fun but yeah, you've got to spend lots of time with them because they are social animals.

My 7-month old white albino ferret, Luke, can open cabinets by himself and likes to dig in the dirt and climb up high places.

 

[blessed 2ba blessing]

they are a high maintenance pet. With Ferrets they must be bathed once a week, change their bedding and wash out their cage too.

I have three ferrets myself, Cryano, Leila, and Felony. I agree with you that they are quite high maintenance, but bathing them once a week is actually quite likely what is making your ferret smell.

With ferrets, their coats produce oils to keep it healthy. When you bathe your ferret, it strips these oils from the coat, causing the ferret to work "overtime" to re-produce the oils. this makes them smell more.
Basically, the more you wash your ferret, the more it will smell! Unfortunately, this is a problem for many people. It goes something like this...

1)your ferret smells bad
2)you wash your ferret
3)your ferret possibly still smells bad
4)you wash your ferret again
5)your ferret smells worse
6)you continue to wash your ferret often

it's a vicious cycle!

Really the only thing that actually smells on the ferret itself is their ears surprisingly. You should clean them anywhere from once a week to biweekly. Their earwax smells horrible! if you smell your ferret before cleaning, and then after, you can tell.

In their cage, the litter box should be changed once a day or scooped, if that's your thing, and the bedding (hammocks, soft things, towels, sheets, etc, NOT woodchips!) should be washed weekly or so. If you do all this, they really don't smell! honest!

I know most people think that ferrets are horribly smelly, either from their own experience or because that's how petstores like to keep them...but they don't have to be. Mine don't smell at all, when I do everything I listed above regularly.

I HIGHLY recommend the book "Ferrets For Dummies" by Kim Schilling (I think that's how her name is spelled) this book is SUCH a great resource for any ferret owner.
The best place to learn about ferrets, or to get a question answered quickly (sometimes within minutes) is the ferretstoreforums.com (I hope I"m allowed to post a link to another forum here)

The people on that board are SO incredibly smart, and they seem to live on that board as well.

I'm sorry for being kinda verbose, but I just feel that I have to take any chance possible to help any ferret and their owners!

God Bless,
Beth

 

[wolflady]

Wow! It's alot working for ferret. Oh boy!

Christy

 

[IvoryRain]

I got a ferret on the third of this month. On the fifth I had four stitches put in my toe after she bit me. We are definantly a perfect match for each other!

 

[Myah]

When a priest came to visit my mother, her ferret got a hold of his pants leg and tried to drag him to his hidey-hole. The man sat down and Merlin, the ferret mentioned before, grabbed a hold of his shoestring to try to get him to go where he wanted.

 

[Hyena Klown]

i had a ferret. but then i had to move to california...

his name was Logan, i loved him so much. i just didnt know how much until i didnt have him anymore.

i hate california.

 

[Myah]

YOu'd be suprised at how many ferrets there are in CA. There are even some vets in CA who will treat ferrets, even though the CA gov't thinks they are wild animals. My mother had nine there at one point. There are also organized protests in which ferret owner take their ferrets with them. The sad thing is, there was one instance where a man accidently scratched his knuckle on a ferret's tooth while petting him. A health department official overheard him laughing about it with the ferret's owner and confiscated it, against the wishes of the elderly man who had been scratched. After a long court battle, the ferret was decapitated to be tested for rabies. (Ferrets as a rule are not carriers of rabies). He tested negative.