Ferrets aren’t necessarily stinky animals.During their kit and juvenile stages, the ferret smell is very sweet. Even when they are adults, ferrets are not smelly all the time.Scent-marking, naturally oily glands, anal glands, an unbalanced diet, and improper cage hygiene are some reasons. The solutions to this problem include bathing, better hygiene and diet, and cleaning out the ferret cage regularly. Descenting, wherein the anal glands are removed from a ferret’s body, is considered to be inefficient and somewhat dangerous by medical professionals.If you enjoyed this article, why not also read about when do raccoons have babies or when do baby rabbits leave the nest here on Kidadl.What do ferrets smell like and why?Simply put, ferrets produce a certain smell that is somewhat similar to the smell of corn chips. A ferret has a naturally musky odor and they don’t smell bad.Some people find the smell of ferrets more tolerable than others. A male ferret or hob smells stronger than a female ferret or jill, even more so when the breeding season comes around. Also, if they are kept in an environment that isn’t very clean, they will naturally smell bad. A clean environment means pleasant-smelling ferrets. Much like other pet animals, ferrets smell unique. The ferret smell can also be characterized as earthy and is usually only smelled when they’re close. The smell isn’t overpowering.Ferrets sometimes also have an odor but this may be because their cages aren’t cleaned regularly or they haven’t been groomed properly. Also, ferrets are in the habit of marking territories with their urine, similar to cats and other animals. If the scent gets conspicuous and repulsive, there is a need to maintain better hygiene. The diet of the ferret also sometimes determines how it will smell. Pet foods that have ingredients like grains, fish, and vegetables can give your ferret a weird scent. Also, ferrets that are unneutered tend to have a much stronger smell than the ones that have been neutered. Unneutered ferrets secret hormones that naturally smell strong. Neutered ferrets don’t have as many hormones or as much smell.Do all ferrets smell the same?No, all ferrets do not smell the same. Not only do all ferrets smell unique but their scent keeps changing throughout different stages in their life. The natural smell changes with health, age, and overall grooming.Ferret kits and juvenile or younger ferrets that are still dependent on their mothers for food have a sweeter and stronger scent. The smell is a mix of milk, poop, and the musky smell characteristic of a ferret. Even when the kits get older, they still smell sweet but not as strong when their mothers were feeding them.An intact ferret, one that hasn’t been neutered, be it male ferrets or female ferrets, tends to have a pungent smell. The scent of a male ferret in heat is especially strong. This is because the odor is strong itself but also has urine usually mixed in it. An intact hob or an unneutered male also tends to mark its territory with its urine. After doing so, it drags its testicles and belly through the urine. This behavior is characteristic of intact ferrets so if you get a pet ferret then you are sure to come across such a situation once it becomes mature. This can easily be fixed by having the ferret neutered.Also, female ferrets tend to not smell as strong as male ferrets. This is rather true for almost every animal in the entire animal kingdom though. However, when in heat, both sexes have a smell that is intense but this can be fixed with a proper diet.Pet ferret owners often say different things about the way their pet ferrets smell. Some say that they smelled like honey and popcorn when little. They also say that when they started to smell slightly unpleasant when older, the smell was easier to get used to. After handling a ferret with a noticeable smell, your hands and clothes are likely to smell like them.How to stop your ferret from smelling?There are many different ways in which you could stop your ferret from smelling.One of the most obvious ways is descenting, but the effectiveness of this process is dubious. Most pet ferrets that are sold in the USA are neutered and descented. Descenting involves the removal of a ferret’s anal glands surgically. This is because the anal glands are responsible for the bad smell, albeit under some conditions like when the ferret is frightened. Most veterinarian professionals however believe that descenting can be a risky and cruel process and actually does next-to-nothing as far as getting rid of the smell goes. There is no way to verify whether a ferret has actually been descented.This is because there will still be a smell coming from the very-oily skin and ferret’s fur regardless of whether the ferret had its anal glands removed. If a person buys a pet ferret, there’s a good chance that it wasn’t descented. In Europe, it is forbidden to remove the anal glands of ferrets via surgery. This is also the right thing to do since such a process can cause health issues in ferrets like incontinence and abscesses. Most vets refuse to perform the surgery for descenting because of such dangers and only perform one if absolutely necessary.Another way to rid of the ferret’s smell is bathing. Bathing is simple and easy. If your pet ferret is very smelly, a nice bath or a wash can work great. But you should be careful not to give the ferret too many baths since they may wash the natural oils off the oil glands and in turn, produce an even more smelly oil. This means the end result of bathing too much may actually result in a stinkier ferret. It is recommended that you bathe your ferret only once a month or once every three months unless the ferret happens to be especially dirty. Be careful not to use the same shampoo as humans during a bath. There is a special shampoo available for just ferrets. If such a shampoo is unavailable, a shampoo made for kittens may be used too.Another simple way to rid the ferret of this stench is to clean its cage. A lot of the time, the reason that a ferret may stink is because of an unhygienic cage, dirty bedding, and even toys that may have absorbed the smells of the ferret. When coming in contact with anything inside the cage, the ferret is likely to pass on its scent via the oil skin glands on its body. Everything inside the cage should be cleaned from time to time. Also, cleaning the cage once a week is sufficient and the litter box must be cleaned out every day since a litter box is likely to be used many times in a day. If the diet of the ferret isn’t particularly good, litter box smells can be especially stinky. Apart from litter boxes, other cage accessories such as hammocks should also be washed at regular intervals.Selection of a proper bedding material can also have an impact on a ferret’s bad smells. The bedding material should ideally be scent-absorbing. Potentially hazardous bedding materials such as cedar chips should never be used. Another good idea is to put a piece of cloth underneath the floor of the cage which can also act as bedding material. However, such cloth should be washed regularly.Changes in diet can also help in combating the ferret smell control problem. Naturally, ferrets are carnivorous and they like to eat meat. A high-quality diet with plenty of meat is absorbed well by ferrets and it makes them poop less often. Poops are less smelly with a proper and quality diet. Many pet owners tend to feed their ferrets kibble which is overall less nutritious and causes smellier poops. If you still want to feed your ferret kibble make sure to include meat but no vegetables or fruits.As a kind of a last resort, if you just can’t get around how your ferret smells, try a ferret perfume specifically meant for ferret odor control. Ferret perfumes are rather cheap and long-lasting.Can ferret scent glands be removed?Yes, ferret glands can be removed to combat the foul smell coming from them.Many gland removals are routinely performed on ferrets, mostly pet store ones before sending them to the actual pet stores. Descenting can be a bit of a misleading name for the procedure since it does not mean that the ferret will never give out any form of odor throughout its remaining life. Descenting is actually a branding and selling tool that is utilized by the pet store industry to reassure pet ferret owners and customers. The truth is, however, that taking away the scent glands of a ferret does little to mask the natural musky smell. The surgical procedure of descenting is even considered by some vets to be a kind of mutilation.The only different thing about a ferret that has its anal glands removed is that it cannot emit a sudden burst of an unpleasant smell, while a ferret with anal glands can. Sudden bursts of this scent can have a very strong smell. These bursts also happen when the ferret is frightened and the smell takes some minutes to completely dissipate. Descenting is actually strongly opposed by the American Ferret Association. Such surgical processes should be performed only by licensed veterinarians because a failure during a descenting process can negatively impact the ferret’s health or its lifespan.To summarize, ferrets can sometimes be very smelly animals. Some people find their odor more tolerable than others which is why they’re popular pets. Their natural scent is musky and when they’re kits, they smell rather sweet. The question why do ferrets stink? has several answers. An improper diet and insufficient hygiene are some common reasons. Also, their oil and anal glands can contribute to this behavior. Also, sexually mature ferrets are in the habit of scent-marking with their urine, especially in the middle of the breeding season. There are several methods to curb the problem of a stinky, furry, and cute ferret. A balanced diet that includes meat, a bath once a month, proper grooming, and proper cage hygiene can be more than sufficient to make a ferret stop smelling bad.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for why do ferrets stink then why not take a look at why do cats wag their tails or black-footed ferret facts.
Ferrets aren’t necessarily stinky animals.
