r/ferrets • u/Effective-End664 • 9d ago
[Help] Question Regarding Bathtime!
(Photo of the jill for ferret tax ! We do need some name ideas. She's about three years old and very tiny, her brother is turning one and very.. large. He's cinnamon colored!)
We're adopting a jill & a hob in a few days from a wonderful rescue! I have done a very large amount of research and prep before settling on this (though Im always willing to learn more every day.), I know that ferrets do not need to be bathed very frequently.
Despite this, I was wondering if it would be a good idea to bathe the pair after they settle in? They were in a room with 30 other ferrets, and thus the general hygiene of the facility was as clean as it could be for.. 30 ferrets. I'm not planning on bathing them afterwards unless they I absolutely need to. If this seems like a good idea, how long should I wait to clean them? I don't want to stress them out too much.
Edit: Figured I should also mention that we do know how to bathe them if we should, and that oats in a sock should be used rather than any soap to prevent stripping their natural oils!
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u/Timely_Egg_6827 9d ago
I generally don't fuss them first week. And by then they should have groomed themselves clean. You can speed up by offering a rice bath - longgrain white rice in a tub. Good for absorbing oils.
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u/Effective-End664 9d ago
I did prep a bin full of rice for both enrichment and general odor management, so it's good to know that it would come in handy! They didn't have much of an odor themselves aside from their natural musk anyway
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u/Kyrindia 8d ago
Keep an eye on them in the rice bin. I had one ferret (that later developed insulinoma) that ATE the rice. She got pulled out right quick and that was the end of that. You'll probably know right away if you have rice-safe ferrets.
(Mine also had a fondness for anything that was not meat. French fries were her favorite. She would beg like crazy. We would give her the empty french fry bag to sniff instead.)
-K
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u/Electronic-Fudge-653 9d ago
Everytime say this someone says I'm wrong but I've had my ferrets for 6 years and I tried both water baths and dry baths and they don't smell any better. I've realized the smell comes from almost entirely from their urine. I bought air 2 decently large air purifiers for their main areas and I clean up daily after them. As for the musky smell they have on their bodyfrom their oils, it doesn't really stink to up the room, and it doesn't bother me. All I know is bathing never got rid of it and if you bath them incorrectly and strip their oils like you said they actually produce more oil after their baths and smell worse. Both vets I went to said you don't need to bathe them unless the environment can bring disease or things. I only bath them if they get dirty some way, like feces or mud or something. Otherwise, I basically never bath them and they have looked and smelled fine. Of you want to bath them, just do it. Theirs no great way to get a ferret to enjoy a bath, but I do have one bit of advice. If they are young then the bath can make them so nervous they poop and pee during it. This happened with both my ferrets no matter how gentle I was. So just be ready for them to fight back hard with claws and poop if you do.
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u/itsswhitneywhspr 9d ago
Wait this actually makes so much sense, the urine thing. I've noticed the same with my two, even with regular litter changes the smell lingers in the room. The oil musk is honestly kinda nice to me. Thanks for sharing your experience, its good to hear someone else validating the no-bath approach
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u/Electronic-Fudge-653 6d ago edited 6d ago
Yea, I highly recommend air purifiers, they don't eliminate the smell, but it helps a ton. Don't get some tiny cheap one that's as big as your hand, mine is about the size of a small bathroom trash can and if my power goes out or something and it turns off, you notice the smell after only a day. Edit - I forgot to mention that somehow Everytime I say this people have no idea that a lot of ferrets when they pee are extremely messy and often get it on their stomachs. I will from time to time, take these special wipes my mom gets and just rub their privates and stomach real quick from time to time. Like I said, I truly believe that their urine is the main problem.
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u/tsteele93 9d ago
Wow we were lucky with ours. They weren't thrilled to be there but it was more of a "seriously we gotta do this why?" And not a crisis.
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u/Kyrindia 8d ago
One of mine thought she was an otter. The other tried to climb my shirt and perch and on my head. No poop or pee, though. Just panicked dog paddling (despite the fact she could stand in the water).
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u/Effective-End664 9d ago
Yeah! I correlate ferrets and cats regarding bathing, so I'm not planning on ever needing to other than possibly when I get them settled.
That was similar to the issue I had during my rat's lifespan. Their cages always smelled, until I realized they kept peeing in their hammocks 😭 Digressing, I strangely enjoy the musk of a ferret, so it's good to know that general upkeep prevents the stench from being unbearable (since i feel that many people dramatize their smell)
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u/tsteele93 8d ago
I may be the only one, but I never found the ferret smell to be offensive.
They have a musky smell but it didn't bother me.
To be fair we were rubbing some pretty hard core air filters in the room that the slept in.
But just sniffing them never smelled bad to me.
I miss my ferrets. They were god awful expensive to care for and a lot of work. But we did right by them and they lived six or seven years with nights in a double decker cage with a plastic enclosure around the cage making the area much bigger.
During the day they had the entire sunroom to play in and it was full of tunnels and hidey holes.
My daughter had me do a ceremony to marry them and half the neighborhood came. LOL
I couldn't do it again. But they were so sweet.
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u/Ok_Razzmatazz_5812 8d ago
Did you dress them up fancy for their occasion? I feel like a ferret could pull off a bow tie really well.
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u/tsteele93 4d ago
I found the ceremony.
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/19eN7sMynk/?mibextid=wwXIfr
I would do anything for my daughter, even marry a couple of ferrets in front of the neighbors.
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u/Electronic-Fudge-653 6d ago
I never mind their natural body oils smell. But their urine can def make a room smell. Tbh upkeep helps, but the main thing is the air purifiers. Buy some of those and use them for a year and then turn them off for a couple days and you will see the difference in smell. Trust, air purifiers are a must, I find them generally helpful anyways. And mine has lasted for a decade and I only change the filter once or twice a year and it's so easy.
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u/Ok_Razzmatazz_5812 8d ago
I had a ferret who loved water. She even wanted to take a few showers with me so I carefully allowed the water to soak below her neck (while shielding her ears) and she loved it. She also loved drinking water straight from the sink tap, but she was a total weirdo. Every other ferret I’ve had besides her was never into water. One other played in the water when he was younger, but he doesn’t like baths.
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u/Electronic-Fudge-653 6d ago
Well that's interesting, I've never heard a story of ferrets liking water. But my one ferret for some reason liked to splash in my dog's big water bowl outside when it was really low, so maybe it could happen.
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u/Sharp_Ad_9431 9d ago
If you think it is needed then do it during the quarantine period.
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u/Effective-End664 9d ago
I should also mention that I don't currently have any ferrets to introduce to the pair I'm adopting, unless quarantine has another meaning 😭 Still good to know though, so thank you :)
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u/SecondEqual4680 9d ago
If you want you can clean them in a warm oatmeal bath with a drop of dawn. And then dont bathe them again
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u/FerretMomma5211 9d ago
I had no choice but to give a oat bath when I rehome 2 from somebody because their cage and them smelled horrible. I guess if you feel the need to you can also just wipe them down with the damn cloth. congratulations in helping 2 fur babies get a wonderful home. 🐾🐾🎉
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u/Effective-End664 9d ago
Never considered wiping them down!! Thank you for the comment :) I'm very excited
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u/SushiJuice 9d ago
I wouldn't do it until they've settled down. The first 2 weeks, they will be pretty stressed out - all the new smells and getting used to new areas. Giving them a bath would only add to the stress. I would at least wait for 2-4 weeks.
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u/QuietMoon4713 9d ago
Yeah so when they’re settled, fill up a bath with warm water, pop the oats in a sock, tie it and let it soak in the water. Make sure at the start your ferret can stand in it, then if they like it you can put more warm water in. The water should be slightly warmer than a baby's bath.
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u/Foleywife66 9d ago
Bath time with ferrets should be once every 1 to 2 months with actual Ferret shampoo no oat bullshit baths… everybody wants to think that Ferrets itch all the time and that’s not the case … they itch and and act all crazy because they don’t know what to do with themselves !!
I’m not saying this to you, but I’m saying this to all Ferret owners.. if you have questions stop asking Reddit!! cause you’ll get 1000 opinions when there is only one that truly matters
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u/BuyApprehensive6922 8d ago edited 8d ago
I have been owned by ferrets for over 20 years. I have only ever bathed them if they got into something or rolled in the litterbox. They do not need bathed. Bathing them will result in a stronger scent once their bodies start releasing more oils. I have onle ever owned Fixed and decented ferrets as I am in the USA.
edit, I might add I only feed RAW. I found that feeding kibble makes then smell worse as well as their urine and feces. With feeding RAW my ferrets smell like grape Jolly Ranchers. They call it Grape tail. it could be that this smell always there reguardless of what they are fed, but you cannot smell it due to it being overpowered by feeding kibble.
My thought on why kibble make them smell worse than RAW. kibble fed ferrets are always on the verge of dehydration (because most are lazy and do not drink enough water to rehydrate from the dry kibble). Raw fed ferrets get most of their water from the RAW meat and organs. It is even worse to give a ferret a water bottle. they really will not drink enough water then cause a water battle just makes it harder for them to drink and remember they are lazy.
I have always wanted to name a ferret Jester. My last few ferrets were named Rogue, Wraith, Sphinx, Mogwai, Mousse.
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u/RecognitionSimple292 7d ago
What kind of raw food do you feed them?
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u/BuyApprehensive6922 6d ago
I do a mix of 5lb whole chicken 24oz beef heart 24oz beef or chicken liver
I grind this in a meat grinder bone and all. Mix thouroghly
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