Ferret Grooming

    Even though ferrets are naturally clean animals, they are very well known for their musky odour. No matter how many times you bathe a ferret, the odour will never completely go away. This scent is much worse in unneutered ferrets, but luckily almost all of the domestic ferrets in North America are neutered at the time of weaning, so we don’t really have to worry about this.

    They also have a pair of anal glands similar to cats and dogs, with very strong-smelling secretions. They rarely express these anal glands unless very scared and the scent often goes away after a few minutes. Again, most ferrets you find around here have already had these glands surgically removed, so you only have to deal with a mild musky odour from the oils in the skin.

    Bathing should be kept to a minimum – at most, once or twice a month. Bathing a ferret will strip its skin and coat of all of the natural (mildly stinky) oils, which will cause the body to overcompensate and keep producing more and more. Basically, over-bathing a ferret can cause its odour to get even worse. They usually do a pretty good job of cleaning themselves much like a cat. If you give them a bowl of water, they will use it to clean their face. Bathing is, however, good for relieving itchiness caused by fleas or dry skin. If you are going to bathe a ferret, make sure you use pet-friendly shampoo and warm bath water.