My left over ferret questions?

Question

I know there is a thousand and one questions about ferrets, and websites galore, but I still have a few questions to those ferret owners. First of all, if you bath them bi weekly,and dry bathe them once a week, wash all bedding and plushies weekly, and daily cleaning of the cage, and ferret..is the smell really that bad? Due to my landlords strict rules, I have to reduce the smells as much as possible. Do any of you use air fresheners or little tricks to help reduce the smells form a ferret?

Second question. I have an H harness for my ferret (whom i dont have yet) and i was wondering if you can leave the ferret in a harness during all play time in the house. I have a room for the ferret to have to himself, however I would like to keep the harness on at all times outside of the cage. Is this normal, or okay to do? If not, that's fine with me.

I do have 5 cats and 2 rabbits, but i do not plan on introducing the ferret to any them, except maybe the cats. But probably not. Is this okay to do, to not introduce them?

I don't plan to introduce the ferret to the rabbits, EVER, as they are my little princes. Hense the ferret only room in the house.

When the ferret sleeps, is it okay to wake them for play? Say if the ferrets schedule is opposite mine? Or can they get nippy and cranky when awoken during a sleep? Is their sleeping pattern pretty solid once a schedule is established?

Will they sleep at night like the rest of the family?

Thanks for all answers,our ferret will be coming home later this week, he's a rescue!

Answer 1

I clean my ferrets bedding and sanitize the cage once a week, change the litter every other day and I gave her her first bath this weekend.  She still stinks.  Its just who they are.  I wouldnt leave the harness on the ferret cause it could get caught on something.  If you plan to keep the animals in seperate rooms all the time, I would see no need to introduce them.  It might be a good idea just in case.  I believe ferrets, back in the day, used to hunt rabbits so I would keep either one of them caged while the other is out.  The ferret will eventually get on your schedule.  They sleep about 18 hours a day so I would just let him sleep.  He needs to be out of the cage for at least 4 hours everyday to get his exercise and to interact with your family.  Good luck.

Answer 2

Its ok to leave a harness on him but I would suggest a collar also with a bell to help you in finding him in case he ever got away from you. The smell isn't that bad and the more you wash the ferret itself the smellier he/she will become actually. There is a supplement you can put on the food that they say will help with the smell of the f***s but I never tried it. If you stay away from ferret food that has fish products has one of the first few ingredients (like Marshalls) it will help keep the smell of the f***s down. It is ok to not introduce them as long as you plan on them to never come into contact with one another. That is a decision you will have to make. The ferret will be able to defend itself..its the cats and other animals I would worry about. LOL Its okay to wake the ferret up because if they are bored they are going to sleep a ton. Beware that if you disturb a sleeping ferret it may take a few minutes to wake them up and they will "vibrate" upon waking up and this is totally normal. They sleep extremely hard and can appear dead so DO NOT let this alarm you. They have a tendency to play hard at night so don't be hopeful that they will sleep when you do.

Answer 3

i bathe my ferrets once or twice yearly unless they get into something. they don't smell. it's a slight musk, nothing terrible. my babies are litter trained. i scoop the boxes nightly. you might want to scoop boxes twice daily. keep all scented things away from animals. if you want you can use arm and hammer baking soda about 6 feet away from their cage. like the fridge and freezer box. just leave it 6 feet away in the same room. i use bi-odor which is a water supplement and that also helps with odor. zupreem is a good ferret food without fish. no. use a collar or nothing. just in case, i'd say nothing. in case the harness or collar catches on something when they are out and about. you could wake the ferret to play but they do require a lot of sleep. once awake though, all they'll think of is play. if you wake it though, give it a few minutes to use the box. oh and lastly, you have cats so lemme throw this out there, no cat litter that is clay or clumping. with daily or twice daily pan scooping, a food like zupreem (without fish), and weekly cage cleaning, the smell should be minimal.