‘Are ferrets smelly?’, ‘Don’t ferrets stink?’. While it’s true, ferrets do smell — like ferrets, all animals have a smell. Ferrets, however, get a terrible reputation for being stinky. So, what makes odeur de furet? Why are they stigmatised for having a bad smell?

Well, ferrets have a natural musky odour because of their scent glands. Scent glands are situated throughout the whole body. But are primarily in the anal area, which they use for marking.

Ferrets release a smell to mark territory and attract mates. When male ferrets are particularly hormonal, they normally smell pretty strong, especially if they’re not neutered.

Ferrets in some countries are subject to a procedure that removes their anal glands (called de-scenting) this supposedly reduces their odour but doesn’t completely get rid of it. In parts of Europe, this procedure is actually illegal, as it’s considered highly unethical. De-scenting is a stressful surgery which can have high risks and complications. Many ferrets that undergo de-scenting are very young, and the procedure takes away some of their ability to communicate. Some people would even consider it a form of mutilation. De-scenting is rendered pretty useless, and the marketing is completely wrong. It gives people the impression that ferrets will no longer smell, when in fact, like all animals, they do! Why put a ferret under so much unnecessary stress?

There are many ways to make a ferret less smelly, which are much more ethical and do not involve a procedure such as de-scenting. Some examples include:

  • Switching your ferret to a raw-based diet.
  • Cleaning the ferrets’ litter boxes regularly.
  • Choosing a high-quality absorbent litter (paper-based).
  • Washing bedding and fabrics often.
  • Hoovering and cleaning the carpet that your ferret is in contact with.
  • Air purifiers.

A common misconception is that if your ferret smells, you should bathe it. This is FALSE. Ferrets do not need baths and should not be submerged in water or covered in shampoo (even if it’s marketed towards ferrets).

Bathing a ferret will actually do the complete opposite, and will make them even more smelly! This is because when you bathe a ferret, you strip all the skin’s naturally secreting oils. This means after the bath, the ferret’s body will go into overdrive to replace these oils and your ferret will end up even smellier.

Bathing ferrets can also be highly stressful and cause skin dryness, extreme itchiness or general discomfort to your ferret.

Saying this, you may offer your ferret an oat milk bath during shedding season if they are experiencing over itchiness, flakey, or tender skin. Oat milk baths are shallow baths with either oat milk, or rolled oats in a sock. Placed in about 5 cm (ca. 2 inches) of water. You will want to make sure there is a mat or towel on the bottom of the bath, so the ferrets do not slide around. And you will not want to bathe them more than once or twice a year. Oat milk is gentle on the ferrets’ skin and can relieve itchiness without completely stripping the skin’s oils.

Another reason ferrets get the reputation of smelling bad comes from a ferret ‘pooting’ or ‘poofing’. This is normally a rare occurrence when a ferret is stressed or scared. The smell is like ‘concentrated ferret’ and can be rather unpleasant. The odour comes directly from the ferret’s anal glands. So de-scented ferrets will not experience this. It is not always something that happens from being scared or stressed, though! We have often experienced our hob, Boots, pooting when he is overexcited or playing.

In short, ferrets do smell. Although, it’s not as bad as people make it out to be. Ferrets should not be bathed and this does not reduce their smell. Most owners actually end up liking the ferret musk!