Ferret stink

Question
Is it true that a few drops of peppermint extract in the food/water will neutralize the smell of the poo? I have used the stuff you buy in stores from marshall farms, but I find it to be fairly expensive. Thanks

Answer
Peppermint extract in ferret food/water is a new one on me.  Experts generally suggest NOT using any type of additives to food or water of ferrets to control odor or for any other reason, because ferrets have very sensitive olfactory senses (smell) and it could cause them to not drink enough water or eat enough food if they don't like it. There is always the possibility of causing an ulcer or other digestive problems, so personally, I would stay away from any food and/or water additives.

There are some very effective defenses against ferret smell.
Depending on how many ferrets you have in a cage, the frequency of doing these things varies.  I have two ferrets currently, so I will tell you what I do for two ferrets, as I have a VERY sensitive nose and my ferrets cage is in my livingroom and people usually don't even realize I have ferrets until they see them, then they say things like "gee, I always thought ferrets smelled - yours sure don't".  So what I'm doing must be working :-)

I vacuum (yes, I keep a small vacuum right next to their cage for convenience) all food particles and all litter that has been scattered or tracked out of the box morning and evening. Then I have a mild mixture of about a tablespoon of PineSol in a quart of water in a spray bottle and a roll of paper towels handy (there is a large cabinet above my ferret's cage to keep all their 'stuff' in, except toys, of course :-) (MANY people use a liquid called "NATURES MIRACLE" to wipe down surfaces inside ferret cages because it has enzymes in it that clean and are safe for ferrets, but it is also expensive, so I use the PineSol/water mixture and just make sure the ferrets don't get in the cage until the floors are dry.) I wet some paper towels with the cleaner and wipe all floor and wall surfaces (hopefully you have flat surfaces like linoleum and NOT wire mesh floors, which are hard on their feet and can even distort them and be very painful.

I keep a bag full of plastic grocery bags in the cabinet and a large serving spoon in the cabinet and I scoop all poop and ALL wet litter (dig around a little - there may be only a little dot of wet on top, but a huge wet area underneath that needs to be removed :-).  Replenish removed litter with clean litter. (By now I've usually either dropped some wet litter or dry litter on the floor LOL and have to re-vacuum a little bit, but I've never learned to do this the other way around LOL)   

NOTE:  Never use the clumping kind of litter, even tho it would be easier, it can get in ferret's feet or fur and they pull it out, swallow it, and get an intestinal blockage; so use ONLY compressed newspaper litters like Yesterday's News or regular NON-clumping litter (I use Johnny Cat in the blue bag - smells good and is cheap too).

Check the dry kibble food bowl to make sure everything in there is dry (wet food molds and smells, in addition to being sickening for them)...wash and fill if necessary....the food bowl should be kept full, they won't eat more than they need in a day.  Remove their water dispenser or cup and wash out with HOT soapy water and be SURE to rinse really well, and give fresh, cool water TWICE a day, morning and night.  I give my kids ONLY reverse osmosis (like bottled) water because we have a dispenser on our kitchen sink. The minerals in tap water (if you have high minerals where you live) can,over time, cause kidney problems in their teeny tiny little vessels, so you want to keep that water clean constantly and free of any additives that could cause problems.

Hopefully your kids have blankies to cuddle up in, hammocks, sleep sacks, or even a sweatshirt or two of yours to crawl into for sleeping.  Here's *PROBABLY* where the odor is coming from. These need to be changed and laundered about twice a week.  I have multiple sets of linens  or baby blankies (I get mine from the thrift stores reeeeally cheap - just don't get anything their little toe nails can catch in) for their cage, so I just keep them stacked in the cabinet above their cage and take out the old and put in the new every few days.

You may bathe your ferret, but do it infrequently.  Use Johnson's & Johnson's baby shampoo (not the body wash) and you will save lots of money. Just like the expensive ones they sell specifically for ferrets, it won't sting their eyes and they smell WONDERFUL after a bath.  Put several clean big towels down for them to dry themselves in on the bathroom floor (or pick them up and dry them - mine LOVE for me to rub their backs with the towel and scratch all those itchy places after a bath :-)   You can give baths maybe every six weeks - BUT, if someone steps in poop or gets into anything stinky, that's reason for a bath sooner.  I have one ferret who has to back up alll the way into the litterbox to do her business, so she steps thru the other ferret's poops every time she goes!  Consequently, she gets her "feet only" washed in the bathroom sink a couple times a day, sometimes maybe even 4 or 5 times if I have time.....otherwise I have a bigger mess to clean up in the cage that night cuz she has tracked poops all thru the cage all day <sigh>.

Last but definitely not least - what you feed your ferret has a HUGE effect on what their poops smell like.  If you are feeding a cheap grocery store cat food, you will find that if you switch over to Totally Ferret or 8 in 1 Ultimate (you can get them online at http://www.ferretstore.com and they will ship it right to your house, that's what I do), the odor will change dramatically.....and probably disappear IF you do this AND all the above suggestions too!

Best of luck to you and your ferrets. I always like to suggest to everyone I talk to ferrets about - there is a book called "FERRETS FOR DUMMIES" by Kim Schilling ( you can get it at  http://www.half.com or eBay for a really reasonable price).  It is literally packed with suggestions galore on how to solve about any kind of ferret problem that arises.  Of course you are always welcome to email me, but sometimes we need answers FAST and even more often we need answers (like how to ferretproof) that we don't know we need answers to!

Don't hesitate to write again anytime.  Hope my suggestions help you.  As in all of life, the best advice usually comes from someone who is doing something and getting the results you desire.....just do the same thing they do and you *should* get the same results.  I know it's a lot, but you will be surprised how quickly you will fall into a routine and doing the cage takes less than 10 mins total morning and evening.....and occasionally a paper towel 'emergency poop pick up' in the daytime :-) Always keep a roll or paper towels and spray cleaner mixture near the cage, but where they can't get to it :-)

sincerely,
jacquie rodgers