Friday, July 31, 2009

Ferret stinks/toilet training?

what can you do to stop the smell from a male ferret no being so bad and also i am not really having any luck with toilet training with him and ideas?
Answers:
The thing with ferrets is that once they decide that they've gotta go, they've REALLY gotta go and they won't put too much effort into searching out a litter box.

The best way to litter train is to be consistent!

Get the BIGGEST litter pan that will fit in your fert's cage - they like to be able to fit all four feet inside. So they don't mistake their litter box for a bed or digging hole, when he goes to the bathroom, pick up the poo and put it in the box.

When your ferret is outside of his cage, watch where he "goes." Then put another litter pan in each of those corners. If he's "going" EVERYWHERE and putting a litter pan in each spot is unreasonable, I suggest putting a little bowl with food in some of the potty spots (after thoroughly cleaning the area, of course). Most ferrets won't mix their dinner table with their toilet. When you see him starting to back up like he's going to potty, pick him up and put him right into the litter box. Keep doing this until he goes in the box. This may take a little time - you need to be patient.

Another thing is, keep the litter boxes clean! Ferrets don't like to use disgusting toilets any more than you or I do. If you must reinforce to him that it is a litter box, leave a small piece of poo in it.

He will not go in a pan 100% of the time. But by providing him with enough pans, he'll make it in most of the time. You need to be patient, consistent and vigilant.

Ferrets only reek when you're not taking proper care of them and the best way keep the odor down is to clean his litter EVERY DAY! Also, wipe down his cage every week. Wash his bedding weekly. 90% of a ferret's odor comes from his poo and his habitat, not the ferret himself. (FYI, if you didn't know this already, over-bathing a ferret will lead to him over-producing his natural, musky oils and result in a stinkier fert. So don't bathe him more than once a month - some people only bath twice a year.)

If you're doing all that and you're still having a stink problem, you can buy Marshall's Bi-Odor. It comes in a pump and you squirt a little into his water. It's not cheap though. (But then again, when it comes to ferrets, what is cheap?)

You can also change his food. Are you feeding him Marshall's or another low-quality food like Kaytee or even grocery store cat food? If you got him from a pet store, then they most likely pushed Marshall's food on to you. Lower quality food makes their poop A LOT stinkier. Try integrating a higher quality food into his diet like ZuPreem or Totally Ferret (or both!). I've also heard that Wellness Core Dry Cat food and Innova Evo Ferret food are really good. Don't abruptly switch, phaze out the Marshall (or other crummy food) by adding more quality food gradually.

Good luck!
The only way to really litter train a ferret is to put a litter box in every corner of his cage or put something in every corner that can't be moved by him. (water bottle, tie down the litter box. etc) If they can back their rear in the corner usually it will go there. You can bathe your ferret to help with the smell. I use baby shampoo. It works just as good as the ferret shampoo..just a lot cheaper. Keep in mind though that the more you wash the stinker he will get. I use towels as his bedding so I can wash them frequently and that keeps the odor down a lot as well. If you go this route make sure you keep the nails trimmed because they can get caught in the towels.
Ferrets are not pets, they are vermin, or at least not domesticated over thousands of years like cats and dogs.
Get yourself a nice kitty or puppy, humanity has worked the kinks out of them.

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