Ferrets and Their Scent

The most interesting thing about ferrets is definitely their special smell. Considering the fact that every animal has its own unique smell (including human) this shouldn't be so hard to understand. It is just the way that animals communicate on a totally natural level. Ferrets are born with special anal scent sacs, plus they have musk glands all over their body. Because most of those glands are around ferret's face, the face is the place where the smell is most powerful.

Many people nowadays have ferrets as their pets. Some even like their scent, some simply endure it.
If you decide to have a ferret as your pet, it is crucial to know facts about their scent.

Some owners hate their smell and to get rid of it they wash their ferret all the time. This is totally wrong because of two things. Firstly it hurts your ferrets fur and skin, and secondly it produces even more of that scent, therefore simply don't do this!

The scent is a part of a ferret, just as its cheerful and playful personality. Some scientific research has actually shown that bathing your ferret less often can make his scent less intensive, however there is no 100% guarantee. Most of ferret owners only bathe their ferrets once a month or even les often.

Some owners even try to get rid of the smell of their ferret by so called de-scenting, which means that they remove the anal glands. This is the worst thing you can do to your ferret. Not only you will hurt him and put its life in danger the smell will still not go away, because anal glands are just one of many sources of their scent.

The only thing you can do and should do to lessen their scent is to wash your pet's toys. Blankets, hammocks and other stuff they use, very often. You should also frequently wash their litter box.

Taking all things into account, your ferret's scent is something that you'll just have to accept if you decide to get a ferret as your pet.