# Ferrets coming indoors help



## kateandnik (Mar 10, 2014)

Hi im in need of help on bringing my 2 male ferrets indoors they are roughley 8months old now and have lived out in a hucth in the back garden but i am not happy with them being outside. I think its all the ferret friends i have aquired on Instagram and they are all indoors in blankets and look so pieceful and cute where as mine are nuts! lol 

I have brought them a huge cage ( mansion ) but they trash it everytime i put them in and go on a pooing spree everywhere and they poo up the bars so it goes all over my floor! I tried putting the cage outside and they did the same thing! But in there hutch they use a littered corner!

I bath them roughley once a month but the smell just will not go away and im starting to feel ill never be able to bring them indoors now  

I know having them castrated will help with the smell but the vets around here are charging 60 per ferret and i dont really want to do it if they are not going to be indoor ferrets as i dont see any benefits as they are happy as they are.. 

:bash:


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## dinosaur lou (May 14, 2015)

kateandnik said:


> Hi im in need of help on bringing my 2 male ferrets indoors they are roughley 8months old now and have lived out in a hucth in the back garden but i am not happy with them being outside. I think its all the ferret friends i have aquired on Instagram and they are all indoors in blankets and look so pieceful and cute where as mine are nuts! lol
> 
> I have brought them a huge cage ( mansion ) but they trash it everytime i put them in and go on a pooing spree everywhere and they poo up the bars so it goes all over my floor! I tried putting the cage outside and they did the same thing! But in there hutch they use a littered corner!
> 
> ...


Hi there , my uncle kept ferrets he kept his out side but they were mostly inside during the day and stuff he had them in a hut in a big shed he built and he bred once every few years when he wanted another one for him self 
He found no problem with them out side but I know what u mean about people having furry cuddly babies in towels and yours are not 
Maybe do I gradually ? Bring them in every few days see how it goes 
As for castration , I've never heard it stopping them smelling I personally don't own this animal I can't give vet advice or help on that matter but it seems a lot for something that may not even help your situation 
Sorry I'm not much help 
All I can suggest is retrain them in the house like spend some months re training them to tame them a lot and do the litter corner 
Good luck


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## Chris18 (Mar 22, 2009)

Ferrets smell and that's the end of it. Castrating will help but it will not eliminate the musk smell completely.
Most people just get used to the smell and can no longer smell it after a while but guests will.

Bathing regularly actually increases their musk as they have to reoil their fur everytime it's washed, leave it alone and it will be self cleaning and produce less oil.

It's a new situation so they need to be retaught how to litter in the right place again.

I'd personally keep them outside and just bring them inside to a suitable room. Maybe buy a small chicken coop instead of a hutch so they have more room to move around?

A lot of indoor ferret keepers are in the USA where they have raccoons or other animals which can get into the cage so they keep them inside. In the UK we have less risks so tend to keep them outside where we can't smell them all the time and then bring them in for snuggles and play time.


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## MrJsk (Jul 29, 2012)

Not going to be much help but..

I kind of like the ferret smell :blush: 

Also, I used to have 2 and whenever their cage was cleaned.. they'd just destroy it within 5 minutes and poo and wee EVERYWHERE!

One of them, would wee on himself after being washed, dried and put back into his cage. 

Both were recued and absolutely crazy :lol2: Loved them though :flrt:


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## kateandnik (Mar 10, 2014)

Lol thanks for all ya help. Decided they are staying outside! 
my back yard is extremely safe to let them out the hutch for most the day and they love it so thinking even tho may be more cute and cuddleyfor me to have them indoors they actually prefer being outside ....

Mrjsk you like the smell of ferrets? omg it burns my nose lol


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## MrJsk (Jul 29, 2012)

kateandnik said:


> Mrjsk you like the smell of ferrets? omg it burns my nose lol


Yeah :blush: I can't really explain it.. just when you smell that smell and think"aww ferrets" :flrt: aha


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## Tomcat (Jul 29, 2007)

I don't actually mind the smell of them either. My entire hobs sleep on my shoulders so kinda used to it


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## Rogue665 (Mar 17, 2010)

Getting them neutered will get rid of the smell the only time a ferret should musk is when they are upset about something, I've had several males and females all living indoors with no smell, unless one of them is upset, bathing monthly will ruin their coat and their own oils to keep the smell minimum your making it worse by washing those oils off.
putting things where they are messing, like bits of food should stop them from going there and placing accidental poo's in the litter tray should teach them too, a litter corner to mess in really isn't enough for two boys, the whole bottom of my indoor cage is a litter tray, which i scoop daily. getting them neutered will also calm them down, also if they run mental when out of their hutch and in a new place, they are not out enough to get used to this new area, they need training just like any animal.


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## fazzer (Jul 19, 2009)

*Ferrets*

Ferrets are best kept outside , as long as they have access to a nice cosy dry sleeping area and a good sized well aired secure run, happy days . Ferrets kept in doors in modern centrally heated houses with minimal air movement can suffer respiratory problems . All the best Chris


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## mitsi (Feb 1, 2012)

We have 15 ferrets, 2 intact males, 2 castrated, 1 vasectomised, the castrsted males dont smell, the vasectomised one smells just like an intact one. The vasectomised one is used to bring the girls we arent breeding from out of season, its the increase of hormones etc especially around breeding time that tends to make them smell. I couldnt have any living in the house though, i dont mind the smell to much, but wouldnt like my house smelling of ferret. Mine all have big hutches and big runs to play in with plenty of tubes, ladders swinging blankets etc to play on or in, and the runs are big enough to go and sit in to interact with them.


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