# Introducing Ralph, Norman, and Ramona!



## catahoulamom

As some of you may have seen on facebook, over the past couple of weeks I have somehow acquired THREE (yes, three) ferrets. For the past two weeks I've been trying to keep it on the down-low as my mom wasn't a fan of having more animals (I don't live with my mom, but I rent a small cottage from her that's directly behind her house). Well, she met them tonight and now she is actually quite smitten with them. Here's there story...

My boyfriend and I were stopping by a pet store a couple of weeks ago to see if they had a certain fish food we were looking for. It was a Sunday and the store had closed early, so as we walked up to the doors and noticed they were closed we left to rush back to the car, as it was one of the "coldest" nights Miami has had all year (cold enough for us Floridians to put our heater on in the car!). Out of the corner of my eye I saw a box a few feet away, up against a wall. Was that a scratching noise I heard? I walked over to the box, that was duct-taped up, and yes... it was definitely scratching noises that I heard. There was something alive in there. I called my boyfriend over and we opened up the box to find a sable male ferret. Poor thing, out there in the cold, left in a box taped up with no air holes, blanket, nothing?! How can people do this?!

Needless to say we took him home and set him up in the bathroom. Made sure he had a litterbox, couldn't get into the cabinets (ferret proofed the room), gave him some food and water. He did really well in the bathroom the next few days as we tried to decide what the heck to do with him. After a few days, he had a name, and we were becoming slightly attached. Well, we may as well look on craigslist to see if we can find a deal on cages...

I was able to find a huge Ferret Nation cage for only $100, they usually cost $260. I called the seller and he assured me it was in perfect condition, so we got the cash and went to pick up the cage the next day. We get there, get through the awkward meeting-a-stranger stage, and see the cage. It was in great condition, but set up as if there was still a ferret living in there. "Oh, you still have a ferret?" I asked. "Did you get him another cage?" Then a young girl walks into the room. "Here he is!" and hands me another sable ferret. Apparently, it was $100 for the cage, _plus_ a *free* ferret! Well, they forgot to mention that in their ad! He had been eating kibbles and bits dog food for the past year that they have had him. How could I say no, I'll take the cage but not the ferret? After all, I had read everywhere that two ferrets are better than one! So, we headed home with a cage and a second ferret that night. Luckily, the two boys hit it off and fell asleep snuggled in their cozy hammock in their nice big cage.

Three days ago my boyfriend comes home with a small white-silver female ferret (without my consent). She has to only be months old, she's really tiny. And deaf, apparently. She was on sale because someone had returned her because she has a virus called ECE (a gastrointestinal virus) and hadn't been given any medical attention. She was pooping green slime. I took her to an exotic vet who told me he could prescribe something to help with the symptoms, but since it was a virus there wasn't much he could do but tell me to keep her hydrated and eating. I did some research online and decided to give her DMG & colostrum mixed into diluted chicken baby food, through a syringe every 3-4 hours, alternating with Pedialyte. Well, that did the trick, and she is now on the mend. I kept her seperate from the others, but apparently if one of them has it, the other's WILL get it too because it's contagious. Good thing is, in young healthy ferrets it only lasts 7-10 days, and once they've had it before they're immune to it. 

So, sorry for the long story... but I DO feel as though I have to explain myself as to how I have acquired three ferrets in the past 2 1/2 weeks. I have had a ferret before, and love them dearly, but did NOT expect to have one, not to mention THREE, anytime soon! When we first found Norman (the one abandoned at the pet store), we thought we'd rehome him. Well, they've fit into our lives pretty well... and they seem to be happy with us. And we are happy with them. They gel with the cats and the dogs just ignore them. They sleep about 18 hours a day and spend the other 6 (two hours in the morning, one in the middle of the day, and two hours at night) out of the cage free-roaming. I'd say they are fitting in pretty well here, and I'd like them to hang around for a while.  We've started switching them to prey model raw (first using Rad Cat to get them to taste the raw meat), and two of them (Ramona & Norman) have taken to raw very well! Ralph, on the other hand, is being a tough cookie. :/ Hopefully I'll have him switched over to raw soon! If anybody has any tips please share!

And now... for the pictures!!! 

ferret pile! 








Norman, Ralph








Ramona, Norman, Ralph








Norman








Norman "pancaking" lol...


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## whiteleo

Cute! They'll get into everything...and they smell....and their cute...and they smell..and their cute...My old client had one, "Bear" was his name and she use to bring him to all the horse shows with her...He would stay in the hotel room with us, he stunk, he'd climb into the beds and carry crap around and hide it...Lol


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## RachelsaurusRexU

I adore ferrets! Good for you guys and I'm so interested to see how the PMR goes.


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## catahoulamom

whiteleo said:


> Cute! They'll get into everything...and they smell....and their cute...and they smell..and their cute...My old client had one, "Bear" was his name and she use to bring him to all the horse shows with her...He would stay in the hotel room with us, he stunk, he'd climb into the beds and carry crap around and hide it...Lol


Haha, they really are social little creatures and yes they do (try) to get into EVERYTHING! Norman's favorite game is to drag shoes under the bed and hoard them in the farthest corner so I can't reach them... Ralph likes to hoard anything that has a rubber handle. At first the smell bothered me, but we keep the cage spotless so it really minimizes on the odor. I've noticed that it's more the bedding (hammocks, blankets) that start to smell, more than the actual ferret. I must say, I have noticed a huge difference in Norman's body odor since he's only been eating raw!



RachelsaurusRexU said:


> I adore ferrets! Good for you guys and I'm so interested to see how the PMR goes.


They are pretty damn adorable... it's hard not to love 'em!  Thanks, and I'll def keep you guys updated!!!


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## minnieme

So totally adorable! But I have to ask.....is it true that ferrets really stink???

edit: sorry, I posted the smell question at the same time! haha!


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## Tobi

gf already told me don't even  think about finding any around here! :lol:

I love how you described their attitude!! I'm looking forward to you letting us know how they all do and smell when they are changed over onto raw!!! :becky: they are absolutely adorable, and i would love to have them!!! you're lucky! :thumb:



minnieme said:


> So totally adorable! But I have to ask.....is it true that ferrets really stink???


If they are fed a Raw pmr diet, since they are obligate carnivores i've heard that they don't smell any worse than a cat. :mullet:


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## catahoulamom

Tobi said:


> If they are fed a Raw pmr diet, since they are obligate carnivores i've heard that they don't smell any worse than a cat. :mullet:


That is true! They have a bit more body odor than a cat (a muskiness, I myself wear Kiehl's musk perfume so it doesn't bother me  but their "mess" they make is MUCH less stinky than a cat litter box. I have three cats and three ferrets, and I can't tell you that the cat's waste stinks a lot more than the ferrets (well, it could have to do with the fact that I sometimes get lazy and feed them canned food instead of their raw... the litter box stinks a whole lot less when they're only eating raw). 

I must point out that there is a huge difference in Norman's coat just in the past couple of weeks that I have had him. When we found him he was looking a bit greasy, Ralph still looks a little greasy (although he already had a bath - I'm sure it's since he's been eating kibbles n bits his whole life), but now that he's been on raw his coat seems to be fluffing out and he doesn't smell much at all. Ramona has very little odor, and hopefully Ralph will be easy on me and start eating his chicken necks soon so I can get him in better shape!


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## maplewood

CUTE!!! We have two Alistair and Sasha. 

Ferrets in petstores generally reek because they're fed a diet of corn and by products. ainkiller: Well fed ones don't smell too bad.


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## leilaquinn

So cute! I used to babysit an awsome little ferret, he was cuddly and fun, really full of mischief but never mean, i loved him.


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## GoingPostal

Lol ferret math hit you hard and fast! You'll find after awhile on a prey model diet the odor is pretty minimal, I had up to 7 ferrets at once on kibble, they have their own bedroom upstairs and people who came over were amazed we had ferrets because they couldn't smell them. I switched to raw last year but I only have two ferrets left now, lots of health issues for sure, I don't even want to know what those little weasels have cost me over the years. Are you on the holistic ferret forum? They have lots of tips for switching ferrets over.


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## MollyWoppy

I've never even thought about ferrets before. All I've heard (from back in NZ) is that they are banned because they eat the birds (a lot who can not fly), and wipe them out. So, I have some preconceived ideas about them I guess.
However, I was at Pet Supermarket the other day and whilst Windy the cat was enjoying herself frightening the birds to death, I found myself watching a few ferrets in a cage there. They had me laughing as I had absolutely no idea - they are friendly, playful, mischievous little animals aren't they? 
I didn't know they smelt either, but then again, I thought cats smelt like hell before I got one myself. I was blaming the poor cats instead of the owners who, I now know, never cleaned their litter box. So, I guess ferrets are along the same lines.
So, I guess I just wanted to say, congratulations on your new little mates, they lucked out getting a home where they are loved and taken such great care of. Thanks for the pic's, they are really cute.


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## catahoulamom

Thank you everybody!

They surely are awesome little creatures. I've been reading up on them and they've been domesticated for some 2,500 years. In Europe they still use them for ratting and hunting rabbits. It's really cool how they all have their own personalities - and they're extremely smart and determined. Ralph is sooo laid back and loves to be pet, Norman is freakin insane and when he wants to get on the bed, he'll KEEP trying to jump on the bed until goshdarnit he makes it! LOL, we're still getting to know little Ramona... and she seems to have come down with a respiratory infection (poor lil bug), so I have to keep her seperate from the boys. She has an appointment at the vet for 10am.


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## Janet At Nutro

Congratulations on your new additions!


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## GoingPostal

Determined hell, most people call it stubborn! Ferrets do not give up, I always laugh at the new owners who want to know how to stop them from digging up carpet, or banging on the cage, or getting into some kind of trouble or another, that's just how ferrets are, if they weren't so cute and funny you'd kill them. Just be prepared, people find out you have ferrets and suddenly you become the local shelter for them, I have people I barely know offering me theirs, the vets office calling me with ones who need homes, I've turned down 8 in the last six months or so alone. We lost two this year and racked up quite a bit in debt, plus my male is elderly and ill and my female is middle aged and mean, don't want the stress of trying to add any new ones to my two. I hope to buy some healthier privately bred ferrets down the line when I can afford it, I'm tired of the heartbreak and nonstop vet visits, especially since the nearest experienced vet is several hours away. You are probably luckier there, bigger area means more vet options. I'm super paranoid my vet will retire and no one will take her place.


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## MollyWoppy

Why do so many people want to give them up? They seem to be very friendly, lowish maintenance (well, less than a dog), lovable little pets.


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## Tobi

MollyWoppy said:


> Why do so many people want to give them up? They seem to be very friendly, lowish maintenance (well, less than a dog), lovable little pets.


I got my answer from a fellow Bull Terrier owner. She said her BT was easier than the ferrets in any type of training! :lol:

she said it took her about a month to litter box train it, and she also came home to an escape artist as well. she found it under her carpet, and she could see it moving around under it... it got in from tearing a bit away from a corner.. :rofl:

She did say that her dog just lays there and lets him run all over him and she said that the ferret chews on him :suspicious: and he's very good with him, gives me high hopes that maybe Tobi would be good!!! I want one with a mask like the ones in the pictures!! :becky:


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## GoingPostal

MollyWoppy said:


> Why do so many people want to give them up? They seem to be very friendly, lowish maintenance (well, less than a dog), lovable little pets.


Well I think a lot of it is people don't have time for them, if you have other animals you might have to put them up so the ferrets can run around for several hours a day, preferably a couple times a day, they will wreck stuff, they don't usually litter train 100% like a cat so they will use any corner or wherever to go, so if you have carpet it might get destroyed, they are diggers who won't quit, they tend to ruin beds, couches, they are kind of noisy and messy, they'll move and throw stuff around, especially if they are mad, food, litter, cages, bedding is all expensive and then you have the vet bills which can be astronomical. If you feed them crappy food and don't clean a lot they smell. One of mine came from a lady who just goes through pets like crazy, shes offered me 2 more sets of 2 ferrets since then, she gets cats/dogs/birds/ferrets and trades them in for something new nonstop, 3 came from a friend when their cat had kittens and the ferrets tried to eat them, they were supposed to take them back eventually but never did, another was a kids pet and they lost interest so he was just stuck in the cage all the time. I guess the normal reasons people dump pets, didn't bother to research or put time into them.


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## catahoulamom

Postal, I've already had someone offer me their ferret. How annoying... it happens all the time, people assume that because I have 3 dogs, 3 cats, and now 3 ferrets, that I'm willing to take in any stray/unwanted animal. I do my best to help place unwanted animals or find them a new home but I have my plate full with the animals I already have! 

& Molly, David & Goingpostal are correct... while yes, they are fairly easy to maintain, most people are too lazy to take care of them correctly. Mine have a huge cage, but I have to clean out that gigantic cage three times a day to keep it sanitary. They aren't 100% litter box trained yet so I have washable-reusable wee pads that I put on the floor of the cage to soak up any pee they do outside the box and I wash those daily. They sleep most of the day, but I make sure to let them out for at least 5-6 hours a day. They mostly like to explore and knock things down and drag shoes under the bed, but I also keep them entertained with stimulating games. I have this little plastic ball that I put a treat in and Ramona will chase the ball for hours until the treat falls out.


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## catahoulamom

GoingPostal said:


> Are you on the holistic ferret forum? They have lots of tips for switching ferrets over.


I'm sorry I forgot to reply to this! YES I just found that forum yesterday and haven't signed up yet but I've been lurking. It's full of great information and they even have a mentor program.


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## Missy Mae

I have five ferrets that I have been feeding raw for the last three years. They can be difficult to switch over to raw but once they have been on raw they will not recognize kibble as a food source, at least mine don't. I second the suggestion for Holistic Ferret, they are who helped me switch over my crew. In fact if you look under the graduate thread my crew is there  Another good forum is Ferret Harmony. Smaller group and people comment more. They also have many who feed raw to their other animals. The raw soup is a God send in switching them over. Ferrets have a musky smell but it is not bad when they are raw fed. I also use the oatmeal bath (stuff you use on humans to help with itchy skin) on them and not a shampoo. The shampoo strips their coat of the oils that they need so they make extra, which increases the smell! Here are some pictures of my guys.

Damien did NOT like raw and was sure we were poisioning him. His first days of raw looked like this:


















Bandit eating raw soup:



























Taz who would drag her food to the litter box to eat. She was my hardest to switch and took two months!









Size difference between Falkor (5 lbs) and Lucy Loo (2.4 lbs)









My crew thinking they are going to get more food


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## catahoulamom

Thanks Missy Mae!!! Wow you have some gorgeous, healthy looking ferrets! I need to post more pictures for size comparison... Ramona is so0o0o0o0o0o much smaller than the boys. She's really young, the vet said probably 4-5 months, and now she's battling some kind of cold. I took her to the vet two days ago and they swabbed her nose and sent it out to figure out if it's an upper respiratory infection or a virus, but in the meantime they went ahead and gave me an antibiotic to get her started on just in case as well as baby Benadryl (liquid) and nose drops to clear the stuffiness. Her eyes are not nearly as puffy as before, and her nose is less stuffy, and she is sneezing a LOT less, so I'm thinking it was just an URI and she's already on the mend (she's eating well). 

I joined the Holistic Ferret forum today after one of my customers (at the store I work at) reminded me about it. She's also an active member on the forum and told me to join the proboard 60, I had no idea what that was but was able to find it, now I see the forum is much more active than I thought.  

As far as raw goes, I finally have them all eating it! Ramona and Ralph aren't 100% yet, they will nibble at their Rad Cat and I caught Ramona eating a little chicken neck the other day. Norman, on the other hand, DEVOURS his raw within seconds (the Rad Cat) and will hoard his chicken necks and hearts in the litter box (just like yours, lol!) and eat them last. They're so weird, why do they put it in the litter box?!?

Thanks for the bathing tips and for sharing pics of your weasels... they're just adorable!


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## Unosmom

so cute, I definitely want to get a ferret in the future, they seem like such cool little animals, but definitely when I get a stable job so I can afford any future expenses.


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## Missy Mae

When I was switching my crew they had me start on (after I was getting them to eat the soup) chicken, which I believe is how they start all of them. My crew is a bit snobish. They will eat chicken, with the exception of breast, but it's not their fav. They preferre lamb or bison and we have lots of screaming, hissing, hiding fits over it. They are a hoot! 

I am not sure why they drag their food into the litter box but it is pretty common from what I hear from other ferret owners! 

The stuff I use for a bath is Equate Calming Bath Treatment With Natural Colloidal Oatmeal, that is the generic brand. The only ingredient is Colloidal oatmeal. I want to say it is about $8 for a pack of 8. You can find this stuff everywhere. I typically only give them a bath once a month if even that. I use two per bath. I fill the tub with warm water (enough that they can stand comfortably in the water), dump the packs in, dump the ferrets in and just let them soak in the water until it is no longer warm. If they smell really bad I do rub it into their fur. Be prepared for some really funny ferrets after the bath. They get the equivalent of dog zoomies after the bath! I wash all of their bedding and clean their cage in organic apple cider vinegar. 

In the three years I have had mine they have never been sick, other than the first time they came home and had to be dewormed. Ferrets in general do sneeze a lot and are very sensitive to cleaners, dust, dirt, and in the winter their coats do dry out but some supplemental oils work wonders! I also do not get rabies for them, only distemper. If they were the only pets I had I would even consider not getting the distemper but because we have the dogs who do go outside our fenced property, and they do interact with the ferrets, it is a risk.

*ETA*
Lucy Loo and Taz are a lot smaller than the boys. They tend to pack on the weight during the winter and then thin out in the summer. Their coats also changed in the winter and the summer. All of my ferrets are from Petco and were rehomes due to allergies. I would love to have more but my youngest son developed an allergy to them so no more for us once these guys are gone! I will say his allergy is not as severe with them on the raw but he still breaks out in hives pretty bad if he handles them or their things.

Amy


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## Missy Mae

GoingPostal said:


> Determined hell, most people call it stubborn! Ferrets do not give up, I always laugh at the new owners who want to know how to stop them from digging up carpet, or banging on the cage.


ha ha ha that made me laugh. My crew grab the bars of their cage, put their front paws on it, and shake it as hard as they can. They certianly let me know when they want OUT!


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## catahoulamom

Thanks for the great info Amy!! I'll be searching for that Equate Bath Treatment tomorrow... I'm guessing Walgreens or CVS would have it? I need to find some natural flea treatments for them as well, I was babysitting my good friend's dog (I found her and he adopted her from me, so we kinda have this deal that whenever he goes out of town, she can come stay at my place) and she brought some fleas in. Since my dogs have been on raw we haven't had any flea outbreaks... until this dog came over. Now all three dogs, three cats, and three ferrets are itching.  Do you think I could use a diluted Richards Organics Flea & Tick Shampoo on them? (it says safe to use on cats...) I need to post this question on Holistic Ferret Forum. LOL I can't wait to see them get the zoomies!!! 

I clean out the cage with a 50/50 water & white vinegar solution. It works really well and keeps the cage smelling fresh... I don't want to use any kind of chemicals. 

It's good to hear you haven't had any health problems with your's! I've heard from a lot of ferret owners who have had to deal with adrenal disease and other health problems with their ferrets (since supposedly most all ferrets were bred from the same couple ferrets @ Marshall Farms originally? At least this is what the exotic vet told me...) I'm definitely keeping a close eye on them, but I'm very lucky as they seem to be happy, healthy, rambunctious, insane little jerks.  I will definitely not be vaccinating them for rabies, I will look up the pros/cons of distemper in my area and decide what to do. My dogs (besides my pit bull) do not have anything other than their puppy shots and first rabies, so of course I'd like to keep the vaccines as minimal as possible. 

I wonder if Ramona will stay tiny like Lucy Loo. Well she's not even as big as 2.5lbs - not sure exactly how much she weighs, but it's very little. She's a bit scrawny but she has a good appetite and is gaining weight. I can't wait to see how/if they change with the seasons.  Even though Florida's seasons are hot/humid hot/more humid even hotter ... lol.


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## Missy Mae

I am with you on keeping the chemicals to a minimum, that includes my skinkids as well. I have found the bath stuff at Wal-Greens, CVS, and Wal-Mart. The distemper is something to educate yourself on. Recently there were several reports of a distemper outbreak at Point Definance park due to racoons! The only shots my dogs got were distemper, parvo and rabies. I need to research more about distemper and parvo, probably going to titer them and go from there. Privately bred ferrets do not seem to have the same problems that Marshall's ferrets have, but Marshall's ferrets seem to be not as "bratty", or so I have heard. But man oh man those privatly bred ferrets are beautiful! 

For the fleas I do not know. Mine have never had flea's and I am hoping by keeping them seperate from the dogs (who currently do have fleas) will keep the fleas off of them. We also have hardwood floors so that helps too! I known the ferret forum has a lot of threads on flea prevention and how to get rid of fleas. I wonder if a Dawn dishsoap would work like it does on the dogs? I know my ferrets do not lick themselves until after they are out of the bath and rubbed down with a towel. Speaking of when I get mine out of the tub I put several towels down on the floor, shut the bathroom door, and let them rub on them.

*ETA*
Ferrets can be itchy even if they do not have any flea's. Have you seen flea's on them? It could be they are adjusting to their new food and maybe need some more supplemental oil. Also in the winter, with the heater running my ferrets are more itchy.


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## wags

Those are three dang cute little ferrets there! Love them! My son's roomate a while back had one and it was so funny and cute! I got to hold it and watch the antics!Alot of fun! Have fun with them! Ha should be Larry Moe and Curly hahaha! Just too cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## catahoulamom

Missy Mae said:


> Ferrets can be itchy even if they do not have any flea's. Have you seen flea's on them? It could be they are adjusting to their new food and maybe need some more supplemental oil. Also in the winter, with the heater running my ferrets are more itchy.


Sorry I forgot to reply to this!! I just now saw the edit. Unfortunately I have seen fleas on them, the poor lil guys are munching themselves pretty bad. They're much easier to find on the panda girl, Ramona, since her fur is so light I can find them and pick them out... the sables, it's nearly impossible. :/ I'm still searching up some natural flea remedies for fleas and ticks. We're in Miami too, so we NEVER use the heater! LOL thanks for the tips though! Still haven't gotten the chance to buy that oatmeal stuff yet, but it's on my To-Do list (which is never ending!) for this week!


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## Missy Mae

I wonder if you can use DE on them? I never thought about it but I can do some searching and see what I can come up with!


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## xchairity_casex

i really dont find ferrets all that "stinkey" i guess when i think of stinkey i think like feces odor or ammonia smell from urine thats what i consider stinkey from pets anyways but ferrets are "musky" its not super super strong or wicked overpowering its a light musky smell some a bit stronger then others but i dont think ive ever met a ferret who was "over-powering"


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## Missy Mae

I cannot find any reference to DE and ferrets. I would ask at Holistic Ferret. Someone is sure to know!


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