Quote Originally Posted by CathyBogart
I guess I'm wierd, I like ferret smell.
I'm weird too then. lol


Ferrets do have a musky order but with less bathing, decent food & litter & a clean cage you can keep the smell at bay.

Try to avoid any foods with a lot of fish, like Marshalls foods, but also avoid foods with corn & grains. Fish tends to make their feces smell more sometimes (depends on the individual ferret though)
Ferrets are 100% carnivores. They have no cecum which is what digests non-meat foods. They can NOT have veggies or the like.
Their intestines are only the size of a straw so if they eat a piece of food that is not meat & bigger than that it can cause a blockage which requires immediate surgery or death. Same goes for toys. They love to chew rubber toys & if they swallow a piece it may cause a blockage as well.
Feed them some hairball meds once a week and daily when they are shedding as hairballs will also cause blockages.

Their intestinal tract is short so they can not eat a large amount of food at a time which is why they eat every few hours. Always keep kibble available for them, they eat (and poop) frequently.

They can also become imprinted on one food so it is best to always feed them a mix of at least 3 different foods. Just in case one food isn't available or is recalled you have another food available that they will eat.

They sleep most of the day, 18-20 hours but when they are awake they are awake. lol Such silly critters they are!

Also try to avoid foods & treats that contain a lot sugars. Too much sugar can cause some major health problems down the road including Insulinoma's and more.

Use a dry, hardwood pellets (not shavings) for the litter box or newspaper pellets (I think the wood ones are better for smell).

Wash the ferrets bedding every 5-7 days.

Do not bath them unless needed. Mine only get baths about 1-2 times a year. Like mentioned, bathing them too frequently will strip their coats of the needed oils, causing them to work overtime to replace the oils, causing them to smell worse.

Here is a good food comparison chart, remember the more meat the better.
http://www.ohioferret.org/INFO/nutri.asp

I feed mine a mix, the below are foods I feed. I may not always have all of them in the mix but always have at least 3 of them in the mix:
Innova Evo canine
Innova feline
zupreem
TFS natural (the ferret stores food)
Chicken soup for the kitten lovers soul

Sometimes I add other food but not as often as the above foods, like:
8in1 ULTIMATE (NOT ultra blend)
Proffessional kitten food

If I can be of any more help feel free to PM me or whatever.
Good luck! They are a handful but worth it.