Thank You Ferret Stuff Helpful Tips for the regular maintenance of your ferret. More frequent bathing will dry out the skin and coat, and actually make your ferret smell worse as the body works extra hard to produce more skin oils. Ferrets will smell the worst in the 2-3 weeks after a bath as their skin oils replenish. Bathing your pet eliminates the accumulation of glandular secretions that give the fur a flattened, oily look, or discolor the coat. A thorough washing with a ferret shampoo and medium warm water will remove heavy soil deposits.
Bathing also aids in the reduction of such external parasites as fleas and ticks.
There are a number of good ferret shampoos on the market. A kitten shampoo is fine or a no-tears baby shampoo which is good to use on the ferret's head to avoid eye irritation. In the winter, when the air in your house is dryer, it is helpful to use a conditioner on your ferret to keep its skin from becoming too dry. Older ferret also tend to have drier skin. You may incur serious scratches even during gentle play with your ferret.