Keeping your ferret clean is one of the tasks that you should expect, as an answer of this type of pet. While cleaning a ferret regularly is recommended, though not too often, giving them dust baths is not a good idea.
The practice of the dust bath has its roots in the behavior of certain types of animals, so for some pets it is recommended. However, even if you have pets that do enjoy dust baths, ferrets should be kept away from them while they’re doing it, as it’s not going to be good for them.
What is a Ferret Dust Bath?
A ferret dust bath involves a space with sand or mud, where the animal could roll around. It is a practice that is recommended for certain species of mammals or birds, but it is not a good idea to give a ferret one.
The ferret is not one of the mammals that would benefit from this practice, and I do not recommend you give them a dust bath.
The reason why mammals would need dust baths, is to become wet, to get dry, to keep parasites away, perhaps even for communication purposes or marking territory.
While ferrets shouldn’t take dust baths, this practice is OK for other pets and wild animals. Among those that can take one, you will find the hamster, gerbils, dogs, cats, chinchillas, pigs, horses, jerboa, elephants, bison, llamas, and others.
Should Ferrets Take Dust Baths?
No, ferrets should not take dust baths. They don’t have this behavior in the wild, and they can get respiratory issues as a result of one.
If you want to bathe a ferret, do it from time to time, about once per month, with warm water and special shampoo. More on how you should handle it, below.
What Should You Bathe Your Ferret With
A ferret needs baths, but it’s not something that you should be doing too often. You should do it about once per month, using warm water and special shampoo. If the ferret doesn’t smell badly, and it’s not dirty, then you can postpone it further.
The reason why ferret baths aren’t always a good idea, is because doing this will remove natural oils from their skin. While their natural smell isn’t always one that humans enjoy, removing it through baths is not healthy for the ferret, since their fur and skin require those oils.
For the ferrets that tend to be smelly, you can give them baths once per month. As they produce more oil after one, they could become even smellier during the next few days after a bath.
Not all ferrets will appreciate baths, so it’s something that you should try to get them used to early on. If they get crazy at bath time, try cleaning them in other ways, in order to reduce stress.
Bath time could even mean another reason to play around, particularly if you also include a bath toy into the mix.
