Is baby powder safe to use in my ferrets litter to help with the odor?
Baby General
sweetaimers21 asked:
My ferrets stink. I have that spray stuff but it only temporarily masks the smell. I use baby powder for everything else, carpet, shoes, linens, etc…. I was wondering if baby powder would be safe for my ferrets to sprinkle on top of their litter or on the bottom before i put new litter in. Tell me if you truly know the answer because I dont want to do anything that could hurt or kill my little friends.
Frank
My ferrets stink. I have that spray stuff but it only temporarily masks the smell. I use baby powder for everything else, carpet, shoes, linens, etc…. I was wondering if baby powder would be safe for my ferrets to sprinkle on top of their litter or on the bottom before i put new litter in. Tell me if you truly know the answer because I dont want to do anything that could hurt or kill my little friends.
Frank
November 4th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Philip
Baby powder would not kill your ferrets but it likely would not help. If you are scooping your ferrets litter pan twice a day that is more then enough to correct litter box odor. Using a good litter helps as well. I have found after several years of using MANY types of litter that pelleted varieties work best for me. I happen to really like Feline Pine.
95% of odor from ferrets has nothing to do with the litter at all! Most comes from the ferret itself, its cage, its bedding, its hammocks, and the linens and carpets in the room the ferret is living in. You must make sure to soap up and rinse down the WHOLE cage once a week. Litter pans completely emptied and scrubbed out once a week. Hammocks washed once a week. Bedding (old t-shirst and sweatshirts) taken out and replaced with fresh once every 2-3 days. My ferrets live in my bedroom which is carpeted. I have to ‘freshen’ the rug often. You would also be surprised what odor clings to linens and even your draperies. Make sure they are washed often…which I hope you already do.
If you do the above religiously you will greatly diminish odor.
November 7th, 2008 at 3:22 am
Natalie
use baking soda instead on the bottom of the pan and put enough recycled paper litter to where he can’t sneeze from it. Don’t spray that stuff on them it makes them smell worse in the long run trust me. wash all their hammocks and stuff in the cage once a week and clean the actual case with some clean cage by super pet or some clorox anywhere sanitizing spray. This will help you so much. Also don’t bathe them more than once or twice a year and i promise they will smell better. when you bathe them too much it makes their oil glands go on overdrive to reproduce the oils in the fur and makes them smelly
November 10th, 2008 at 6:20 am
Emma
Don’t bathe your ferrets, only if they get something on them that they would need a bath. Bathing ferrets dries out their skin, makes them itch, causing oil to be released and that makes them smell. If you do bathe, use product for ferrets only. Ferrets are pretty clean animals, and will groom themselves. They smell comes from the bedding, wash about twice a week. Don’t use any kind of wood chips or shaving with ferrets, they can be toxic and absorb odors. AVOID cedar; it has volatile oils that can cause lung damage.
Pine is a problem for those ferrets who are allergic to it or those who drag in it too much, but otherwise the beads made from pine sawdust are alright. Change litter box as least once daily. Use litter for ferrets. Avoid clumping cat litter and clay, as these may become stuck in a scooting ferret’s rectum and expand, potentially blocking it up. Avoid corncob litter and plain newspaper they are not very absorbent and do not absorb odor well. Do not use baby powder, it has talc and is toxic. Talc particles cause tumors in human ovaries and lungs.
November 13th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Fernando
I suggest using baking soda instead. Sprinkle some in the bottom of the litterbox before filling with litter and it should help control some of the odor. Baby powder will just mask the odor, baking soda will actually absorb it. Make sure you scoop the box at least twice a day and thoroughly clean it at least once a week (wash with hot water and soap, replace all litter), this should also help cut back on the odor.
November 15th, 2008 at 5:25 am
Jennifer
I have 6 ferrets, and they dont stink… get the product called Bi-Odor. you put it in their water, and it makes their waste not stink… also use oatmeal shampoo… and take out the trash that you put their waste in out every couple of days
Ive never tried baby powder, but if you do what I suggested you shouldnt need it.. good luck! hope I helped:)
November 18th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Pamela
I agree with Gizzo.I also own 6 and they have a slight musk(of course)but so mild when people come to my house they do not even know that I have them..other them being out out for freedom time.Too much bathing will cause you as many issues as NOT too much cage care..take care of the cage..bathe the babies once to twice a month.Great luck to you and lay back and enjoy the slight musk..it is their purfume.
November 20th, 2008 at 9:22 am
Antonio
baby powder is definitely safe.
it wont kill your ferrets.
=].