Post by raynebc on Oct 20, 2015 13:05:52 GMT -5
The past couple weeks, the ferrets' room had begun to smell badly to an extreme amount and this was very bothering to my room mate, who is particularly sensitive to smell. It didn't help that the air quality was so poor due to wild fires that I couldn't leave their window open. Even when the air was fine, leaving the window open with the air purifier behind the litter box didn't help. I tried various other things including wiping their litter box out with rubbing alcohol multiple times per day, shampooing their rug every couple weeks, discarding their stash boxes frequently, etc. but they didn't make any notable difference.
I had begun thinking that the odor didn't seem to smell like their waste, so I kept looking for what it could be, and when I went to wipe down their food corner of the rug with rubbing alcohol I noticed a portion of the rug was already soaking wet. And I know why: My largest ferret Rusty loves to dig all the water out of their water bowl. Up to now, I didn't mind this because I add FDR soup to all of their organ meals, add warm water to half of their bone in meals and add an egg to all other bone in meals, so I didn't think they would have much risk getting dehydrated. And he seemed to like playing in the water so I figured it was harmless behavior.
When I examined the affected part of the rug and lifted it up, it was wet all the way through to the tarp I had underneath it. And that was obviously why the room was smelling bad. I had to fence off that area of their pen so I could fold that corner of the carpet up and saturate that part of the rug and tarp with rubbing alcohol to sanitize it. Immediately, the smell began clearing up and within an hour or two everything was back to normal. I did not give them a water dish with their dinner, and I left that area fenced off overnight with the window open and ceiling fan running to allow it to dry completely.
Now that I know Rusty has been creating a veritable bio-hazard with the water I would like to avoid giving him the opportunity as long as it won't harm them. Since I'm adding water or liquid food to every single one of their meals, would it be acceptable to not give them fresh water? I almost never saw any of them drink from the water dish as it was so I've taken that to mean they've been getting enough water from the food. It doesn't seem like any water was being left anyway since Rusty would empty the bowl just for kicks. I don't know if this is a behavior he will grow out of, but I can try putting some water in the tub and having him play in that.
I had begun thinking that the odor didn't seem to smell like their waste, so I kept looking for what it could be, and when I went to wipe down their food corner of the rug with rubbing alcohol I noticed a portion of the rug was already soaking wet. And I know why: My largest ferret Rusty loves to dig all the water out of their water bowl. Up to now, I didn't mind this because I add FDR soup to all of their organ meals, add warm water to half of their bone in meals and add an egg to all other bone in meals, so I didn't think they would have much risk getting dehydrated. And he seemed to like playing in the water so I figured it was harmless behavior.
When I examined the affected part of the rug and lifted it up, it was wet all the way through to the tarp I had underneath it. And that was obviously why the room was smelling bad. I had to fence off that area of their pen so I could fold that corner of the carpet up and saturate that part of the rug and tarp with rubbing alcohol to sanitize it. Immediately, the smell began clearing up and within an hour or two everything was back to normal. I did not give them a water dish with their dinner, and I left that area fenced off overnight with the window open and ceiling fan running to allow it to dry completely.
Now that I know Rusty has been creating a veritable bio-hazard with the water I would like to avoid giving him the opportunity as long as it won't harm them. Since I'm adding water or liquid food to every single one of their meals, would it be acceptable to not give them fresh water? I almost never saw any of them drink from the water dish as it was so I've taken that to mean they've been getting enough water from the food. It doesn't seem like any water was being left anyway since Rusty would empty the bowl just for kicks. I don't know if this is a behavior he will grow out of, but I can try putting some water in the tub and having him play in that.
