Ferrets need to bathe. Otherwise, they will begin to stink. Adults should be bathed about every two weeks. Use a shampoo such as Johnson & Johnson Baby shampoo. You can spend the extra money on ferret shampoo, but I have found they are not really any better and they are more expensive. Ferrets' eyes are sensitive to soap just as our eyes are. When you get soap in a ferret's eye, he cannot tell you his eye hurts. He will just seem difficult to handle and squirm. For that reason, I recommend a tear-free shampoo. I am not sure all ferret shampoos are tear-free. In fact, none seem to make that claim. Human baby shampoo is tear free and gentle enough for a ferret's sensitive skin. Sounds like a commercial eh?

All ferrets will hate their first bath. However, after a few baths, mine became very tolerant of water. In fact, when they hear the water running in a tub or shower, they come running as if to say, "we want a bath." You can fill your tub up with a couple inches of water and put your ferret in it for a bath. Just make sure he can touch his toes on the bottom. You can take a shower with your ferret or you can wash him in a sink. The sink is my least favorite since it makes it easy for him to walk around on the counter all wet. I found it is best to bathe your ferret in an environment in which he cannot escape, like inside a shower or a deep tub. Once the ferret realizes he cannot get out, he will give up and take a bath. This might take a few trips to the tub though.

Get you ferret thoroughly wet and then put some shampoo in your hands and work it into his wet coat. Take care to avoid the eyes and try not to get water in the ears. Lather your whole ferret, the back, stomach, rear end, tail, and don't forget around the neck. Rinse him. Ferrets will shake sort of like a dog to get the water off. However, ferrets dry themselves on the ground by rubbing. All you have to do is put a towel or two on the ground, and your ferrets will rub himself on it, crawl inside of it and roll around on it. This should be done in an area like a bathroom tile floor. Otherwise your ferret will just go off and dry himself on the carpet or sofa. You will see that ferrets love to be clean. They are especially spunky and playful following a bath. After a bath, you will find out how crazy and silly a ferret can be.