Hi.  I have a question regarding ferret odors.  I have a 10 month old,
neutered and descented male ferret that has developed a funny odor around
his ears that smells exactly like a skunk.  Sometimes the odor is stronger
than other days, but is only around his ears.  In fact the rest of him
really has no odor.  I noticed this odor shortly after I got him when we
started treating him for earmites.  The previous owners did not take good
care of him and never took him to a vet.  Therefore, the earmites were so
bad that he had infection from them and is now possibly deaf in one ear.  I
thought maybe the smell was from the infection in the ears, but he has been
clear of mites and infection for quite some time but that funny smell didn't
go away.  Does anyone else have a ferret that has a skunk odor around its
ears?  What do you suppose causes the funny odor?  None of my other ferrets
smell like that.  Some days it is stronger than other days and you can only
smell it when you sniff around his ears.  Is it something to be concerned
about or is it just normal for some ferrets to smell that way?  Any comments
or information you could give me on the subject would be greatly
appreciated!  Thanks, Deana (Bear, Bandit-the stinky one, & Gizmo)
[Posted in FML issue 1484]