Removing Ferret Smell From Secondhand Cage

[Theletterv]

Hello everyone! I'm looking into adopting some rats in the near future, and I picked up a secondhand double Critter Nation cage the other day. It's in great shape, but the previous occupants were ferrets. The cage smelled pretty strongly of them when I got it, so I took it outside and sprayed it down with the hose, then scrubbed with soap, rinsed, and dried it to the best of my abilities. It smells a lot less now, but I do notice a lingering smell, especially on the plastic pans. Because I know rats have a much more sensitive sense of smell than humans, and because ferrets are a predator species whose smell might feel threatening to rats, I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions about the best way of removing the scent of ferrets from the cage.

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[SQ]

You are right, the smell of predators such as ferrets will terrify small prey animals like rats.
You are also right in that their sense of smell is highly developed in rats - with their poor eyesight, rats rely on their sense of smell.

Taking the cage apart and washing all metal parts thoroughly and letting the metal cage sit outside for several days in the sun will help. You can also try bleach or white vinegar and then rinse but this may damage the poor powder coating on the cage - if that happens the cage will start to rust. Note the inside of the frame is not powder coated and does normally rust . If you leave the cage parts outside, make sure there are no insects, reptiles or small animals in the cage parts when it is brought back inside.

You can try washing the pans with vinegar, or hydrogen peroxide, or bleach and then rinsing well. Putting them outside for a few days will help with the smell as well - but if put in direct sunlight they will warp or melt since they are plastic.
If necessary you can buy replacement pans. If you do replace the pans, if they are in good condition you can may be able to resell the used pans to ferret owners.

good luck

 

[jorats]

I would definitely use vinegar and I would probably keep it outside for a while.

 

[Theletterv]

Thank you for the info and suggestions. I definitely thought the smell might be an issue. I will be trying everything I can but if necessary, I can replace the pans. I was thinking about getting metal replacement pans anyway. I was wondering if enzymatic cleaners might be useful, considering they are meant to remove the smell of animal urine to prevent the animal re-soiling the area. Anyway, thanks! I have a few things to try now.

 

[jorats]

Yes, I would definitely use enzymatic cleaners or if you have a cleaning company in town, buy hospital grade disinfectant, the kind that is safe around food. Spray on, leave on for at least 15 minutes. Then rinse.

 

[Theletterv]

That's interesting about hospital grade disinfectant and maybe I'll look into that. I have a veterinary disinfectant, it's called F10, and I used it when my parrot was sick to disinfect his environment. I know that it's used by veterinarians and animal breeders--would that be a similar product? It's very good at disinfection but may not do much for smells.

However, after using white vinegar and an enzymatic cleaner (separately, and letting the pans sit and air dry after each) there really isn't a detectable odour anymore. I will be spraying everything down a few more times at least, but it seems like there's a good chance the smell can be eradicated well enough. Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

[jorats]

Sounds like you got a good handle on it already. I would think that your vet disinfectant should be very similar to hospital grade stuff.