Can Ferrets Eat Bones?

Ferrets are obligate carnivores, which means they need a balanced raw diet to truly thrive. In the wild, they are known to eat their prey without sparing any parts and it’s recommended to mimic that diet in captivity as well. They are incredibly sweet and adorable animals, which is why many people have a hard time believing they should eat raw meat a lot.

In this article, we’ll talk about ferrets and their love for bones so you can understand why feeding your ferret a complete diet is a must.

Can Ferrets Eat Bones?

Ferret on tree stump
Source: DepositPhotos

Ferrets are well-known to eat every part of the animal it catches in the wild. This includes the meat, organs, feathers, fur, and even the bones. They are actually quite adamant about getting their fair share of bones if they catch you cooking something. They will often take the biggest bone they see and hilariously try to carry it as fast as they can back to their cage.

Any ferret that has healthy teeth should be able to eat bones without any problems. In fact, bones are often recommended to maintain a ferret’s teeth healthy. This is because properly brushing a ferret’s teeth can be impossible since their mouth is so small and you risk hurting them. But if they chew on bones they will slowly get rid of all that plaque that can cause serious problems over the years.

Are Bones OK To Give As Treats?

Giving bones as treats might not be the best idea. Unless they did something really good and you want to give them one big prize. But don’t get them used to getting bones if they do their training properly. This is because ferrets love bones and they will come back continuously begging for bones. They will start doing all sorts of tricks to try to impress you so you would give them another bone.

This is how they end up with a stash of bones somewhere in the house and you with a very bad smell that you just can’t figure out where it comes from. You might be able to use bones as treats if you have extremely small bones so they will eat them all at training. But if they are too small, they risk getting choked on a full bone.

So overall it’s just not worth the risk of bothering to use bones as treats. There are lots of other foods ideal for training.

Should Bones Be Cooked or Raw?

One thing you should keep in mind before feeding any type of bone to your ferret is that cooked bones can kill your pet. Cooked bones can dry out and splinter, which can easily injure the ferret. More than that, a piece of bone can get lodged in its throat or stomach.

Ferrets need raw food and you should only give them raw bones to chew. Bones are an excellent source of calcium, which is very important for ferrets. If you forgot to leave a raw bone for your ferret don’t replace it with a cooked one for compensation, no matter what size it is.