What can ferrets eat? The safe food list

What do ferrets eat as pets?

A pet ferret eats a meat-based complete food, with fresh water and a few meaty treats. That is the whole diet. VCA, the RSPCA and Burgess all recommend a complete ferret food as the base, left out all day so ferrets can eat 8 to 10 small meals. Some owners add raw meat or whole prey, which RSPCA Australia supports when it is fresh, human-grade and handled cleanly.

Ferrets need 32 to 40% protein and plenty of fat, with fibre under 3%. Food goes through them in about 3 to 4 hours, so they cannot ferment plants the way a rabbit or guinea pig can. That is why the list of safe foods is short and almost all meat. Our ferret diet guide explains how to choose a food and how much to feed.

The ferret food list: safe, treat only and never

Use this table as a quick check. Click through for the detail on each food.

What meat can ferrets eat?

Most plain meats are fine. Chicken, turkey, lamb, beef and rabbit are all listed by our sources, cooked or raw. Wood Green also lists pheasant and day-old chicks, and RSPCA Australia lists thawed mice and rats as whole prey.

• Plain, with no salt, onion, garlic, gravy or seasoning
• Off the bone if cooked, because cooked bones splinter
• Raw meat human-grade and freshly thawed
• Uneaten raw food taken away by the end of the day
• Processed meats such as ham, sausage and bacon left out, as they are salty and often contain onion or cereal

RSPCA Australia notes that most ferrets prefer chicken to fish. Plain meat without bone is low in calcium, so it works as a treat or as part of a balanced raw diet, not as the whole diet.

Can ferrets eat fruit and vegetables?

No. VCA says sweets, raisins, fruit and vegetables can cause diarrhoea and blood sugar swings. Burgess adds that hard vegetables such as carrot can block the gut and avocado is poisonous. The RSPCA says ferrets cannot digest much fibre.

A single vet nursing article lists apples and bananas as occasional training treats. We would not follow that. Many ferrets develop insulinoma, a tumour that affects blood sugar, from about age 3, according to the MSD Veterinary Manual, and sugar does them no good. A small piece of cooked chicken is a better reward and one they enjoy more.

What do ferrets eat in the wild?

Pet ferrets do not live in the wild, but their wild ancestor does. The Vincent Wildlife Trust says the domestic ferret comes from the European polecat. Polecats eat small animals: mostly wild rabbits in summer, which they hunt inside burrows, and rats in winter, plus other small mammals, frogs, birds, earthworms and reptiles.

That is a diet of whole animals: meat, bone, organs, fat and fur, with almost no plant food. It is the reason vets push meat-based complete foods and whole prey, and steer owners away from anything starchy or sweet.

What do black-footed ferrets eat?

Prairie dogs, mostly. The Smithsonian's National Zoo says about 90% of a black-footed ferret's diet is prairie dogs, and one ferret may eat over 100 a year. The rest is mice, rats, ground squirrels, rabbits, birds and now and then reptiles and insects.

The black-footed ferret is a separate wild species and North America's only native ferret. It is not the same animal as a pet ferret, though both are strict meat-eaters.

How should I give treats safely?

Keep treats tiny and count them as part of the day's food. MSD suggests under 5% of daily calories. For an average ferret eating 15 to 25 g (0.5 to 0.9 oz) of food a day, that means a few pieces of meat the size of a pea, not a whole chicken leg.

1. Choose meat or egg. Plain cooked chicken, turkey or egg, or a freeze-dried treat that is just meat.
2. Cut it small. Pea-sized pieces are plenty, and easier to use in training.
3. Use it for something. Reward handling, nail trims or coming when called, or hide it for a foraging game.
4. Take some kibble away. On a treat-heavy day, put a little less in the bowl or a foraging toy so weight stays steady.
5. Watch the droppings. Any new food can upset a ferret's gut. Stop it if droppings turn loose.

Our ferret enrichment guide has foraging ideas that use the daily ration.

For the bigger picture, read our complete ferret care guide, our ferret behaviour guide and our page on ferret cage setup.