Whether you prefer it rich and creamy or dark and bitter, chocolate is a widely available treat in almost every corner of the world. And with your ferret’s wily nature, grabby hands, and questing nose, you may be wondering: Can you share some of your favorite treats with your pet? Absolutely not! Your ferret cannot eat chocolate!
Aside from being far too sugary for their own good, chocolate can pose a serious health risk to your ferret and lead to grave injury or even death. Like almost every other animal besides humans, chocolate’s caffeine and theobromine can quickly become lethal even at small concentrations.
Why Is Chocolate Fine for Humans, But Not Animals?
Chocolate – derived from the Theobroma cacao tree– is one of mankind’s most cherished foods and may be the most popular dessert flavor in the world. A complex preparation of fermented, roasted, and ground cacao seeds, it’s been a favorite of nobility since its discovery thousands of years ago.
Owing to its long history of preparation and consumption in human cultures, we seem to have developed a tolerance to it that other animals do not share. Dark chocolate has significant health benefits for humans, ranging from reduced blood pressure to reduced risk of heart disease. Where other animals cannot digest chocolate’s chemical components, humans have developed a mutually beneficial relationship with this plant that some cultures hold as sacred.
Why Is Chocolate Bad for Ferrets?
Even without considering the poisonous theobromine and caffeine, chocolate would never be a good choice to feed your ferret. They require a diet composed of specific nutrients that sugary treats simply cannot provide.
This also shines a light on your ferret’s basic dietary needs: As obligate carnivores, ferrets must subsist on a diet centered around meat. In the wild, ferrets will survive by eating small prey, including everything from the meat and bones to feathers, skin, and fur. With their short digestive systems and rapid metabolisms, they’ll need to eat frequently to provide themselves with enough of the nutrients essential to their survival.
What to Do If Your Ferret Accidentally Eats Chocolate
Whether you’ve seen your ferret eat your chocolate without permission, or strongly suspect that they’ve stolen some from you while you weren’t looking, quick action can save their life.
If you’ve witnessed your ferret eating chocolate, don’t delay – take them to the vet immediately, and call ahead to let them know that there is an emergency.
Even if you only suspect that your ferret has snuck some of your treat stash, call your vet immediately and get your ferret there as quickly as possible. You should not wait for signs of a poisoning episode to develop before seeking veterinary attention.
Signs of Chocolate Poisoning
If you’re worried that your ferret has eaten chocolate without your permission, they will show the same signs of poisoning as dogs, including the following:
While these signs can start to occur in dogs within 6 to 12 hours of ingestion, as smaller animals, ferrets tend to have much faster digestion and assimilation of foods. Therefore, if you ever suspect your pet has eaten chocolate, take your ferret to the vet immediately. They’ll need to have the contents of their stomach removed as fast as possible to have a chance of saving them.
Final Thoughts
We’ll say this once more, with strong emphasis: Don’t ever feed chocolate to your ferret. No matter how much they might beg and bother you for a bite of your food, ferrets need to maintain a strictly carnivorous diet. Add to that chocolate’s inherently poisonous nature towards any animal besides humans, and it’s clear that there’s no good way to feed chocolate to your ferret.
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Featured Image Credit: jackmac34, Pixabay
