Ferrets making their own jerky???

[Deleted]

So, a couple days ago my Fenton stashed a big chunk of rabbit back and ribs, hid it under one of the ramps. Well, I saw him do it, but I kinda forgot about it. Last night after I made sure they ate, I let them stay in my room overnight (which they loved by the way) so this morning when I left for work and returned them to the cage, they were nice and hungry.

Well, interestingly, Fenton turned up his nose at the fresh chicken wings I offered (which he usually likes). Instead, he went straight for his stashed rabbit, which by now was completely dried out like a piece of jerky. He attacked that thing, chewing it up and eating a bunch of it! I was surprised because usually he's not a big chewer, in fact seems almost like a lazy eater, preferring soft foods he doesn't have to bite down hard on.

Not today! I gnawed on that dried up piece of ferret-made rabbit jerky until he had eaten most of it.

Is this safe, or should I worry about him getting a blockage from something like this? Is it OK to allow it? He seemed to love it.

Anyone else's ferrets make their own jerky? I know mine won't eat meat that is rotten, but in this case it dried out before rotting, and Fenton loved it...

He always tries to stash food like this, this is just the first time I didn't clean up the uneaten food he hid before it dried up or went rotten. He's silly, he will almost never eat the food offered right away, he has to hide some first for later...

[katt]

That's pretty common actually.

The only thing to watch for is bones - if they dry out too much they can splinter much like cooked bones. I try to remove any leftover bones after 48 hours but it depends on the bone, its thickenss, how much it has dire out, etc. With a nice meaty wrapping the bone is a bit more protected for example, and will dry out a little slower.

[Sherry]

Ferrets Gotta love 'em. Or at least that's what I keep telling myself when mine turn up their noses at nice fresh meat, instead preferring their own version of jerky ;D
No, they are built to handle the bacteria, and if it was truly "bad", they'd not touch it.
Like katt said, just keep an eye out for bones that have essentially been gnawed bare, because these are the ones that tend to become brittle.
Our Sinnead cut her tongue really badly one time on a piece of dried out bone.