How Long Can Ferrets Go Without Food? (7 Clear Facts)

There are times when you, as a ferret owner, have to be away from the ferrets for some period of time. You may then be keen on knowing how long the ferrets can go without food. There are also those who may want to know how long ferrets can go without food out of pure curiosity. Read on, to find out.

How long can ferrets go without food? 1 to 3 days is the longest that ferrets can normally go without food. Ferrets are animals with short digestive systems and fast metabolisms. Therefore they require feeding often, and can’t go for too long without food.

Thus the longest a ferret can go without eating is typically no more than 3 days. In fact, for some ferrets, even going for one day without eating can be a very tough ordeal.

It is quite easy for ferrets to die out of starvation.

How long a specific ferret manages to go without food depends on factors like its state of health and age. But for all ferrets, the period is in the 1 to 3 days range at most.

Do Ferrets Need Food All The Time?

One question that people who are still new to ferrets tend to pose is as to whether the ferrets need food all the time.

Alongside that question comes others like, can I feed my ferret once a day? Or how often do ferrets need to eat?

There is also one on what happens if ferrets don’t eat for a while.

As to whether ferrets need food all the time, that is more or less true. These are animals with short digestive tracts. And their metabolisms are fast. Therefore they need what may be termed as ‘constant eating’.

With regard to how often ferrets need to eat, that is usually every 3 to 4 hours. In fact, if you have dry kibble, it is often advisable to just leave it where the ferrets are. Then they can eat it whenever they want.

As to what happens if ferrets don’t eat for a while, they tend to become hungry and miserable. And they may eventually starve.

Here, someone may ask, will ferrets really starve themselves if they don’t have access to food for a while? And the answer is that this is not a matter of the ferrets ‘starving themselves’.

It is a matter of the ferrets starving due to lack of access to food. Or it may be a case in which what is presented to them is not something the ferrets recognize as food… So they can end up starving on that account.

How Long Can Ferrets Go Without Food?

Considering that ferrets seem to require such frequent feeding, people often express interest in knowing how long – in the worst case scenario – the ferrets can go without food.

That then leads to more specific questions like, how long can ferrets last without food? Or to put it differently, how long can a ferret go without eating?

The answer is that the longest ferrets can go without eating is normally 1 to 3 days.

Much depends on whether the ferrets also have access to water or not. If the ferrets are well-hydrated, but without access to food, they may go for as many as 3 days. Even then, it is likely to be hard going, with miserable hunger.

But if the ferrets have neither access to food or water, they may not go beyond a couple of days.

A highly relevant question here is on how long ferrets can go without food easily (and without suffering miserable hunger). And normally, that is a maximum of one day.

By the second day without eating, a ferret will tend to be in agonizing hunger. This is because its fast metabolism means that it gets hungry rather fast.

Thus a question like the one on how long can I leave my ferret if I go on vacation is very tricky to answer. That is especially if the person asking the question is contemplating leaving the ferrets without food.

Such ferrets may only go for one day, before starting to experience agonizing hunger. So it is best to make arrangements for other people to be feeding and otherwise caring for the ferrets while you are away.

How Long Can Ferrets Go Without Food In The Wild?

In the wild, the longest that a ferret may go without food is between one and three days.

For a young ferret that requires food more often, a day or two may be the most it can go. But for an older/mature ferret that requires food less often, going for three days may be a possibility.

In the wild though, ferrets tend to have many feeding options. For a ferret to get to a point of going for days without food, something may be wrong with it. Something may be hindering its hunting/food search capabilities.

Otherwise a normal ferret in the wild should be able to access some sort of food several times a day.

How Long Can A Ferret Go Without Food In Captivity?

Just as in the wild, a ferret in captivity can normally only go for 1-3 days without food.

Actually, a single day is the most the ferret may go without food, and without suffering agonizing hunger.

Beyond a single day, the ferret may be surviving, but also experiencing very agonizing hunger.

After 3 days, the ferret may start really starving – burning muscle to survive (hence suffering from atrophy) and so on.

How Long Can Ferrets Go Without Food And Water?

So far, we have been focusing on the aspect of ferrets going without food.

But what of a scenario in which the ferret has access to neither food nor water? How long can a ferret go without food and water? More precisely, how long can a ferret survive without food or water?

Without food or water, a ferret may only be able to survive for a couple of days at most.

Even then, those two days are likely to be very agonizing. If it was a case of the ferret going without food alone, it would be agonizing enough. But a case of the ferret going with neither food nor water is exceptionally agonizing.

You need to remember that the ferret is an animal that sips water as many as 20 times per day! Now you can imagine the agony for such an animal having to do a whole day without a single sip.

Then combine that with the agony of the ferret having to also go for a day without eating. It becomes clear that the whole thing can be extremely agonizing.

Ideally, a ferret should be having access to water throughout. If dry kibble food is available, this should also be freely available for the ferret to eat on demand.

It shouldn’t get to a point at which you subject the ferret to hunger and thirst experiments deliberately. If the ferret has health issues (which you may not have known about before), it may not survive the ordeal.

How Can You Ensure That Your Ferrets Are Fed While You Are Away?

Much depends on how long you are planning to be away.

If it is only for some hours or a day at most, you can leave the ferret with an adequate food supply. So you obtain some dry kibble. Then you make the kibble available to the ferret, so that he can be eating it whenever hunger strikes.

Also ensure that the ferret has access to water whenever thirst strikes. So you leave a proper supply of food and water for the day.

This way, the ferret may be able to survive a day without you.

But what if you are planning to be away for more than one day? You then need to make an arrangement with someone else, to be feeding the ferrets on your behalf.

Just give the other person an adequate supply of ferret food for the time you will be away. Then give them proper ferret feeding instructions.

You may, for instance, advise them that ‘my ferrets eat most in the night and morning’. This way, they can ensure that the ferrets get food at such times.

While at it, you can organize for the people under whose care you will be leaving the ferrets to be taking them out. Remember what happens if you leave your ferret in the cage all day.

Often boredom sets in, which can in turn lead to issues like cage rage. So you can organize for the ferrets to be let out of the cage, exercised and so on.

That is on top of the ferrets being adequately fed and watered for the time you will be away.

Just avoid leaving the ferrets with no alternative feeding arrangements, if you will be away for long.

Final Verdict – How Long Can Ferrets Go Without Food

Ferrets can’t really go for very long without food. Usually 1 to 3 days is the longest that ferrets will manage to go without food.

Ferrets have short digestive systems, with fast metabolisms. It is the combination of those factors that makes it impossible for them to go for long without food.

How long a specific ferret actually survives without food depends on factors like age and status of the ferret’s health.

Nonetheless, ferrets are animals that normally require feeding every 3 to 4 hours. Thus for a ferret to go for anything beyond one day without eating can be very agonizing.

If you are going somewhere, and leaving your ferrets behind, it is best to make alternative feeding arrangements for them. You can organize for someone to be feeding them on your behalf, while you are away.

That way, the ferrets don’t have to suffer agonizing hunger in your absence.

As a pet lover, make sure to learn about pet more and give your pet ferret a good and comfortable life!

Rajkumar Ravichandran

Welcome to Learn About Pet. My name is Rajkumar Ravichandran and I love all pets, travel, and amazing food. I write about my passion and personal experience caring for multiple pets in this blog! ❤️