Bad Rabbit Food: What NOT To Feed Your Bunny
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You'd think that feeding rabbits would be easy. Just chuck any old plant matter into the cage and have done with it, right? Wrong. This feeding methodology happens to be an excellent way to possibly kill your bunny, or make it very sick indeed. Knowing what to feed your rabbit, and especially what NOT to feed your rabbit is a very important part of rabbit care becase some of the foods that might seem like natural foods to feed your rabbit are in fact incredibly bad for it.
Culprit one: Lettuce. As a general rule, you should NEVER feed your rabbit lettuce. Lettuce contains lactucarium, which can give your rabbit diarhea so bad that it becomes fatal. Some people say that it is okay to feed Romaine lettuce because it contains the least lactucarium of the common lettuce varieties, but you wouldn't eat a product that only contained small amounts of arsenic would you? It's best to stay away from lettuce when it comes to your bunnies, and keep it for the salads.
Other common foods to avoid include cabbbage, parsnips, swedes, potato tops, and tomao leaves. There are plenty of good and tasty foods that you can feed your rabbit, so save these for the compost or maybe your own table if you're a fan.
If you let your rabbit free in the garden or home, make sure that you don't have any of the following growing in places that are accesible to the rabbit, as they can also be dangerous to your bunny:
Clover, Foxglove, Honeysuckle, Iris, Hemlock, Poppies, Deadly Nightshade, Buttercups, Bluebells, Arum Lilies, Ivy, Daffodils and other bulbs, Primulas, Jasmines, Fairy Primrose, Dahlia, Delphiniums, Larkspur, Snowdrops, Tulips, and Anemonies are all common plants that can cause problems for your bunny. In general it is best to restrict your bunny to grass only areas with no clover in them. Clover can cause gas, and rabbits have no means to expell the gas, which can mean bloat and death.
Safe foods to feed your bunny include hay (preferably Timothy Hay, as it contains the most nutrients, and not Alfalfa Hay as it tends to contain too much calcium to be healthy for bunny), there should always be plenty of hay available for your bunny every day. Reputable pellets from a pet store can be fed in small amounts, but they should not form the bulk of the rabbit's diet. Fresh foods such as carrot, apple, banana, and broccoli can also be fed in small amounts as treats.
A little care in choosing your rabbit's food can make a huge difference in your rabbit's health and happiness.
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Comments
BRADEN JAVIER RASMUSSEN you are an idiot
my rabbit is a really kind rabbit but it has really bad fur ball what do i do with the fur balls
Do you mean furballs as in internal furballs? Or matted fur? If internal furballs, take your rabbit to the vet to get it sorted out, as they can be lethal. Your vet will also be able to advise you on diet and remedies.
More likely you mean matted clumps of fur. If you can safely handle your rabbit, gently cut the clumps out with a pair of scissors, and start grooming your rabbit more often. If your rabbit is longer haired, then you need to groom it every day. Matted fur can cause big problems for your rabbit, so if you can't deal with it yourself, a trip to the local groomers or even the vetinarian should help.
Whatever you do, do NOT try to pull on them or brush them out, rabbits have very sensitive skin, and it can easily tear if you pull at it. If the matted fur is close to the skin, you can try letting it grow out a little before clipping it away.
If you are not confident handling your rabbit you need to do two things...
1) Spend more time handling your rabbit, petting it, giving it treats etc
and
2) Find someone to help you in the short term. Matted fur can make a bunny's life miserable.
I know with chinchillas, we use dried papaya (they have papaya tablets as well) for the hairballs. The animals love little treats and it helps break down the hairballs.
what do i do if my bunny had some lettuce?
My bunny has been laying around lately which he usually has more energy and he has not been pooping what could be wrong with him and what can i fee him to make him go to the bathroom?
Lindsey, take your rabbit to the vet. He needs urgent medical attention.
Are raisins okay to give bunnies? Just curious.
My bunny is 3 months old and is litter trained. He seems to be pooping every hour or so today. Is he ok?
That sounds fine :) The only time you should really be worried is if he stops pooping, or if he is looking sick or listless in other ways in addition to the extra pooping.
my bunny ate some plastic off a water bottle i gave him u no the hot weather and he ate some what should i do!!!!!???!!
-kitbunny
ps im 11 and handling 2 bunnies help!
where can i find a rabbit hutch with a run underneath for a good price? around £60 to £90
Im 12 and i have a bunny. I gave it some grass in our yard and some leaves on our tree. And it is just fine. if you want to know about some stuff to feed you bunny try some grass and leaves and even some rabbit food that you can buy at the store, or pet store.
Im back agian to tell you not to feed your bunny letuce, cabbage, parsnips, swedes, potato tops, tomao leaves, clover, foxglove, honeysuckle, iris, hemlock, poppies, ivy, buttercups, deadly nightshade, snowdrops, and even grass around clovers! Thank you for reading this, i hope i helped you.
i HAVE A BUNNIE WHO POOPS IN HER CAGE AS SOON AS I PUT HER IN IT. WHEN MY BUNNY IS OUT OF HER CAGE THERE IS NOT A DROPPING IN SIGHT. WHY IS SHE DOING THIS? AND WHY DOES SHE POOP SO SO MUCH? COULD IT BE HER FOOD ??? HELP!!!
can you feed a rabbit tomatoes becoz i grow tomatoes in my garden and im getting a rabbit in a month and i was just wonderin whether i cud feed my bunny the tomatoes
so can i or not?
Monique, your rabbit poops in her cage because this is her bathroom. That is where she has chosen to go. It is a very good thing that she goes there and does not go all around your house, yes? I'm not entirely sure why you are asking for help on this issue, as it sounds like you have a perfectly well trained house bunny who won't make a mess on the carpet. What were you expecting her to do, exactly? Bunnies do poop alot, that means that she is healthy and happy. You don't have a problem, she is behaving very well.
some1 anser my question about tomatoes plz
ive got anova question as well
will my maine coon cat(who kills mice and voles) kill my lionhead rabbit or will they get along?
because i am getting a rabbit in a week and 5 days
this time someone please reply to my comment
Bob, go to the profile page. At the bottom right you will see an article about what you can feed your rabbit. Also, google is your friend. Sometimes questions can be answered here, but this is not a free bunny advice service. If you are getting a rabbit you should be prepared to do the research yourself, look things up in search engines, go to your library, and ask questions of the breeder you are getting the rabbit from. If your cat kills animals I would keep it away from your bunny.
thnx
my rabbits ate dry cat food, a lot. They sneaked out of their pen when we weren't home. They are as frisky as ever. What should we do?
My bunnies Larry and Snickers have been very good bunnies but thers 1 thing never feed your bunnies lettuce!
my bunny Storm NEVER eats hes bunny food and when he does he its a whole bowl full in about 2 hours. He ALWAYS is eating my dauchounds food and is still very hyper!! But somtimes (this is soo funny!) he just crashes out on the floor like a dog its SOO CUTE! but is it bad tht he eats soooo much dog food??
p.s. I also started to give him dry apples and cinnimon oatmeal he LOVES IT!
Your bunny should not be allowed to eat dog food. It could make it very sick.
i recently got a baby lionhead rabbit, but i can't seem to train him to use the litter tray and is it normal for him to make a little mountain of poo and recently a tiny bit of his fur has gone so i can see his skin is there something wrong?
my bunniesfront left leg goes out striaight when she trys to walk/hop? why is that . the lady i got her from said it wasnt broken just stiff. im a little confused.please help.plus shes smaller than her brothers and sisters from the same litter! is something wrong with her?
Both of you last two commenters need to take your rabbits to the vet.
Litter training....help! She chooses our furniture over her littler box.
Sleepless in the burg,
Mimi
my bunny has like white stuff all over his eyes what should i do its kinda scaring me cuz he cant even see cuz'v it help me please!!!!!!!!!!!???????????
okay..im reallyy scared..
my mom fed my bunnie lettuce will she be okay??
HELP!!
working
BRADEN JAVIER RASMUSSEN says:
8 months ago
what are the cheatpiest cages you have?