• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Help! Barney Ate Chocolate

nessar

Warren Veteran
Just noticed that Barney has eaten Green and Blacks dark chocolate, about half a bar of it ...

How poisonous is it?!

Urgh I'm kicking myslef, it was out of his reach but I left a drawer open on my chest of drawers and hes obviously jumped in it and then used it to jump up and get the chocolate......


Help someone quickly.... does he need to see the vet? I might take him anyway just in case....

eta- it would have been about 50-70g
 
I would at least phone the vet to ask their opinion, G+B is very high in cocoa content. hope he's ok. how do bunnies always find stuff they're not meant to have?!
 
Phone your vet who can tell you if you need to bring him in. Oidhche has eaten most of a chocolate bunny and was fine, but I'd be more cautious with dark chocolate.
 
The receptionist said she'd ask the vet and call me back. She said if it is going to hurt them it normally gives symptoms (or death) pretty soon so seeing as I've been out since 8am and been here for an hour or so before noticing, so he ate at least an hour ago, perhaps as much as 10 hours ago, I'm not panicking anymore.

The mean vet is in today so I may have to face him, hes already pretty much accused me of not looking after him properly because he has snuffles that wont go away and some scarring in his chest (which wasnt my fault as I've only had him 6 months).

Barney seems fine... he cant have even liked it that much as he left some of it, something he never does with food. Silly rabbit...
 
Chocolate isn't toxic to rabbits like it is dogs. My vet said that she has had a consult with someone who fed her rabbit chocolate regularly as a treat :shock:. Her teeth were in shocking condition and she was fat but it won't be fatal as a one off accident fortunately :wave:.

Make sure she has lots of hay and watch out for runny poos as the sugary nature of chocolate may upset her gut flora. If this happens you can give a probiotic to help get things back on track.
 
Back from the vets!

He said that in a rabbit Barney's size 50g of milk chocolate would not be an issue, but as it was 70% cocoa dark chocolate I will likely see some effects such as hyperactivity, twitching etc. He was grinding his teeth at the vets which was weird and vet said its likely one of the side effects. His heart rate is faster than normal but not massively so.

I am to keep him in his cage in a dark room with no stimulation or excitement but feed as usual. There is a small chance he will fit, in which case I am to throw a heavy towel over him and hope. He said I could call the emergency vet but he would likely get there too late if it was going to kill him.

15g per kg of dark choc in a rabbit is the maximum really, and hes had around this amount so he is borderline.
 
Oh my. I hope he's ok, do let us know how he gets on.

Thankyou for posting the details of what the vet said, it may be useful for someone else in the same situation.
 
I know how you feel - I found Frodo with his head in a jar of nutella once - how he managed to take the lid off I don't know. All his white fur was plastered with chocolate and he was licking his lips. I hardly slept all night because I was so worried but he was fine. I hope Barney is OK...xxx
 
Oh my. I hope he's ok, do let us know how he gets on.

Thankyou for posting the details of what the vet said, it may be useful for someone else in the same situation.

Thats a good point, for future reference Barney weighed 3.35kg today (although he used to weigh 4kg) so he's not a small bunny. So 50g of chocolate was right on the 15g per kg limit.

I would always reccommend taking to the vets if its more than a square or two, as the vet said that it is bad if their heart is going to fast so he checked this for me.
 
Oh no, what a worry! :shock: Naughty bunny! Sending lots of vibes for Barney, hope he's OK xx

I know how you feel - I found Frodo with his head in a jar of nutella once - how he managed to take the lid off I don't know. All his white fur was plastered with chocolate and he was licking his lips. I hardly slept all night because I was so worried but he was fine. I hope Barney is OK...xxx

:oops: I know I shouldn't laugh, but that's such a funny image! :lol: What a clever bunny! Glad he was OK! xx
 
Chocolate isn't toxic to rabbits like it is dogs. My vet said that she has had a consult with someone who fed her rabbit chocolate regularly as a treat :shock:.

Back in the 1970s - 1980s I had a nethie called Brit. Her party piece was eating liqueur chocolates. I bit the end off, she licked the filling out as far as her tongue would reach, then she nibbled the chocolate down all round to get at the filling again. Would I let my current rabbits do this? Of course not, but we knew a lot less about rabbits back then. Brit lived to be 10, so in practice it doesn't seem to have done her any harm and it was only a very occasional treat.
 
Hey everyone,

I would have been on earlier but I have been out all day at Windwhistle Warren rescue choosing my Barney a special someone ;) I'll post a thread about her tomorrow in the stories section.

Barney is fine :) he didnt have any fits and his poops are good too, he has an iron stomach :lol: seemed to have lost his litter training a little today but otherwise as normal!

Thank you everyone for your help, support and advice :wave:
 
I'm glad you posted about harmful levels of chocolate for rabbitsas with Easter coming up there will be lots of chocolate about and people should know when to take to the vet.
Glad Barney is Ok, and that he's getting a wifebun from Alice's:D.
sue:wave:
 
Back
Top