raisins and other dried fruit

[anaveragemuppet]

can rabbits have them? i was giving my gerbils their raisins in the little boxes they come in and gave Zeke a little boz too. Is this ok? He seems to like them, so are they ok as an occasional treat? or more often? what about dried apricots, bananas, etc? occasional treats? never good? once a week?

 

[happysaz133]

My hammies have a big mixed P@H bag of fruit they love, and when the buns were inside I tried them with a few things. They liked it all, but the banana chips were a firm favourite!

 

[anaveragemuppet]

also,what about porridge oats?

 

[Jack's-Jane]

Dried fruit is not really a 'natural' part of a Rabbit's diet. It contains alot of sugars which can cause significant gut problems. Personally I never feed any dried fruit to my Rabbits.

Again, Porridge Oats are not really good to feed unless your Rabbit is very underweight. It is high in carbohydrates which can easily cause yet more gut problems.

For treats its far better to opt for natural things such as Fresh Herbs, Dandelion Leaves, Bramble Leaves, Apple Tree Twigs etc etc

For Rabbits sugars and carbohydrates, whilst often popular, are also often the cause of digestive problems and in the longterm they dont do the Bun any favours.

If you do want to feed a 'sweet treat' a small piece of Fresh Fruit (Apple, Pear, Banana ) once a week would be OK

 

[Mackers]

The only time I've fed mine raisins etc is when I've used them to administer medicine ie. it's easy to put a slit in a raisin and pop a small tablet inside it. By the time the bunnies have crunched it up, it's too late and they've eaten it :lol:. But I agree with Jane - dried fruit is very high in sugar and can cause gut problems so I would avoid it most of the time. Same with porridge oats - if you have to feed them to build up a skinny bunny, make sure you soak them first.

 

[tintin]

I give ours raisins occasionally. You can also get Banana Coins in Sainsburys fruit aisle, about £1.20 for 100g. These are just dried banana slices, with no extra sugar like banana chips have. You can cut a slice up with scissors and put it in the hay as a treat.

 

[anaveragemuppet]

The only time I've fed mine raisins etc is when I've used them to administer medicine ie. it's easy to put a slit in a raisin and pop a small tablet inside it. By the time the bunnies have crunched it up, it's too late and they've eaten it :lol:. But I agree with Jane - dried fruit is very high in sugar and can cause gut problems so I would avoid it most of the time. Same with porridge oats - if you have to feed them to build up a skinny bunny, make sure you soak them first.

Yeah, he does need building up. He's all bones. I can feel his shoulders, hips and spine. We've only had him just over a week