Can Rabbits Eat Bananas?
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Bananas are incredibly rich in fiber and sugars,. When eaten by humans, bananas hold incredible benefits which include: easing digestions and reducing the risk of cancer and asthma. Therefore, it is common to wonder, if bananas are that good for humans, surely they are also beneficial to animals? But this isn’t the case.
When it comes to your rabbit's diet, you shouldn't rely solely on lettuce and/or green foods. In fact, not all plant-based food are good for rabbits. If you are wondering ‘‘Can rabbits eat bananas?’’ Then you’ve come to the right place! Because of their high levels of sugar and starch, bananas are not recommend for rabbits. But then, other than lettuce, what can you offer your rabbit to eat? For more about bananas for rabbits and what fruits and vegetable are good for rabbits, keep reading here at AnimalWised.
Contents
What can rabbits eat?
A rabbit’s diet will vary according to the rabbit’s age, breed and size. For example, a baby rabbit will consume only breast milk during its first few weeks of life. If the baby rabbit has been adopted, we recommend feeding it formula for kittens. For more, read what to feed a baby rabbit.
As a rabbit ages, new foods should be introduced into its diet. A young rabbit needs to consume an unlimited amounts of fresh hay from its eighth week of life until it reaches about 6 months. To make sure that its diet is well varied, you can offer it pellets for rabbits or oats. After about 6 months, you can begin to feed it green vegetables and fruits (in addition to its normal feed).
After 7 months, a rabbit is considered an adult with additional nutritional needs. Rabbits require large quantities of constantly available hay. Green vegetables form the main axis of a rabbits diet (along with hay). Fruits consumption in a rabbit’s diet should be limited, largely due to its content of sugars.
In addition to all of the above, a rabbit should always have fresh water at its disposal.
For more, we recommend reading our article where we list recommended fruits and vegetables for rabbits.
Can rabbits eat bananas?
In principle the answer is NO. In an ideal scenario, rabbits should not be fed bananas. Here are the reasons why rabbits should not eat bananas:
- Banana contains high levels of starch. Starch is harmful to a rabbit’s digestive system which is designed to ingest cellulose, but not carbohydrates or fats. Therefore, if a rabbit eats bananas, it can cause stomach problems in rabbits.
- Bananas contain A LOT of sugar. Although all fruits contain sugar, the level of sugar in bananas is incredibly high and therefore, not recommended for rabbits.
- Bananas can cause obesity in rabbits. A rabbit that consumes bananas becomes more prone to obesity and/or weight-gain related problems.
- If you tend to feed your rabbit large amounts of banana, there is a possibility it may reject other foods. Rabbits that eat a lot of bananas become used to its flavor, causing them to reject other green foods which are necessary to keep them strong and healthy.
How much bananas can a rabbit eat?
Although bananas do provide some animals with nutrients, they are not recommended for rabbits. If, however, you are insistent on offering your rabbit bananas, you can offer your rabbit a SMALL banana slice of a maximum 1 cm in thickness only once a month.
If you do offer your rabbit banana, it should ALWAYS be ripe. If not, it could increase the severity of stomach problems.
Can rabbits eat banana peels? NO, you should never feed your rabbit banana peel. Not only could it cause indigestion, but banana peels are usually polished with waxes or chemicals which can be toxic for rabbits.
Can rabbits eat banana leaves? No.
What happens if I feed my rabbit bananas?
The excessive ingestion of bananas in rabbits can cause stomach problems such as diarrhea or vomiting, as well as weight-gain. Bananas in large quantities are toxic for rabbits.
So, you may also be wondering, what can rabbits not eat? For more, we recommend reading our article where we list poisonous foods for rabbits.
What fruits can rabbits eat?
As we’ve already mentioned, a rabbit’s diet should be predominantly made up of hay, green foods and pellets. However, you can also offer your rabbit some fruits, sporadically, as a treat.
In light of the fact that bananas are bad for rabbits, we have some other options of fruits and vegetables which are recommended for rabbits. Your rabbit will love these fruits and better yet, they won’t cause any harm! Recommended fruits for rabbits include:
- Watermelon
- Pineapple
- Papaya
- Apple
- Pear
- Cantaloupe/Sweet melon
- Cherries
- Strawberries
- Mango
- Orange
- Tangerine
- Peach
- Kiwi
Although these foods are good for rabbits, they still hold a considerable amount of sugar. For this reason, we recommend controlling the amount of fruit you offer your rabbit, limiting it to small pieces once or twice a week.
TIP! Don’t forget to wash the fruit, remove any thick husks (mango and citrus) and extract the seeds before offering it to your rabbit.
Can rabbits eat bananas?
For more about rabbit diet and care, we recommend taking a look at our following articles:
If you want to read similar articles to Can Rabbits Eat Bananas?, we recommend you visit our Homemade diets category.
