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When considering what to feed your bunny, you may wonder, “Can I give a banana to my rabbit?” The short answer is yes; rabbits can eat bananas, but in strict moderation and only once every one to two weeks, due to their high sugar content. Just like other fruits and vegetables, rabbits love to eat bananas, but generally, non-leafy vegetables and fruits should make up no more than 5-10% of their daily food intake. Offering your rabbit banana peels should also be done with caution.
How Can Rabbits Safely Eat Bananas?
The key to feeding your rabbits bananas is strict moderation. Only give your bunny a small piece of banana, especially the first time. The actual amount depends on your bunny’s weight. Fruits and non-leafy vegetables should not make up more than 5-10% of a rabbit’s daily food intake to ensure their ongoing health and avoid digestive issues, long-term dental problems, and obesity. Keep in mind that fruit contains a large amount of sugar, which can predispose your rabbit to stomach upsets. This can turn into a serious health issue like gut stasis or diarrhea, as well as lead to obesity over time. That is why a rabbit’s diet should be based on hay, which makes up around 80-90% of their daily food intake, along with 10-15% of green leafy veg, and less than 5% pellets and other non-leafy veg. Fruit should be saved for special occasions, once or twice per week.
Like any dietary change, you’ll want to implement any new fruits or veggies slowly.
Follow These Simple Guidelines to Keep Your Bunny Safe
- Hay should make up the majority of your rabbit’s daily food intake.
- Each day, offer less than 5% of pellets, 10-15% of green leafy veg, and less than 5% of other veg and fruit.
- When offering a fruit or veg your rabbit has not eaten before, don’t start with large quantities. Instead, ease up gradually to the recommended amount.
- Use moderation. Remember that fruits and non-leafy vegetables are only occasional treats. Continue supplying your bunny with unlimited access to hay or grass.
- Don’t feed fruit to baby rabbits. We recommend waiting around 4 months before doing so.
- Wait to see your rabbit’s reaction. Give your bunny a few days to see how they react to the new food before considering feeding them another small piece of banana. Stop if your bunny has any complications, such as an upset stomach.
- Always wash the banana thoroughly before feeding it to your rabbit.
What About the Banana Peel?
Many wild animals eat whole fruits, including the peels. Some pet rabbits can eat them, but only if you keep the pieces quite small. However, you may want to consider whether you want to feed a banana peel to your rabbit. It’s not toxic in itself, although it is often treated with various pesticides that are harmful, and it may not taste that good. If they eat too much or an overly large piece, it can cause a stomach upset, bloating, gut stasis or even lead to a gastrointestinal obstruction in some cases.
If you want to feed a banana peel to your bunny, tear it into tiny pieces and offer it in strict moderation on rare occasions. You also want to monitor your rabbit while they’re eating.
What Happens If You Feed Your Rabbit Too Much Banana?
Bananas contain two things that can cause health problems in rabbits: sugar and starch. A medium-sized banana contains around 14 grams of sugar and 6 grams of starch. That’s less sugar than many other fruits (mangoes contain an impressive 45 grams!) but enough to cause a blood sugar spike or disrupt their hindgut fermentation and digestion. Feeding your rabbit too much banana can lead to serious health issues.
Don’t confuse the sugar-loving Easter Bunny with your pet rabbit! Rabbits have complex digestive systems that rely on bacterial population and struggle to digest large amounts of sugar. Bananas are more beneficial when served as special treats in small amounts for your rabbit.
The Bottom Line
Rabbits can eat small amounts of banana, in strict moderation and only once every one to two weeks. They do seem to love the flavor! You can also consider offering them exceptionally small amounts of cut-up banana peel, as long as you wash it first, but make sure you supervise them while eating it.
Start slow, giving your rabbit time to adapt to new foods. Only feed your rabbit bananas (and other fruits and non-leafy vegetables) in moderation. These should make up not more than 5-10% of their combined daily food amount, with bananas being a rare fruit choice. Too much fruit can cause health problems and discourage your rabbit from eating hay or grass, which is crucial for their dental and digestive health.
We hope that this article has cleared up your questions and helped you learn how to feed bananas to your rabbits on occasion while keeping them healthy and happy.
