Can Your Rabbit Eat Biscuits? (Facts & Food Alternatives)

Rabbit digestion works differently than other species. This is one of the common mistakes that some rabbit owners forget. That is why sometimes they think some foods are fine or do not have an effect when the rabbit digests them. In reality, several foods can affect the rabbit’s health.

One reason is that a pet’s digestive system needs more fiber than other nutrients. After all, they are herbivore animals. If unwanted nutrients enter their body, it disrupts their function and causes complications such as vomiting, diarrhea, and loss of appetite.

The advocacy organization called People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) lists foods that are harmful to rabbits so that owners will be aware and avoid feeding them to their pets. If you are a rabbit owner, one of the foods that you should not let your rabbit eat, as stated by Peta articles, are biscuits.

Biscuits and Rabbits

Biscuit is a popular snack treat for humans because it has a sweet and salty taste. But when it comes to your pet, a biscuit is a type of food that is not recommended for them to eat. Although a small piece of biscuit cannot harm your rabbit, too much food intake can disrupt its stomach.

A biscuit is a kind of bread made from flour, eggs, butter, and salt. It makes it more harmful to your rabbits because salt causes kidney problems. If your rabbit eats too much salt, their urine will be affected and can lead to urinary tract infection (UTI). Some types of biscuits are salty, like pretzels, so do not offer this to your rabbit.

In addition, some types of biscuits also contain a high amount of sugar. Sugar is a nutrient your rabbit doesn’t need because it also leads to other health risks, such as obesity. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a fat body results in complications like heart disease, hypertension, stroke, and breathing problems.

Your rabbit might be attracted to sweet and sugary food because they have a sweet tooth. Meaning they will love eating sweet foods even if it’s bad for their health. But as an owner, you need to take control of it. That is why planning their diet is important to balance the nutrition inside their body.

Here are the other foods that you should avoid giving to your rabbit:

Chocolate
Avocado
Potatoes
Mushroom
Onions
Lollipop
Bread
Cakes

Here are the symptoms that you should keep an eye on if your rabbit has an upset stomach:

Vomiting
Diarrhea
Loss of Appetite
Lethargy
Stomach Cramps
Fever

Biscuit Consumption

You will not notice immediate symptoms if your rabbit accidentally eats a biscuit. Some rabbits can tolerate small amounts of biscuits because, unlike other food, biscuits don’t have a toxic content. However, excessive intake leads to long-term complications.

After consuming the biscuit, watch your rabbit to see if it changes its behavior. If you think they will react to the biscuit, kindly take your pet to the nearest veterinarian hospital. The doctor will assess the rabbit to know if the biscuit is the reason for digestive symptoms.

On this occasion, you need to provide the vet with important information, such as how many biscuits your rabbit ate, when was the last time they pooped, and the texture of their poop. This will help the doctor assess the reason for your sick rabbit and provide proper treatment.

Biscuit Alternative

If you want your rabbit to try a biscuit, you can make an alternative biscuit that suits your pet’s body instead of using common ingredients like flour, butter, egg, and sugar, which are harmful to rabbits. There are ingredients that you can use safely to make a bunny biscuit. In that way, your rabbit can get the same enjoyment that their owner feels when eating pieces of biscuit.

Ingredients:

1 puree carrot
½ mashed banana
1 tsp. honey
¼ cup rabbit pellets
¼ cup oatmeal

Using a blender or grinder, start grinding the oatmeal and pellets. This will make the food texture pure and powdery. Add the ingredients to the bowl and mix them. Massage the dough using your hands for 1-2 minutes.

Then, start rolling the dough in a 1/24-inch layer between a plastic wrap. After that, you should use a cookie cutter and cut it into cookies or slice the dough into tiny squares. Make the slices as short as possible because larger cookies may be too much for the rabbit.

After cutting the dough, put them in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Set the temperature to 163 degrees Celsius or 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Turn the heat off and let the biscuits sit in the oven for up to an hour. Keep the extras in the fridge.

Once you finish following these steps, you can offer your rabbit the biscuit that suits their pallet. You will not worry about the amount of sugar and other content anymore.

You can use the biscuit as a treat after an activity or as an afternoon snack. Remember that though this is a homemade treat, feed in moderation only because they need to get full in their meal and not on snacks.

Key Takeaways

Biscuit is harmful to your rabbit, not just because it is processed food. But also of how it was made. Biscuit is made from flour, egg, butter, and salt. All of these ingredients can cause harm to the digestive system of rabbits.
Salty biscuits like pretzels also harm rabbits because of their sodium content. Too much salt can result in kine complications for rabbits.
Rabbits have a sweet tooth and occasionally eat sweet foods like biscuits. However, avoid excessive amounts of sugar because it might lead to obesity in rabbits and other related complications.
If your rabbit consumes biscuits, keep an eye on possible digestive problems and symptoms like vomiting, loss of appetite, diarrhea, lethargy, cramps, and fever. Schedule a visit with your trusted vet to provide treatment for rabbits.
A bunny biscuit is a homemade snack instead of feeding rabbits with a commercial biscuit. Although you still need to feed your pet in moderate amounts to avoid addiction to treats.