I’ve got a rabbit that’s about 3 years old now. I let it run loose in the apartment 1-2 hours every day or two. So far, some of the foods it’s found lying about that it likes are: Beef Jerky, Pepperoni, Macaroni Noodles, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cheerios, Twizzlers, pistachios, and the #1 item appears to be Reese’s Peanut Butter (Pieces or cups, doesn’t seem to matter).
My question is, what happens to all the processed junk that my rabbit scavenges up once it enters it’s digestive system. They’re natural herbivores, so what happens when they munch up Peanuts Butter or a Slim Jim? Does it just pass naturally without being absorbed?
BTW: My rabbit’s normal size for a mini-lop, it just likes to vacuum up the floor when I let it out of the cage. Add to that 2 kids under age 10 and the rabbit has plenty to choose from.
Beef Jerky, pepperoni, peanut butter, slim jims, pistachios …
Probably the reason a herbivore like your rabbit goes after these items is that they all contain salt.
Salt is very necessary for all animals, and often craved beyond their normal feed. For our herbivore, grazing horses, we always have salt blocks freely available in their pastures.
I have had several rabbits with a thing for cat food (both wet and dry).
Anything meaty or any of the other things you mentioned are not good for the bunny (Chocolate is VERY bad). Bunny diets are naturally very low in protein - too much can cause kidney problems.
I don’t know that there is much you can do to prevent consumption of the naughty stuff so I’d just be hoping for the best. Maybe if you explianed to the kids that crap on the floor can actually hurt the bunny they might be a little less messy.
Good luck
MRW