Tomatoes are a food that many people are somewhat wary of. They are part of a dangerous family, and they can cause allergies in some people – so are they safe to feed to your rabbit? It’s not surprising if you feel uncertain about doing this, even though rabbits can eat most kinds of fruits and vegetables.
Tomatoes are okay to feed to your rabbit in small quantities. You need to make sure that your rabbit never gets a large amount of tomato, or it could get very sick, but just adding a little to its food dish as a treat should not cause any issues. Tomatoes are healthy for your rabbit when given in controlled amounts.
How Much Tomato Is It Okay To Feed To My Rabbit?
You need to work out quantities depending on what other fruits and vegetables you offer, because overall, your rabbit should only have a small amount of these things, otherwise it will start to suffer from digestive problems. If you’re feeding your rabbit a lot of other vegetables, it needs to have very little tomato, if any.
It is best to feed your rabbit a whole selection of foods, and not too much of any one ingredient. For this reason, you need to limit tomato quantities.
You can give your rabbit all of a cherry tomato, but a plum tomato should be halved or quartered, and a sandwich tomato should be thinly sliced. Only give one slice to your bunny.
Even if you aren’t feeding your rabbit a lot of other foods, you should limit how much tomato it gets. This will stop it from getting sick, and will ensure it has a balanced diet. Rabbits benefit from eating a range of fruits and vegetables, and giving it a lot of tomato won’t help them achieve this.
Keep serving sizes small and mixed with other veggies.
What Happens If My Rabbit Gets Too Much Tomato?
One of the first things that could happen if your rabbit gets too much tomato is that it may end up malnourished. This is because it will not be eating enough grass and hay. Rabbits need to get most of their diet from grass, and they will get sick if they eat too many fruits and vegetables.
If you let your rabbit fill up on tomatoes, it is very likely to end up with tummy troubles as a result.
The second issue is that tomatoes contain a lot of sugar. Remember, they are actually a berry, and their sugar content is high, while their fiber content is fairly low. This can give your rabbit an upset stomach, but it could also lead to problems with obesity.
What Is Good About Tomatoes?
That said, your rabbit will get some major benefits from eating tomatoes. They do like a mix of foods, and this helps to keep them engaged in their meals as well as healthy. Tomatoes contain some important vitamins and minerals.
For starters, they have vitamin A in them, which helps with all sorts of things, including eyesight, bone development, and the rabbit’s immune system.
They also contain vitamin C, which helps the body repair and grow. However, rabbits do also produce vitamin C naturally, so they don’t need this as much as people do.
They will also get potassium, which helps to prevent a disease called Hypokalemia, and they will get fiber, which will help them digest other kinds of food.
What If My Rabbit Won’t Eat Tomato?
All bunnies have different tastes, and they like and dislike different things. You might find your rabbit completely ignores slices of tomato. If this is the case, don’t worry about it; there is nothing in tomatoes that your rabbit can’t get from other foods.
How Should I Serve Tomato?
You should start by removing the stalk of the tomato and any bits of greenery, and then giving it a thorough wash. Do not leave any greenery on the fruit.
Next, assess the size of the tomato and the amount of treats your rabbit has already had for the day. It should only have a small piece of tomato even if it has not had any other treats, but it is still good to evaluate the overall amount your bunny is getting.
If you have a sandwich tomato (such as a beef tomato), cut a thin slice of the tomato off and place it in your rabbit’s food bowl. A cherry tomato should be cut up, but the rabbit may be able to have the whole thing. A plum tomato can be halved or quartered, depending on its size.
Next, cut the seedy portion out of the tomato, leaving only the red flesh. The seeds could give your rabbit an upset stomach and you should not leave them in. They are safe for people, but not for bunnies.
Can Rabbits Eat Tomato Leaves?
We all know that rabbits love greenery, so what about the foliage of a tomato plant? Can your rabbit have this alongside its other salads?
Some wild rabbits do eat tomato leaves, but it is not recommended that you feed these to a pet rabbit. Tomato leaves have a toxin called tomatine in them, and they could make your rabbit very sick if it eats too many of them.
It is much better just to give your rabbits washed, sliced fruit with the seeds removed. This will ensure that it isn’t harmed by what you are feeding it. While some people do feed their rabbits tomato leaves, it is better to check and not give it something that could upset its tummy.
Rabbits aren’t able to vomit, so if your bunny eats something that doesn’t agree with it, it has no choice but to digest it. Be very careful what you feed your rabbit, because once something has been eaten, it must pass through the digestive system.
Conclusion
Getting your rabbit’s diet correct is crucial for ensuring that it is kept healthy, so always check before you start feeding something new to your bunny. Sometimes, we assume our rabbits can have something that they really can’t have, and this must be avoided. Fortunately, tomatoes are a safe option in moderation.
