Commonplace in a whole host of tropical environments, coconuts are a refreshing, delicious fruit enjoyed by people worldwide.
Coconuts are grown in more than 90 countries in the world, but Asia and the Pacific are responsible for around 80% of global coconut growth.
During the summer months, it’s not uncommon for people in the UK to enjoy coconuts. They’re extremely versatile, and as well as eating the coconut’s meat, the milk can make for a refreshing drink or delicious addition to cocktails and mocktails.
Ideal when the sun is shining and the temperature is high, you might consider allowing your pet rabbit to consume a bit of coconut – especially if you have some leftover.
But, can rabbits eat coconut?
In this article, we’ll look at whether you should feed coconut to your pet rabbit.
The diet of a rabbit
If you own a pet rabbit, it’s vitally important that you have a thorough understanding of what its diet should consist of.
Rabbits are herbivores, and this means that their diet predominately contains plant-based substances. In the wild, this can include things like grass, plants, twigs and more.
Domestic, or pet, rabbits need to have a diet that replicates the type of nutrients and minerals a bunny would have access to in the wild. Luckily, rabbits have been domesticated for hundreds of years, meaning we have a pretty good understanding of what they need to eat to be happy and healthy.
A pet rabbit’s diet should include the following:
- Hay: You might be surprised to learn that the most important aspect of a rabbit’s diet is hay. This is where your bunny will get the vast majority of the nutrients it needs to be healthy, and it should make up more than 75% of what it consumes each day. Hay provides rabbits with fibre, makes digestion easier and stops teeth from getting overgrown and causing dental issues. As well as this, hay provides a comfortable place for rabbits to sleep. You should place a generous amount of hay throughout your rabbit’s hutch, making sure to change it at least once a week to keep it fresh.
- Vegetables: Rabbits are synonymous with vegetables, especially carrots. Vegetables provide bunnies with a whole host of nutrients and you should provide yours with a variety of options on a daily basis. As well as the aforementioned carrots, rabbits will also enjoy peppers, kale, mangetout, broccoli, lettuce, and more.
- Pellets: You can also feed your rabbit dried pellets if you so wish. Most pet shops will be able to provide you with commercially formulated rabbit food in pellet form, but it’s important to feed these to your furry friend in moderation and not as a replacement for hay. As a rule of thumb,⅛ to ¼ a cup per day of pellets will be plenty. You can adapt this based on the size and preferences of your individual pet.
- Water: Hydration is also essential when it comes to keeping your rabbit’s health in the best condition. You should always ensure that your pet has access to a fresh supply of water. This should be changed each day, and can be put in a bottle attached to the hutch or a water bowl.
If you need any further advice or guidance, contact your veterinarian, or take a look at the wide range of rabbit blogs and articles on our website.
Can rabbits eat coconut?
If you have any leftover coconut and are considering feeding it to your rabbit, you could unintentionally be doing your pet harm.
This is because coconut contains a number of substances that can negatively impact your rabbit’s health.
While not directly poisonous to your rabbit like other food, you should never purposely feed your rabbit coconut.
Why shouldn’t rabbits eat coconut?
Now that you know rabbits should not be fed coconut, let’s take a closer look at the risks they possess.
There are a number of ways coconut can cause harm to your rabbit.
First and foremost, the high amount of fat coconut contains can cause serious issues. Rabbits have very sensitive digestive systems that can not efficiently deal with fat. In fact, the diet of a rabbit, which we covered earlier, contains almost exclusively low-fat foods due to this.
Food with high-fat content, like coconut, can trigger constipation, diarrhoea or internal blockages- all of which can have serious consequences for your rabbit’s health.
As well as this, coconut contains high levels of calcium and phosphorous. While both these substances are a necessary part of your rabbit’s diet, coconut contains far too much. This could result in your pet suffering from unpleasant conditions like bladder stones.
Can rabbits eat coconut flakes?
While rabbits cannot eat coconut, you might wonder about the suitability of other coconut based foods, such as coconut flakes.
Well, just like with the coconut fruit, you should not feed your bunny coconut flakes.
Also known as coconut shavings, these flakes also contain high levels of fat, calcium and phosphorous.
If consumed, these flakes can harden inside your rabbit’s digestive system and can result in issues like GI stasis. This is where the passage of food in the GI tract slows, triggering a whole host of stomach and intestine-related problems.
Can rabbits drink coconut milk?
Again, coconut milk should be avoided. You must not feed this to your rabbit as it can cause health issues, just like with other forms of coconut.
We’ve already mentioned how coconut fat can cause problems for your pet, and coconut milk contains huge amounts of fat. It’s often made up of 23% fat, so it’s clear to see why it should be avoided.
In addition to the health issues we’ve already mentioned, this level of fat can also cause your rabbit to become overweight. Obesity in rabbits is very dangerous, often resulting in a number of other health conditions.
As well as this, coconut milk is very sugary and can be bad for your rabbit’s teeth.
