bunny ate bamboo leaves

[SnowyShiloh]

I accidentally fell asleep on the couch and woke up to a crashing sound and Rory running away with a bamboo leaf in his mouth. I tried to get it away from him, but he ate it so fast! I have a bamboo plant on the coffee table and I didn't think he could reach it, he's been fine with it since I got it in the middle of February, but he waited until I was asleep to jump up on the coffee table! I'm not sure how many leaves he ate, but the bamboo looks fine. It's one of those woven arrangements made of about 10 bamboo stalks, they're in gravel and I water them every couple days. I think bamboo is safe for bunnies (pandas and people eat it!), but the bamboo was given some kind of fertilizer or something and the small amount of water that runs out the bottom is always turned blue. That's what I'm worried about. I haven't fertilized it or anything, so whatever chemical it is, it hasn't been added for 2 months. What do you all think? This happened not 5 minutes ago, so as of now, he's acting fine.

He should have just told me that he wanted a salad! He has a big bin of organic spring mix in the fridge and he gets some every day.

 

[aurora369]

I would make sure he drinks lots of water to help flush his system. Watch his behaviour and if he starts being lethargic or any other odd behaviour, take him to the vets.

The fertilizer in the soil may not be on the leaves as well. If it's only going into the roots, it's normally metabolized by the plant (I think that's how it works).

Bamboo is safe for buns to eat. I have a friend with large bamboo plants next to the porch and his bunny eats it all the time.

--Dawn

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Dawn, I did as you recommended and Rory seems fine! It's been about 36 hours since he ate the leaf. I wonder how big bamboo can get indoors? That would be pretty fun to have a little bamboo forest (sans fertilizer) for the buns to frolic through! Thanks for helping us out

 

[aurora369]

I'm not sure how big they get inside, but outside they can get massive.

I'm glad Rory is doing alright. If he was going to show any symptoms, I think he would have showed them by now, so he should be out of the woods.

Maybe you could transplant the bamboo to a bigger pot to help it grow bigger. I'm sure the buns would enjoy a nice big bamboo forest.

--Dawn