Trader Joes Freeze Dried Banana Slices?

[cloverbunny]

Hi! Is it safe to give rabbits Trader Joes Freeze Dried Banana Slices? Is there any difference between those and Oxbow Freeze Dried Bananas? One costs a lot less!

 

[Apollo’s Slave]

I’m not too sure what Trader Joes is - but as long as it’s just banana, with no additives, I’m sure it’ll be safe!

 

[Nuage]

Yep! It's 100% banana, so it's good! Any of their freeze dried fruit (that's rabbit safe fruit of course) is ok to feed!

 

[Mariam+Theo]

They are completely safe! I have actually been needing to swing by Trader Joes to get some of these for Theo because Oxbow Freeze-Dried Treats are SO expensive.
Just so you know, Dollar Tree has started selling some freeze-dried fruits and I have been trying them out with Theo. I was very surprised that the dried bananas, apples, and mangoes didn't have any added sugar (stay away from the strawberries because there is added sugar).

 

[cloverbunny]

thanks for all your replies! sure is cheaper than oxbow.

 

[Happy Hollands]

Yes, I have been using the TJ freeze-dried bananas for a few years now, just make sure the treat is used sparingly as banana is so sugary! Bunnies will come running for these...

 

[AVIE]

You can get big bags of the Bare brand at BJs for half of what I pay at the grocery. It is only bananas.

 

[Jurisfiction]

What about if I give him the dehydrated banana slices that I freeze? Or strawberries? As a treat?

 

[Mariam+Theo]

What about if I give him the dehydrated banana slices that I freeze? Or strawberries? As a treat?

Do you mean giving them dried banana chips that you have put in the freezer? As long as there is no added sugar it is safe.

 

[Jurisfiction]

Do you mean giving them dried banana chips that you have put in the freezer? As long as there is no added sugar it is safe.

Yes- just the banana slices I dehydrated and then froze. Freezed? Nothing else. He loves bananas as a treat.

 

[Mariam+Theo]

Yes- just the banana slices I dehydrated and then froze. Freezed? Nothing else. He loves bananas as a treat.

Sounds great! I might try this out for Theo in the summer and see how he likes them.

 

[YamJam22]

I have been feeding my bunnies freeze dried fruits from Trader Joe’s for some weeks now and they love it. As always, with new foods I introduced it slowly and kept an eye on their poo. All looks good!

Just curious, though, how much dried fruit and how often are you giving it to them? I have two Holland lops, both 1 yr old and under 4 lbs. I give them a variety of freeze dried fruit every night, like 2 banana chips, 1 blueberry, 2 strawberry slices, 2 apple slices, and 2 cranberries. All no added sugar (or very low as in the cranberries).

Too much?

I also give them a small handful of mixed greens. I only give them treats at bedtime. They literally go running into their pen every night (free roam during the day). So cute!!!

 

[NorthernNevadaHollandLops]

Yes- just the banana slices I dehydrated and then froze. Freezed? Nothing else. He loves bananas as a treat.

If you dehydrate your own bananas, I don't think you need to freeze them as well. You would need an actual freeze dryer to "freeze dry" anything, and those are quite expensive (at least here in the US). But dehydrating them with a dehydrator or in your oven will work to make them last longer. If it's truly dehydrated, and if you want to preserve them even longer, you can save those silica packets that come in prepackaged food and place one in the bag with your dehydrated banana.

 

[Diane R]

I have been feeding my bunnies freeze dried fruits from Trader Joe’s for some weeks now and they love it. As always, with new foods I introduced it slowly and kept an eye on their poo. All looks good!

Just curious, though, how much dried fruit and how often are you giving it to them? I have two Holland lops, both 1 yr old and under 4 lbs. I give them a variety of freeze dried fruit every night, like 2 banana chips, 1 blueberry, 2 strawberry slices, 2 apple slices, and 2 cranberries. All no added sugar (or very low as in the cranberries).

Too much?

I also give them a small handful of mixed greens. I only give them treats at bedtime. They literally go running into their pen every night (free roam during the day). So cute!!!

Way too much! Fruit is high in sugar, especially dried fruit. Best to avoid it altogether but if you must give it, no more than 1 blueberry (or the equivalent) per day.

 

[YamJam22]

Way too much! Fruit is high in sugar, especially dried fruit. Best to avoid it altogether but if you must give it, no more than 1 blueberry (or the equivalent) per day.

Thanks, Diane, but while you’re right that dried fruit contains a lot of sugar, freeze-dried fruit is entirely different. These crunchy nibbles are good for their teeth, contain no added, and are very low in sugar, in general. I believe the entirety of what I listed above is 5 grams of sugar and 2 of those are from the dried (not freeze-dried) cranberries. So, although this is very low, it is still a little bit of sugar each day. I guess I’m looking for more of a specific answer as to how many grams is ok for them. Also curious as to what ill effects sugar has on them.

 

[YamJam22]

Thanks, Diane, but while you’re right that dried fruit contains a lot of sugar, freeze-dried fruit is entirely different. These crunchy nibbles are good for their teeth, contain no added, and are very low in sugar, in general. I believe the entirety of what I listed above is 5 grams of sugar and 2 of those are from the dried (not freeze-dried) cranberries. So, although this is very low, it is still a little bit of sugar each day. I guess I’m looking for more of a specific answer as to how many grams is ok for them. Also curious as to what ill effects sugar has on them.

 

[odyssey~]

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Generally the rule I've heard is no more than 1 tablespoon of treats per 4 pounds of rabbit a day.
Because those are dried, they're compressed which most likely means that 1 tablespoon of that would be much more sugar than 1 tbsp of fresh fruit. Two of those banana pieces would be more than enough for a day IMO as you don't want to give too much sugar to risk obesity. Obesity also makes your rabbit more prone to GI stasis.

 

[JBun]

Thanks, Diane, but while you’re right that dried fruit contains a lot of sugar, freeze-dried fruit is entirely different. These crunchy nibbles are good for their teeth, contain no added, and are very low in sugar, in general. I believe the entirety of what I listed above is 5 grams of sugar and 2 of those are from the dried (not freeze-dried) cranberries. So, although this is very low, it is still a little bit of sugar each day. I guess I’m looking for more of a specific answer as to how many grams is ok for them. Also curious as to what ill effects sugar has on them.

The ill effects from excess sugars and carbs in a rabbits diet are that it can lead to a disruption of the guts microflora. In turn this can cause digestive disease to develop, sometimes extremely serious ones.

https://rabbit.org/disorders-of-the-cecum/
Provided a rabbit doesn't develop any digestive upset from eating a small amount of fruit, usual recommendations are for 1-2 tbsp of fresh fruit per day for a 5-7 lb rabbit. Dehydrated and freeze dried amount would be less as it is more concentrated(shrinks with moisture removed). Freeze dried fruit and dehydrated fruit is no different in it's sugar content. All that is different is the drying process to remove moisture. The same sugar content remains. The only difference would be in some dehydrated fruit where sugars are actually added to the fruit. An example of this would be dried mango. An example of dried fruit with no added sugars would be raisins.

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/treats.html
Dehydrated/freeze dried fruit has little to no effect on a rabbits teeth, if you're talking about tooth wear. What does is the silica contained in fibrous material like hay. Silica is like sandpaper that abrades and causes the wear on a rabbits teeth as they chew their food. The higher the silica content, the more wear that occurs from chewing that particular food. And this abrasion of the tooth surface is what helps prevent tooth overgrowth and molar spurs from developing.

Why grass is good for a rabbit's teeth

 

[YamJam22]

The ill effects from excess sugars and carbs in a rabbits diet are that it can lead to a disruption of the guts microflora. In turn this can cause digestive disease to develop, sometimes extremely serious ones.

https://rabbit.org/disorders-of-the-cecum/
Provided a rabbit doesn't develop any digestive upset from eating a small amount of fruit, usual recommendations are for 1-2 tbsp of fresh fruit per day for a 5-7 lb rabbit. Dehydrated and freeze dried amount would be less as it is more concentrated(shrinks with moisture removed). Freeze dried fruit and dehydrated fruit is no different in it's sugar content. All that is different is the drying process to remove moisture. The same sugar content remains. The only difference would be in some dehydrated fruit where sugars are actually added to the fruit. An example of this would be dried mango. An example of dried fruit with no added sugars would be raisins.

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/treats.html
Dehydrated/freeze dried fruit has little to no effect on a rabbits teeth, if you're talking about tooth wear. What does is the silica contained in fibrous material like hay. Silica is like sandpaper that abrades and causes the wear on a rabbits teeth as they chew their food. The higher the silica content, the more wear that occurs from chewing that particular food. And this abrasion of the tooth surface is what helps prevent tooth overgrowth and molar spurs from developing.

Why grass is good for a rabbit's teeth

Thank you so much, JBun for this helpful
Info! I will cut back on these treats.