Treats

[MarisaAndToby]

Toby has been a HUGE fan of Ecotrition Veggie Puffs. From what I'm told and what I've read, they're mostly vegetables. They're hard and crunchy (so good for teeth) and I know my bun goes nuts for them.

Now I know there's a lot of natural home-made treats like veggies and fruits, but Toby really does love these; even more than craisins! I was hoping someone would be able to confirm or deny if these are actually alright for buns since I know most store bought treats aren't very good for the bunbuns (high in sugar etc).

I tried to find exact nutritional info, but I threw out the box and couldn't find anything online, so here's a link to a pet site. Hopefully someone will have some information on them.
http://www.carealotpets.com/Products/eCotrition-Veggie-Puffs-for-Small-Animals__Z02685100323.aspx


Thanks!

 

[Acacia-Berry]

Acacia's favorite treat is raisins. Craisins are cranberries and in small amounts should be fine.
My small animal rescue feeds Shreddies as treats. And I have fed strawberry cereal TWICE only to Acacia. They must have been sweet bc the binky 500 that came afterwards was hilarious.
Here's a link to their homemade treats: http://www.birdandsmallanimalrescue.com/rabbittreatrecipes.htm

Let me tell you, the carrot cookies make Acacia play "begging dog". She LOVES them!!!

 

[MiniLopHop]

I found the list of ingredients on another website.

The first ingredient is corn though, which isn't good for buns. I think of treats like this as junk food for humans. Will it kill them if given once in a while? No. But it will make them fat and unhealthy if given too liberally.

Ingredients: Ground corn, ground rice, dehydrated carrots, dehydrated cabbage, dehydrated spinach, and dehydrated celery.
[align=right]8.0% min Crude Fat 4.5% min Crude Fiber 2.5% max Moisture 12.0% max [/align]Directions: Give as a treat or reward, whenever you desire to add diversity to your small animal's diet.

 

[funnybunnymummy]

:yeahthat:

 

[MarisaAndToby]

Bah I knew it was too good to be true.

No more puffs for Toby! Even if I don't eat the healthiest, I'm determined to give him only the good stuff.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Ours get a carrot slim and a yogurt treat in the morning and in the evening they get a raviolo and a healthy bit. I'm sure if you read the ingredients that it's all bad for them. I prefer not to read, but spoil the little toads and make their time here as good for them as I can cause no matter what you do, no one lives forever.

 

[MarisaAndToby]

:hug2:

Thank you Larry! That makes a lot of sense to me. Maybe I'll hold on to the puffs since I know he loves them. He comes running when I shake the jar I keep them in.

 

[OneTwoThree]

I would keep trying different vegetables, Samson goes nuts for bananas, and a small amount of banana is so much better for him than store bought treats.

 

[jujub793]

I'm with Larry, I give my buns a small slice of banana every nite with their dinner, they looove it so much they get so excited when they know it's dinner time. How can one deny such joy? It makes Me happy knowing they're happy. Win win in my book!!

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Dr. Dean Edell said it best on channel 5 news years ago. You can watch everything you eat, exercise hard, go t bed early and get plenty of sleep. Statistically you'll ad 2 to 5 years to your life, but it will be very boring. Better to live a little. He was talking about humans, but, it applies across the board.

 

[Lucy500]

I don't give store bought treats to Bonkers because theres always fruit in the house, so treats are free . He goes CRAZY for banana, grapes and apple.
I think that, as long as you moderate them, Toby should be ok with a puff now and then.

 

[OneTwoThree]

Nancy McClelland wrote:

Dr. Dean Edell said it best on channel 5 news years ago. You can watch everything you eat, exercise hard, go t bed early and get plenty of sleep. Statistically you'll ad 2 to 5 years to your life, but it will be very boring. Better to live a little. He was talking about humans, but, it applies across the board.

No, it doesn't really. For example, if you get "fixed" as a human, it just stops your chance of reproducing. If you get fixed as a bunny, it likens your chance of a long life by 85%. Rabbits also have an extremely different digestive system than humans. Humans can splurge and eat whatever, and our bodies deal with it with fat and cholesterol problems. Give a rabbit food it shouldn't eat, (like yogurt treats which cause tooth decay because unlike humans, rabbits can't brush their teeth daily) and it can and will go into stasis or other extreme, life threatening conditions.

A rabbits life can be fun without its caretaker shortening its lifespan by years. Its our job to educate ourselves on our new family members, and do whats best for them. And then educate our friends and fellow bunny lovers on whats best, rather than encouraging them to risk medical problems for something as simple as an unhealthy treat.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

:yeahthat: The banner says "Treats". What does this soliloquy have to do with it. No where did I mention neutering either, but all 27 rescues we've had we're neutered. MY POINT WAS THAT A FEW TREATS WON'T REALLY HURT OUR BUNNY--AND TO CLARIFY, I SAID "FEW", not gross tonnage. I have given my bunnies a single yogurt treat every morning--Coal is now 13 years old, has all of her teeth and get around just fine. Her diet is largely hay and fresh vegetables. Methinks someone is reading a lot more into my statement than I said, intended, thought or felt! Let's see, Mr. B was 12, Ted was 13, Stockton was 11, Lilli was 10. I feel so bad that I shortened their life span by years .

 

[patches2593]

i would recommend raisens. the treat mix you buy at stores are not good because they contain nuts, berries, and other stuff which they cant have. i give my bunny papaya treats since they like it, its goof for their digestive system, helps with/prevents blockages

 

[funnybunnymummy]

IMVHO, treats like Veggie Puffs aren't any worse for a bunny than potato chips are for humans. Eat a few a day, and you're body will process the fat and carbs no problem. Eat a bag a day, and you'll start seeing weight gain and related health problems. Clearly the Veggie Puffs are bunny junk food and shouldn't be fed in large quantities, but one or two a day isn't going to hurt him. Especially if his regular diet is hay, fresh veggies and pellets.

Hope that helps!

Rue

 

[mmfh]

I liks sunseed treats. They dont have any sugar added and my bun loves them.

 

[Acacia-Berry]

Exercise and activity is a major role. BUT while chips to a human can be regulated by our diverse tracts and systems and we can exercise the weight off or whatever, the sugar in some processed treats can wear down the teeth on our little friends. And I personally do not agree with feeding yogurt drops. I always treat my bunny as a vegan. No milk products bc I find they are harder to break down in a bunny tract.

I mean, obviously bunnies live for many years eating these things bc they eventually adapt. That's why they can have them as an occasional treat. I personally don't feed them bc real fruit/veggies/hommade treats are far better for them.

Ps, I'm average weight and I eat chips nearly every day I will fight to the death to defend their awesomeness. Haven't met a chip I didn't like!