Many of us maybe think that carrots are the rabbit’s favorite food. But, have you ever wondered what rabbits exactly eat? And what plants will rabbits eat, or can rabbits eat watermelon?
Raising rabbits seems so fun to do. Their playful behavior and cute appearance make anyone interested. These things are also influenced by their health and their food. To raise them, you need to learn what plants they can eat. And now, we will talk about watermelon.
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Nutrient Content of Watermelon
To answer can rabbits eat watermelon, the first thing you need to know is what contains in a watermelon. After that, compare with the condition of the digestion of rabbits. Then answer, are those suitable? Well, watermelon is a fruit that contains a lot of water. Many sources said that its water content is up to 92%. Not surprisingly, we can even guess it from the name.
The other nutrients you can find in watermelon are from carbohydrates, potassium, vitamins, calcium, to magnesium. All of which have a percentage of each in a watermelon. Moreover, this fruit has about 7% of fructose, one of the sugar types. This makes watermelon tastes sweet when you bite it, although juicy taste is more dominant.
Meanwhile, rabbits digestion needs something fibrous. They eat grasses as their food in nature. Sometimes they eat leaves and hay too. You can see that those things have less water content. By this fact, we know that eating something fresh is not their natural behavior. But it doesn’t mean they can’t eat something like vegetables or fruits. They can still eat it occasionally.
What Will Happen If Rabbits Eat Watermelon
Watermelon is good fruit. It contains some nutrients such as vitamins, protein, and calcium. The rabbits need those content to meet nutritional needs. But, with very abundant water content, this fruit can’t be their main food.
You can’t make it as their daily food. Their digestion is not suitable for a juicy thing. If you give them watermelon too frequently, they could have soft stools or even diarrhea. Flatulence is also a problem that can occur.
Rabbits also like to eat something sweet. But the sweetness, as well as that contained in watermelon, can affect their teeth health. So, you need to give more attention to the side effects.
When Can Rabbits Eat Watermelon?
The other thing you need to pay attention to is the age of rabbits. Their digestion needs adjustment too. They are still suckling on their mothers until they are 8 weeks old. At that age, their digestion is still not perfect yet. Giving fresh food including watermelon could cause digestive complications.
So, give watermelon for the 3 months or more old rabbit only. Even that must be considered. Still, adhere to the schedule you have made. Therefore, your rabbits still can eat watermelon safely.
How to Serve Watermelon to Your Rabbits?
However, you can still give your rabbits watermelon. But, it needs to be noted that you can’t give it every day. Watermelon is not their main food. So, give it as a snack only. Make a schedule for their snack. Give watermelon once every 2-3 days only. The portion also isn’t too big. The schedule will make them accustomed.
But on a hot day, you can give them watermelon to fill their water needs. Just plain water could make them bored. So, it is good too to consider the weather on giving the snack. You may give them one tablespoon of watermelon at a time. Or you can cut it to the size of two fingers. Then, you may cut it again to be smaller to make them eat it more easily.
Peel the rind because it is a little bit hard to bite. Besides sweetness, something also affects teeth. You need to keep their teeth healthy. Moreover, watermelon skin may contain pesticides. It could interfere with the digestion of rabbits. Don’t forget to remove the seeds. Because it could make them choke. Always observe when they eat watermelon or any other snack. So you can notice if there is something wrong.
Can rabbits eat watermelon? The answer is yes. But it is only for a snack, not the main food. So, check again, have you fed your rabbits properly? If not, it is not too late to fix it right now. Happy raising rabbits!
