Of course, they can. But the specific question is this – should rabbits be eating snap peas? Well, these foods, also known as sugar snap peas, bear a sweet taste as they have a considerably high amount of sugar. This is as compared to other types of peas like the Chinese (or the snow) peas, or even the garden peas. All these peas – including the snap peas – are okay and safe for rabbits, but they should be served in different quantities.
Snap peas should be given to rabbits only as treats. If you are a rabbit owner who feels like feeding their bunny with snap peas, give them only one pod for every 4 pounds of their body weight. If you’re introducing the snap peas to the bunny for the first time, provide them (the foods) in little quantities. Then, wait for at least a day to see how he reacts. If he seems okay, you can serve him again. If you give Mr. Bunny too many treats, his intestinal bacteria situation may change. He may react by refusing to eat some other essential food items. During harvesting, snap peas should be picked only at maturity.
If you choose to feed your rabbit with snap peas, do not offer any other treats on the same day, especially carrots. As humans, we do not believe that snap peas and carrots have sugar, probably because they don’t taste like a tablespoon of sugar or a chocolate bar. But the mentality has to change. Remember that a rabbit’s diet is complete if 75% consists of leafy greens, 15% of fresh foods, and 10% of fruit. Anything that is a non-leafy green should not be vouched for too much.
To finish off this kicker – better safe than sorry. Your rabbit may not be excited by too many leafy vegetables, but that is what he needs. Can rabbits eat snap peas? Yes, but in moderation.
The Nitty-Gritties Of Rabbits And Sugar Snap Peas
Sugar snap peas go by the name mangetout. They are very nutritious legume cultivars. They have pods that are edible and are round in shape. This can be contrasted to the snow peas, which have thicker and flatter pods. Sugar snap pea plants are climbers and do well during cold seasons.
Sugar snap peas have proteins, carbs, vitamins A, C, K, E, and B complex, and minerals that include copper, calcium, manganese, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, and zinc. These are all essential nutrients for both humans and rabbits.
As noted, alluded, and implied, rabbits can eat sugar snap peas, but only as occasional treats, specifically when they are green, fresh, and immature (the peas will still be small). Avoid feeding your rabbit with dried peas as they are choking hazards and lack nutrition. Instead of giving your bunny the peas, you can give it the plant’s stem and leaves since they are safe and have nutritional benefits. Limit the intake of the peas to prevent any intestinal upsets from happening.
The Specific Components Of Sugar Snap Peas (Tabulated)
As we have seen, mangetout, or sugar snap peas, have a good number of nutrients. This makes them good occasional treats for your rabbit. The following shows the nutritional information of mangetout, sourced from Tesco, Wikipedia, and Sainsbury:
| Component | Amount Per 100g Of Sugar Snap Peas |
| Protein | 3.6g |
| Fiber | 2.6g |
| Vitamin C | 54mg |
| Thiamine (B1) | 0.15mg |
| Vitamin K | 25μg |
| Iron | 2mg |
| Manganese | 0.244mg |
| Magnesium | 24mg |
| Zinc | 0.27mg |
| Phosphorus | 54mg |
All the components covered in the table work to improve and maintain the good health of your rabbit. Here are some brief explanations and guides for each of the captured components:
1. Fiber – this is a nutrient element critical in every rabbit’s diet, so it should always be part of the animal’s main diet. It helps the rabbit’s gut to keep moving. This is crucial because when food starts to pile up, the rabbit can suffer a condition known as gut stasis. Your rabbit will stop pooping and eating, and at the moment you realize it, you should contact a vet.
2. Proteins – these enable the rabbit to create its protein. In turn, the created protein helps in the building and repairing of skin and muscles.
3. Minerals – these are needed by the rabbits but in small quantities. Vegetables and hay ensure that the rabbit gets enough minerals to live a healthy bunny life.
Besides The Question: What Can Rabbits Really Eat?
We’ve already exhausted the sugar snap peas question. You have all you need to know to make a decision. Now, we can look at the food that your rabbit can or cannot eat.
As a pet parent and a rabbit owner, it is your sole responsibility to ensure that your pet gets the best nutrients and gets them frequently. When many people imagine a bunny eating, they picture the animal enjoying leafy greens. It is common among rabbit owners to think that pet rabbits can survive off a diet made purely and entirely out of salad.
On the real, rabbits need a balanced diet consisting of many different parts. Also, they should be offered vegetables on the side. This section of the article will look at some three foods that are contentious among rabbit owners. These are cucumbers, watermelons, and spinach. These are human foods that are debatable, but the debate ends between the lines that follow. Read on and take home some information for better rabbit care.
Can Rabbits Eat 1: Cucumbers?
Yes – cucumbers are safe for rabbits, especially when they are served fresh. The rabbits will absolutely love the freshness. Also, rabbits can eat cucumber leaves. Before you serve the cucumber, ensure that it is super clean by washing it in cold running water. This is important because the cucumber could be having pesticides. If you are scared of chemicals, you can either grow your cucumber or pick organic ones from, well, organic stores. When serving, only give your bunny a few and small pieces of cucumbers at one time.
What’s In It
Cucumbers will provide proper hydration for your rabbit as it is 95% water. If you feed your rabbit with cucumbers, you will therefore boost their internal water levels. During the summer, the hot weather will not overwhelm the rabbit. The cucumbers will take the place of water if the water is not enough.
Cucumber is a low-calorie food, making it one of the most nutritious treats for rabbits. Offering it as a treat will ensure that the rabbit stays away from obesity. Another thing is that your rabbit will enjoy the fiber that the cucumber skin provides. The downside to this cucumber food is that cucumbers lack any real nutritional value.
What Are The Risks?
Since cucumbers are a nutritional low, feeding them too often to the rabbit increases the risk of having a lot of nothing in the animal’s guy. There is no need to have a rabbit full of things with very little nutritional value.
Cucumbers can invite diarrhea for the rabbits because of their very high water content. If your bunny starts to produce cecotropes – the poop type that rabbits eat – they will be harder to consume. Cecotropes are important since rabbits usually get many of their nutrients from them, including the vitamin B. Therefore, a stressful diarrhea condition will lead to the rabbit’s malnutrition.
As implied in the previous part, feed tiny cucumber amounts to your rabbits at one time. If the cucumber slices cause diarrhea or bloating, stop the feeding and try something else – something like watermelon.
Can Rabbits Eat 2: Watermelons?
Yes – like cucumbers, watermelons are good treats that are safe for adult rabbits to eat. Your bunny will love how refreshing and how sweet the fruit tastes. While it is okay to give watermelons to adult rabbits, never feed baby bunnies with fruit.
As a treat, watermelons should be served to the rabbit once or twice a week, and each serving should be one tablespoon or even less – less is more! Feed the rabbit with ripe watermelon, and only give it unripened melon as a last resort. Also, choose unripened over wilted fruits all the time.
Unlike humans, rabbits eat the part of the watermelon called the rind. Actually, the watermelon rind is healthier than the fruit’s flesh. Since it can be challenging, ensure that the rind is cut into small parts before pushing it before your rabbit’s mouth.
Rabbits will look away from the watermelon seeds as they cannot eat them. As you cut up the watermelon into small portions, ensure that all the seeds are removed. If you don’t want to do the removal, get seedless watermelons.
What’s In It
As you may already know, watermelons are very hydrated. They can serve as the right hydration foods during the warm days of the summertime. Apart from water, watermelons have choline, magnesium, and vitamins A and C. Choline is a mineral that ensures rabbits sleep properly and move their muscles with ease. As connoted in the last part, the rind is the healthiest part of any watermelon – it is low in sugar and high in fiber.
What Are The Risks?
The most obvious and easily detectable risk is the one about sugar – watermelons are incredibly sugary. The specific problem is this – rabbits’ digestive systems are not as complicated as to break down the sugar in the watermelon. So, feeding too many watermelons means that your rabbit may experience diarrhea and digestive upsets.
However tiny and innocent-looking, the watermelon seeds have the potential of obstructing the intestines of your rabbit. Remember – always ensure that all the seeds are removed. Rabbits can neither chew the watermelon seeds properly nor regurgitate them.
Like in humans, rabbits may develop the ‘sweet tooth’ problem if you feed them the sugars of watermelons regularly. If you keep doing it insistently for long periods, your bunny may refuse necessary foods such as pellets and hay.
Also, one thing that can be quite sticky is watermelon juice. If the sap gets caught up in the rabbit’s fur, the fur will get matted. Then, the rabbit will look less cute. This will push you to give the rabbit a bath to do a spot cleaning on his fur. So, give your bunny bit-sized watermelons pieces, and keep looking at its coat to ensure that there is no ‘entanglement.’
Can Rabbits Eat 1: Spinach?
Yes – yes, you can! This leafy green is healthy not only for your rabbit but for you. As you buy your spinach, you can make the bunch bigger to give the leftover leaves to the rabbits.
Whatever you want to give your rabbit should be fresh. Do not go for slimy, smelly, or wilted spinach. These options could invite a bacterial infection into the system of your rabbit.
Also, do not give your rabbit cooked spinach; stick to something that is freshly raw. This is because the digestive systems of rabbits are limited – they cannot digest any kind of cooked food well.
Before you throw the spinach leaves in the direction of your rabbits, ensure that you wash them off properly. This will help to clean off the pesticides as well as the dirt.
It would be delightful if you got organic spinach for your bunny. It is less exposed to pesticides, and it may have a higher nutritional value. And, if your rabbit has never eaten spinach before, introduce it gradually. This will help to minimize digestive upsets and diarrhea. So, give it a few leaves, let it eat, and wait for a day to pass. If the rabbit processes soft poop, discontinue the spinach feeding ‘program.’ If it doesn’t, it means that its system received the food well, and you continue with the ‘program.’
What’s In It
Unlike the other two foods, spinach is a superb option. It is full of essential vitamins and minerals which will benefit your long-eared friend. Spinach is high in the A Vitamin, which is vital for sight improvement and general rabbit growth. Spinach has vitamins E, K, and C and the minerals iron, potassium, magnesium, folic acid, and calcium. Stick on feeding only the (spinach) leaves and avoid the roots since they have the highest sugar content than the other parts.
Apart from spinach, look at other leafy green options such as broccoli, carrot tops, celery, dark-leafed lettuce, and bok choy. If you love herbs, here are some that your rabbit will enjoy – oregano, basil, dill, mint, parsley, and coriander.
What Are The Risks
Oxalic acid is one of the components found in spinach and is a naturally-occurring toxin, but fine if given in small amounts. However, if eaten in excess, the oxalic acid will react with some minerals such as calcium and magnesium to form insoluble compounds.
Since compounds will remain in the system, they may cause urinary tract issues, itchy skin, and extreme bladder stones. Also, spinach has high calcium levels, and if the mineral is in excess, it may cause kidney problems for the rabbit.
Taking The Article To Bed
Don’t let any of the risks mentioned stop you from feeding your rabbit, something that is not snap peas. The health benefits are worth risking, but ensure that you serve the portions moderately.
I’m Christopher Benjamin, a dedicated Animal Nutritionist at Ethos Veterinary Health with a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science from Michigan State University. My lifelong passion for animals led me to establish AnimalsData.Com. Here, I share expert advice, educational resources, and inspiring stories to empower fellow pet lovers worldwide. Join our community as we celebrate the beauty and diversity of our beloved animal companions!
