Can Rabbits Eat Lemons?

Can rabbits eat lemons? No. We do not recommend giving lemon fruits to rabbits. However, you can provide only a little amount of citrus fruits to your rabbits. Most of the time rabbits don’t even like the taste of lemon. As a rabbit owner, you must be always aware of the amount of citrus foods you should provide for the rabbits. Lemons are not considered toxic for rabbits. But they contain citric acid. Overfeeding them can lead to health issues in rabbits.

Good healthy rabbits need a well-balanced diet with nutrients and vitamins. In general, rabbits need high-quality hay as their main food source. Hay mainly contains fiber that helps their digestive system. As rabbit lovers, we should know bad foods for rabbits along with good foods. This article helps you to understand why we shouldn’t give them lemons & all the other information you need to know about lemons.

Let’s start without any delay!!

Extra Information About Lemon

Lemons are the most popular citrus fruit in the world. Lemons are originated in Asia. Lemons trees are not big and green even in winter. Lemon plat has yellow color oval-shaped fruit. Most of the time lemons are used as juice. Lemons taste sour. These lemons contain citric acids between 5-6% of their volume. There are many varieties of lemon grown worldwide. Avalon lemon, citron lemon, sweet lemon, Lisbon lemon are some of them. Nowadays lemons are also used for cleaning products.

Lemons are also used for medical purposes. They are packed with many nutrients. Lemons are considered an excellent source of vitamin C. Lemons can provide many health benefits such as cancer prevention, reduce blood pressure, preventing asthma, increasing iron absorption, and many other health benefits.

According to the USDA National Nutrient database, 100g of Lemons contain

Energy	121 kJ (29 kcal)
Carbohydrates	9.32 g
Sugars	2.5 g
Dietary fiber	2.8 g
Fat	0.3 g
Protein	1.1 g

Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamin C	53 mg
Calcium	26 mg
Iron	0.6 mg
Magnesium	8 mg
Manganese	0.03 mg
Phosphorus	16 mg
Potassium	138 mg

100g of lemon contains 5-8 g of citric acid.

Do Rabbits Like To Eat Lemons?

Most of the time rabbits don’t like the taste of lemon because of its sour taste. Don’t ever try to overfeed them even if they like to eat lemons. It’s up to you to protect the health of your pet. We need to care for rabbits always more than other pets. Unlike dogs and cats, rabbits need more attention in their health and diet.

Rabbits’ main food source should be hay. We should prioritize hay in the regular diet plan. Overall nutrition can be covered by hay. Unlike humans, fiber is essential for rabbits. It can prevent bad bacteria from forming in the intestines. Some of the bacteria can lead to critical health issues in rabbits. This is why we should give priority to hay. But rabbits can’t live eating hay all day long.

We must add veggies and fruits to their daily diet. If you want to feed lemons, keep in mind always to limit the amount and provide them only as an occasional treat. There are other healthy fruit treats for your rabbit-like Mango, Banna, Zucchini, Eggplant, Rambutan, Cherries, Oranges, Strawberries, cranberries, peaches, pear, etc.

GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT: RABBITS & DILL

Why Lemons Are Bad For Rabbits?

Most of the online articles say lemons are bad for rabbits. YES, most of the animals can’t handle citrus foods. Rabbits also can’t handle acidic fruits effectively. If they ate too much of lemons, it can lead to an upset stomach in rabbits, cause vomiting, lead to weaknesses and diarrhea. 

Lemons Seed and peels are also not good for rabbits’ health. Lemon peels do not contain any good nutrients for rabbits. These peel and seeds have a probability of making choking hazards in your rabbits. Don’t try to feed lemon peel and seeds to your rabbit. If you are intending to give lemons to rabbits, feed them only a small amount without seeds and peel occasionally. They can handle only a small amount of lemon. But we are not recommending feeding lemons to rabbits.

Can Rabbits Eat Lemon Peels (Lemon skin)?

Lemon peels are not recommended for rabbits. Lemon peels do not contain a nutritional value for rabbits. Lemon peels contain more citric acid than flesh, and we must always concern about rabbit’s health. There is a probability of internal blockage because of lemon peels. Avoid feeding lemons peels to your rabbits. 

Can Rabbits Eat Orange Seeds?

Lemon seeds are small and slippery. They can get stuck in their throat and can lead to choking hazards in rabbits. So why we even take a risk of feeding Lemon seeds to rabbits. Lemon seeds contain hydrocyanic acid that is bad for rabbits.

If you intend to give lemons to rabbits, always remove seeds before feeding to rabbits. It’s much better!!!!

Can Rabbits Eat Orange Leaves?

Orange leaves are also not toxic for rabbits. Generally, we need to provide healthy leafy greens for rabbits in their diet. You can provide lemon leaves as an occasional treat for rabbits. Try to feed lemon leaves from organic plants.

There are some good leafy greens we can provide rabbits except lemon leaves. Try them out, it’s best for your rabbit.

Foods That Harmful For Rabbits

Try to avoid these foods from your rabbit’s diet. These things can be harmful and can lead to serious problems in rabbit’s health.

• Bread
• Cookies
• Yogurt drops
• Avocado
• Silverbeet
• Cereal
• Walnuts
• Oatmeal
• Chocolate
• Peanut Butter
• Potatoes
• Rhubarb
• Meat

Best Common Healthy Diet To Feed Your Rabbit

We need to make a good meal plan for rabbits. We need to provide them with good quality foods. Before feeding rabbits with new food, check whether it’s good for rabbits. As a good Rabbit owner, check whether you cover all the guidelines mentioned below. It’s a general food guide for rabbits.

• Good Quality Grass Hay -I recommend Timothy hay is the most popular/good, all-around unlimited offer to your rabbits. Orchardgrass, meadow fescues are also good for rabbits. Hay is the main food supply. Hay will help your rabbits to stay healthy and strong and maintains a healthy digestive system.
• Fresh Water – Ensure rabbits can have clean, fresh water 24/7. Water bows are most commonly used to supply water for rabbits.
• Provide Good Quality Leafy Greens – Provide them with 5-6 varieties of safe washed green vegetables, weeds, herbs daily (arugula, basil, kale, cabbage, etc.). Try to introduce new greens with small portions.
• Treats & Fresh Fruits – For the safety of rabbits only provide 1 -2 tablespoons per day. Feed carrots, apples, blueberries, etc.
• Provide Good Quality Pellets – It is good to have a small number of healthy pellets daily. There are too many products out there, keep it in your mind to supply quality and healthy foods for rabbits.

(source –https://www.rspca.org.uk/)

Summery

Lemons are not a healthy fruit regarding the health of rabbits. Lemons have toxic compounds that will harm rabbit’s health. Rabbits can’t handle acidic fruits effectively. If they ate too many lemons, it can lead to upset the rabbit’s stomach, cause vomiting, lead to weaknesses and diarrhea. If you are intending to give lemons to rabbits, feed them only a small amount without seeds and peels occasionally. They can handle only a small amount of lemon. But we are not recommending feeding lemons to rabbits. Always be aware that lemons are not good food for rabbits.

I think this blog helped you to learn more things about Lemons & rabbits. Stay safe and keep caring for your loving rabbits & keep updated with us.

Thank You!!!