Many questions pop up in your head once you adopt a bunny. The most common and the most important one is: What to feed my rabbit?
There is an array of fruit and veggies your rabbit can safely enjoy. One of the fruits your bunny can enjoy in moderation is a banana. As long as you wash it thoroughly, you can give your bunny a whole banana with its peel on.
What about dried bananas? Can rabbits eat banana chips? Let’s find out the answers together!
Can Rabbits Eat Banana Chips?
Knowing that your bunny can safely munch on a banana, it is reasonable to think that banana chips will be safe for your pet too, but is that really so? Are banana chips allowed for rabbits?
The answer to this question is not simple; it depends on what banana chips you have in mind.
Let us first rewind and get back to bananas for a moment. We already warned you that your bunny should eat this fruit in moderation, but it is important to say why that is so.
A banana, just like the majority of fruit, contains high levels of sugar and can thus raise the blood sugar level in a body of an animal as small as the rabbit is. For this reason, you should always measure the serving size of the banana. Ideally, your rabbit can eat two tablespoons of banana per five pounds of its body weight.
Do not start with the maximum amount at once. Start slowly and gradually increase the amount of banana you give to your pet until you reach the limit we have mentioned before. Monitor how your rabbit will react to the new food. If you introduce dietary changes slowly, you minimize the risk of potentially dangerous digestive issues.
Once you introduce raw bananas into your bunny’s diet and you are 100% sure there are no adverse reactions, you can start contemplating introducing dried bananas and banana chips as well.
What Are Banana Chips?
Banana chips are dried and fried slices of bananas. Unfortunately, most of the time, banana chips are deep-fried in a lot of oil and coated with sugary syrup, spices, or salt – all this makes them packed with empty calories and very unhealthy for both us humans and our pets, rabbits included.
Bananas are highly nutritious and beneficial, while banana chips are highly processed and have thus lost most of the valuable nutrients at the expense of harmful sugar and fat. The following table shows how many calories and other nutrients one cup (72 grams) of banana chips has to offer:
| Calories: | 374 |
| Protein: | 1.6 grams |
| Carbs: | 42 grams |
| Fiber: | 5.5 grams |
| Sugar: | 25 grams |
| Total fat: | 24 grams |
| Saturated fat: | 21 grams |
| Potassium: | 8% of the Daily Value (DV) |
| Vitamin B6: | 11% of the DV |
As you can see, even though there is some value in fiber and a couple of vitamins and minerals banana chips contain, any potential benefits are obliterated by the incredibly high fat, calorie, and sugar content. Besides, fried and dehydrated chips are crispy and highly palatable, and as such, they are more than easy to overeat.
Should You Feed Your Rabbit Banana Chips?
Banana chips that are dried, fried in oil, and coated in sugary syrup, honey, or spices and salt, should not be a part of your bunny’s diet. They are too sweet for your pet.
Sugar, when consumed in excess, can harm rabbits’ stomachs and teeth. Issues such as digestive disturbances and gingivitis are common for rabbits with too much sugar in their diet – you do not want that for your furry friend.
Not only would you have to pay for expensive vet visits and medical treatments – your pet would suffer and feel unwell.
If you feel disappointed by what you just read – don’t be. There is a safe way for your bunny to enjoy banana chips. Namely, if you cannot find all-natural and sugar-free banana chips for your beloved pet, you can make them on your own.
We will help you make delicious homemade banana chips you and your bunny can enjoy together! Stay with us!
Homemade Banana Chips For Your Rabbit: Recipe
It is always a good idea to make rabbit treats on your own. In this way, you have total control of what your bunny is going to ingest. So, how to make rabbit-friendly banana chips?
It is safe for your bunny to eat dried bananas, which allows you to experiment a bit and try to make delicious banana chips for your furry friend. There is one crucial thing you should remember.
Important Warning: Dried fruit can be tricky to serve since it is dehydrated and appears smaller in size. Even though a slice of dried banana weighs less than a slice of fresh fruit, it is as high in sugar content and calories. Our point is: 2oz of dried bananas will have far more sugar than 2oz of fresh fruit. Since you need to be careful when feeding your bunny bananas, you need to pay extra attention not to overdo it and make your pet sick.
Now that you know all this, it is high time that you make some healthy banana chips for your pet. Keep on scrolling for an excellent and easy-to-follow recipe!
Homemade Banana Chips Recipe
Your bunny is so cute and snuggly – it deserves all your love and attention. A delicious and nutritious treat or snack will show your pet just how much you care, so make sure you try out the following recipe.
You will need:
- One banana
- Knife
- Baking sheet
- A little bit of oil
Step by step instructions:
- Peel the banana.
- Slice it into 1/8 inch thick rounds.
- Place the banana rounds on a greased baking sheet.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
- Bake (or better to say dry) the banana slices for 2-3 hours.
- Take the banana chips from the oven.
- Let your chips cool off and harden at room temp.
Finally, your homemade banana chips are ready. Try to resist the urge to feed it to your pet every single day. Even though they are much healthier than the commercial ones, Homemade banana chips should still be considered an occasional treat rather than a whole meal.
Let us know how you and your long-eared friend like our recipe!
Conclusion
People often enjoy banana chips, but sharing them with the pet rabbit is not always a good idea. Banana chips sold at most markets are packed with unhealthy ingredients, including incredibly high levels of sugar.
If you want a happy & healthy bunny, make your own banana chips with no added sugar. Our recipe will help you bake delicious treats for your beloved pet. Still, do not overdo it – one or two banana chips every couple of days is more than enough to reward your pet and make its diet more interesting without endangering its health.
