# Rabbit safe houseplants



## SnowyShiloh

Hello! I used to have a lot of house plants before I got the bunnies, and didn't consider whether or not they were poisonous because it didn't really matter. Most of my plants have been given away because I was worried about the bunnies somehow getting ahold of a leaf (which Rory did once). I really miss having houseplants though. What houseplants do you all keep that aren't toxic to bunnies? I'm not necessarily planning on keeping plants where the bunnies can reach them, I'd like to hang some from the ceiling and have them on windowsills, but I don't want to have to worry if a leaf or something flutters to the floor and a bunny gets it.

Thanks in advance! I can't wait to hear your replies.


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## BunnyMummy

I had a similar problem recently when i cam home with a Yukka plant and another one (that I can't pronounce) recently.

After showing great skill Daphne jumped up onto the table and scruff jumped INTO the yukka bowl, and they both started munching away. needless to say that both plants and rabbits are kept well away from one another and with careful attention and pruning your plants shouldn't shed before you see it's about to.

However I would suggest googling, these are afew sites I've come up with, with the search 'non toxic plants'.

http://www.sniksnak.com/plants.html

http://www.3bunnies.org/non_toxic_plants.htm

Hope this helps.

Sammi.

x


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## tonyshuman

definitely no tomato plants!! Tony ate a leaf off one and I was so worried!

How about a kitchen herb garden? It'd be tasty for you and ok for the bunnies if they got into it.


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## golfdiva

I can vouch for the coleus being non toxic. I couldn't figure out why my coleus plants kept falling off the shelf, and why they were losing leaves...until one day I caught Hershey climbing up onto the shelf and knocking them off! Then he'd climb down and eat them! lol!

Acorns are listed on the toxic list. Hershey eats them now again too. They fall into his outdoor run. They don't seem to hurt him though.


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## YukonDaisy

*Maranta is safe, too. I had a scare when Ookpik climbed up and ate a leaf. Plants are all high up now, and I pick off yellowing leaves before they fall.*

*~Diana*


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## AngelnSnuffy

Hey, Shiloh!

Here's a list from our library, but the site itself won't copy the info, so I have to paste it in here. If I were you, I'd go ahead and save this to your puter for future ref. Think I will do the same!


Darn it! The link I provided didn't work when I tried it from here, so I deleted it. I have saved it as a Word Doc, so I will email it to you. Give send me your addy! 

Sorry about this glitch. It's the site we got it from initially that's causing the problem, it may no longer exist. 

Let me just see if I can paste what I saved:

Edit: Nope!:grumpy:


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## NZminilops

I think yucca is safe, isn't it? I've seen yucca listed as an ingrediant in some rabbit pellets.


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## kherrmann3

This is a link to a list of plants that are toxic to bunnies:
http://www.sandiegorabbits.org/health/poisonous.html

This one is to a general list of toxic plants (to pets) from the ASPCA:
http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pro_apcc_toxicplants

I am partial to "spider plants" (some people (from Southern Africa) call them "hen and chicks"). They have been shown to reduce indoor air pollution  They look like this:





They can be hung or put in a high planter (because they droop to the ground). If they are hung up high(er), they are out of a bunny's reach and shouldn't be a problem. Mine very rarely drop their leaves. You can tell when a leaf is dying and pluck it off long before it would fall. 

The most common one for a houseplant is _Chlorophytum comosum_. That will come in handy if you feel like "Googling" it. 

EDIT: Oh! Another one I have (I don't think it's harmful) is called the "Wandering Jew". It's like a vine and has green/white on the top of the leaves and purple on the underside. I've caught Toby nibbling away at these before (he's normally not allowed where they are) and he has never gotten sick. I've never read anything saying they were dangerous, either. It's binomial name is _Tradescantia zebrina_ (for googling).

_Tradescantia zebrina_ - Wandering Jew




*Also, yucca is safe for rabbits (I am pretty sure) but it is toxic to other pets. It's on the ASPCA list of no-no's. *


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## SnowyShiloh

Khermann, I do have a spider plant upstairs, out of reach of the bunnies. I've also had a wandering jew, I think they're lovely! For some reason I thought they were poisonous though.... and I remember mine dropped leaves fairly easily. The spider plant is a good suggestion though because like you said they don't really drop leaves. Also, we have little space to put a potted plant, but finding a spot for a hanging plant would be easier :biggrin2: Thanks for the idea!


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## kherrmann3

No problem!  I HAVE to have houseplants, too. I get depressed without them. 

My wandering jew doesn't seem to drop leaves much. If you trim them just right (when the stems are getting too long and the leaves are getting yucky), two sprouts will grow back in one place. Then the plant is bushier and it keeps the leaves from dying/falling.

You could also get a cactus  I don't think anyone would bother it lol


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## SnowyShiloh

Heh, I should get a cactus! It's below 0 here so a cactus would be rather comical. Right now, we have an aloe plant, a Christmas cactus and bamboo in our living room. I read that aloe is poisonous to bunnies, and that really surprised me! In any case, the aloe and Christmas cactus are well out of reach of any bunnies. The bamboo is on the coffee table and I caught Rory eating it once! I have a small spider plant, a snake plant, a rubber plant and what I think is called an emerald gem upstairs, where the bunnies aren't allowed. I want to get a couple African violets (I had two gorgeous ones that I accidentally killed when I opened the window last April!) and a bigger spider plant to put downstairs too :biggrin2: I love plants, it seems like the urge to get more always hits in the winter!


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## kherrmann3

I think that rubber plants are toxic, too. I know the "India Rubber Plant/Tree" variety are. That's what I have (I found this out a year AFTER I bought it). Those look like this (I <3 pictures)

These are the only two I've seen for sale at the "Stein's" store here. That's the ONLY place I've seen them at (besides the grocery store I bought mine at).

*India Rubber Plant/Tree (Burgundy)*



Note: Only the new shoots and some of the stems are "burgundy". This is the kind I own, and it took me a REALLY long time to figure out where the burgundy was 

*India Rubber Plant/Tree (Variegated)*




Is that the one you have? (Rubber plant?)


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## SnowyShiloh

I've had both of those rubber plants! The one I have now is just green, but my first one was dark green with red on the under side of the leaves and I had a variegated one too. I don't even remember where I got the one I have now, I've had it for a couple years. I think I got it when I was a resident assistant in the dorms and one of the residents left some plants behind when they moved. It's not very pretty- long and gangly and kinda flops over actually! I need to stake it up  In any case, it and the other poisonous plants are upstairs where the bunnies aren't allowed. None of the plants up there drop leaves very often either. I really like rubber plants, when we move somewhere bigger I'll probably buy a big variegated one and keep it on a table where the bunnies can't get it! In my experience, they don't drop leaves much and since the leaves are so big, it's easy to see them when they do fall.


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## kherrmann3

Mine has been dropping leaves like crazy!!! I think it is because it was outside on the porch for summer and now is indoors (where it is a bit shadier). Oh, well... In the "wild" I believe these "rubber plants" that we have are "rubber trees". I've heard they can get up to 60 feet! 

Over the summer, I grew cilantro and some other herbs in a window box. I was never worried about Toby getting into them (until he did and all of my cilantro was gone).


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