# Bunny took bite of wrapped chocolate



## Mordecai (Dec 27, 2013)

My bunny took a bite of chocolate wrapped in foil. We're watching for any unusual behavior. It was a very small bit, do you think it'll pass okay? :?


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## AwesomeBunnyBlossom (Dec 27, 2013)

Oh no :-( sorry to hear that! I'm not really sure what would happen, I just know that it's not good for them I'm sure it's poisonous. Hopefully one of the more experienced bunny people will be able to give you advice! But I'm sure you are doing the right thing by keeping an eye on any behaviour changes.

P.s hope your little bun is ok!


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## Watermelons (Dec 27, 2013)

Yes chocolate is toxic.
However "wrapped" chocolate doesn't tell us anything. Can you please tell us what type of chocolate this was? Many "chocolates" out there aren't even worth calling chocolate. 
Yes the foil could potentially cause a blockage and you need to watch for GI upset. As well as the sugars in fake chocolate or high chocolate content in real chocolates.


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## Imbrium (Dec 27, 2013)

Welcome to RO!

Chocolate is considered toxic to animals; however, a ridiculous number of household pets have stolen a bite at some point with no ill effects. A very tiny bite is unlikely to cause problems, especially if he's not overly sensitive to sugars (ie if fruit doesn't upset his system, then I doubt a tiny nibble of chocolate will).

Monitor his pooping, appetite and behavior for anything abnormal (and keep in mind that bunnies are physically unable to vomit, so you have to pay more attention to other signs that he has an upset tummy)... also, make sure he's eating lots of hay - hay should be 80% of their diet anyway, but all that fiber is especially important to help push through anything that a bunny shouldn't have eaten (be it candy, hair, whatever).

I would also call a rabbit-savvy vet, explain what happened (including, as Watermelons mentioned, exactly what type of chocolate it was) and make sure they agree that it's ok to take a "wait-and-see" approach - they'll give you an honest answer and they can't charge you for a phone call


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## lovelops (Dec 27, 2013)

Mordecai said:


> My bunny took a bite of chocolate wrapped in foil. We're watching for any unusual behavior. It was a very small bit, do you think it'll pass okay? :?



From my past experience and I'm no doctor. Yes my buns are still alive from eating a nibble or tooth sized (and I mean BUNNY TOOTH) piece of chocolate.
I've given them apple twigs with leaves by accident.. thank goodness they did not go to town on the leaves (poison.. never give your bunnies the apple leaves it will kill them...)

I've had bunnies and dogs get into chocolate before. Like ate a small tooth sized (bunny) from a christmas candy and called the vet. The vet said that they should be ok as long as it was not more than a mouthful or if I thought it was ONLY a nibble. But nothing MORE than a nibble. Anything larger and I would have to take bun bun to the vet...

The same thing happened with my old dog Buttons that has since passed but not from chocolate. WE RUSHED him to the emergency vets. He got under the tree and ate a bite of the chocolate oranges.. you know the oranges wrapped up but are really entirely chocolate and you can break off into pieces? Well he ate a mouthful through the paper and BOX...and after we rushed him to the vets, found out he was going to be ok. 

Same with onions (I believe onions are ok for bunnies but not dogs..it will screw their stomach up big time) some idiot in my family gave him a hamburger with what? You guessed it ONIONS.. took him to the vet and the amount was small enough that he was ok. 

Other stuff the buns have eaten included carpet ( I know I know.. bad bad bad but I was not aware Chico was eating the carpet and thought he was working on a chew stone), soap (chica running around in the bathroom), shampoo (knocked it over in the tub and licked it to see what it was), paper, cardboard, plastic, rocks, etc.. so far all of them are still around, but once again, I'm no vet and don't know how much your bunny ate. 

Unlike dogs you can't get them to vomit (I found that out when I took Lady and Brooke to get fixed the vet told me, which is why your bunnies can eat until they get the procedure done and dogs cannot..)

How long ago did they eat it and are they ok now? Did you call your vet? I always do that the minute I think something is wrong. I know with my dogs they were talking about charcoal to clean the stomach and don't know if they would do the same with the bun bun...

Keep us posted
Vanessa


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## Imbrium (Dec 27, 2013)

lovelops said:


> Other stuff the buns have eaten included carpet ( I know I know.. bad bad bad but I was not aware Chico was eating the carpet and thought he was working on a chew stone), soap (chica running around in the bathroom), shampoo (knocked it over in the tub and licked it to see what it was), paper, cardboard, plastic, rocks, etc.. so far all of them are still around, but once again, I'm no vet and don't know how much your bunny ate.



Heh... turn your back for two freaking minutes and they're into everything! It's like having two year olds running around your house putting everything into their mouths. Bunny proof the hell out of everything and they'll still manage to find the *one* thing you missed.

Just a week or two ago, Nala **** near chewed her way out of their stroller when I left them unattended in the living room for a few minutes to round up the sugar gliders so we could leave - she chewed straight through thick, waterproof nylon AND velcro (a lot of both, too... looked like she was spitting it out, though)!! I had to make a thwartation device out of a NIC grid (later upgraded to a cooling rack that fit better) to make sure she couldn't keep chewing the area. Bad little bunny!


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## JBun (Dec 27, 2013)

lovelops said:


> From my past experience and I'm no doctor. Yes my buns are still alive from eating a nibble or tooth sized (and I mean BUNNY TOOTH) piece of chocolate.
> I've given them apple twigs with leaves by accident.. thank goodness they did not go to town on the leaves (poison.. never give your bunnies the apple leaves it will kill them...)
> 
> I've had bunnies and dogs get into chocolate before. Like ate a small tooth sized (bunny) from a christmas candy and called the vet. The vet said that they should be ok as long as it was not more than a mouthful or if I thought it was ONLY a nibble. But nothing MORE than a nibble. Anything larger and I would have to take bun bun to the vet...
> ...


 
Actually, apple leaves are just fine for rabbits to eat. My rabbits LOVE them. You just need to make sure they aren't sprayed with pesticides and they don't have white mold or rust spots. And you want to slowly introduce, like you would with any new food. And onions are bad for rabbits to have.


http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f28/quick-list-rabbit-safe-foods-49434/


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## lovelops (Dec 27, 2013)

Imbrium said:


> Heh... turn your back for two freaking minutes and they're into everything! It's like having two year olds running around your house putting everything into their mouths. Bunny proof the hell out of everything and they'll still manage to find the *one* thing you missed.
> 
> Just a week or two ago, Nala **** near chewed her way out of their stroller when I left them unattended in the living room for a few minutes to round up the sugar gliders so we could leave - she chewed straight through thick, waterproof nylon AND velcro (a lot of both, too... looked like she was spitting it out, though)!! I had to make a thwartation device out of a NIC grid (later upgraded to a cooling rack that fit better) to make sure she couldn't keep chewing the area. Bad little bunny!



Tell me about it. They sit like little angels when you get them out to run around and five minutes later I see a quarter sized hole in the carpet. I ask Grandma who was staying with us at the time who was to have been keeping an eye on them and she swore up and down Chico was NOT eating the carpet. After I put them away I showed her YES HE WAS! I guess being in your 80's you forget what carpet or rabbits or other things are! :nod

You are absolutely correct. I have bunny proofed the room that they stay in and I be damned if they didn't get under the bed near the one cord I did not tape up near the wall away from them! 

Wow Nylon and velcro? Man she's got some good teeth on her!

Vanessa


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## Mordecai (Dec 27, 2013)

It was cheap milk chocolate. I'm more worried about the foil than the chocolate. He's been fine so far; moving and eating normally.


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## FreezeNkody (Dec 27, 2013)

Tho chocolate is toxic.. The worst is dark chocolate.


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## Imbrium (Dec 27, 2013)

Are you sure he swallowed the foil rather than spitting it out? Anyone who's ever chewed/bitten down on foil knows how awful that is - I know I'd spit it out!

If you're pretty sure he swallowed it, I would cut back on his pellets a bit for the next couple days to encourage him to eat extra hay. The long fibers in hay have a way of pushing things (foreign objects included) through the digestive tract. Drinking lots of water is good, too - if he normally drinks from a bottle, I recommend offering him a bowl/dish in addition to it for a day or two (bunnies tend to drink more from bottles) and making sure his leafy greens are still damp from washing.

Because foil is extremely thin/malleable, it's not sticky (like gum or some candy) and it was a very tiny piece, the odds are slim of it causing a problem - it'll most likely pass without issue. Many little kids swallow far worse, lol.

As I mentioned before, monitor his eating, drinking and pooping closely. I would clean his litter box now and check/possibly empty it 1-2x a day through the weekend to make it very easy to notice if there's a sudden reduction in volume. If he suddenly seems reluctant to eat (usual foods/meal times), appears hunched up, uncomfortable or in pain or if you notice a significant reduction in poop quantity (over a period of at least a few hours) then it's possible he has a blockage or partial obstruction. Should you suspect that's the case, you need to get him to a vet/emergency vet ASAP (it's a medical emergency if a bunny goes 8-12+ hours without eating, drinking and/or pooping for any reason). _While there are some home remedies for GI stasis that can prevent the need for an emergency vet visit *if* they succeed in restoring the bunny's appetite/pooping before the 8-12h mark, they are NOT safe to use if a blockage is suspected_.


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## jamesedwardwaller (Dec 27, 2013)

Mordecai said:


> My bunny took a bite of chocolate wrapped in foil. We're watching for any unusual behavior. It was a very small bit, do you think it'll pass okay? :?


--things to watch for.??--with this concern--I would increase timothy-grasses,lots water,--the foil if any might/should go through,,--rabbits lack muscles for throwing up,-therefore anything that goes in and down is a concern,,--the gi-tract is an environment of balanced bacteria-(eco-system)-ie. eating the cecotropes,-- http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/poop.html --their consumption of no,no,s--does upset said bacteria,---rabbits don,t seem as concerned as we are,--there is another link one might entertain http://www.medirabbit.com please keep us at r.o.l informed as time permits sincerely james waller
:wink


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## Mordecai (Dec 28, 2013)

He's doing fine today, eating and pooping normally. He's running about and doesn't seem to be in any pain.


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## Imbrium (Dec 28, 2013)

Yay!


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