# Cherry Pit -- too big or indigestible?



## kirbyultra (Jun 4, 2010)

Some of you may have read in my blog about Toby stealing a cherry from my cherry basket. I let him eat a little bit of flesh but he didn't even eat the whole cherry's flesh before I took it away from him. I guess he learned the smell and taste from that experience. He smelled the pits that I left behind in the garbage can and he went diving into it and ate one before my jaw had a chance to drop.

Can rabbits digest cherry pits? He's a 3.1lb dwarf, so he's small. I'd say his normal poops are the same size as a cherry pit. He was chewing on it but I am not sure if he was able to gnash it up before swallowing  He ate a lot of hay and is currently devouring his greens so his appetite seems ok. 

Do you think he'll pass it ok?


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## Pipp (Jun 4, 2010)

Yikes. You're sure he ate the pit? It contains cyanide (although not very much) so its best if he didn't chew it.

Rabbits really can digest the oddest things, though. I've seen so many rabbits on here much down 'poisonous' plants, chocolate and other things that were supposed to be terrible with no issues. 

Lots of hay and veggies should send the pit through his system. Maybe some canned pumpkin may be good to have on hand. 

But watch for signs that he's not feeling well, he's bloating or he's not pooping when he normally poops (of course). 

He'll probably be fine.



sas :clover:


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## SnowyShiloh (Jun 4, 2010)

Ooooh scary! I was wondering about that when I saw the adorable picture of him chowing down on the cherry. I hope he'll be okay. My bunnies are some of the ones that Pipp described- Rory has eaten chocolate (uh, more than once), a poisonous plant, and 5 corn tortillas (all in one sitting) and never suffered from it, so hopefully Toby will be the same!


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## jamesedwardwaller (Jun 4, 2010)

*kirbyultra wrote: *


> Some of you may have read in my blog about Toby stealing a cherry from my cherry basket. I let him eat a little bit of flesh but he didn't even eat the whole cherry's flesh before I took it away from him. I guess he learned the smell and taste from that experience. He smelled the pits that I left behind in the garbage can and he went diving into it and ate one before my jaw had a chance to drop.
> 
> Can rabbits digest cherry pits? He's a 3.1lb dwarf, so he's small. I'd say his normal poops are the same size as a cherry pit. He was chewing on it but I am not sure if he was able to gnash it up before swallowing  He ate a lot of hay and is currently devouring his greens so his appetite seems ok.
> 
> Do you think he'll pass it ok?


hi,,helen--you might want to start a log of this experience,,time/date of incident--now it(cherry pit)-should move all the way through in about 30 hours,.,watch the poop box,,,-my guess is it won,t be digested,,but we sure donot want intestinal blockage--a stethescope could be helpful--kinda follow it through.//.i know apple seeds are toxic,,not so sure about pits.//.the cherry is ok,,but not the tree bark,,kinda weird,,huh..??-per the safe list on medirabbit,com --sure don,t want toby getting sick,,i feel like hes one of mine..sincerely james waller:innocent


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## kirbyultra (Jun 4, 2010)

I am on some new meds and it put me out almost instantly... I checked on Toby before konking out and he seemed perfectly normal. I checked on him just now and he seemed ok. I wet some lettuce and gave it to him and he's munching on them. no sign of pit in the litter box.

Am I positive he swallowed it? It sure looked like he did. He went after a part of the pile he knocked over and then he was chewing on something. I suppose it could have just as well be a stem but I didn't see a stem sticking out of his mouth and therefore assumed it was a pit!

I will keep observing him today to see if he acts normally about his bunny business. And maybe request different meds that don't make me quite so drowsy!


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## Maureen Las (Jun 4, 2010)

I would at least call the vet about it; he couldn't have swallowed it but must have chewed it (if he even ate it at all )

You cannot induce vomitin in a rabbit so that is out but it may be worth it to just check with the vet. 

To be honest many times we freak out over things that are supposedly deadly and then the rabbit is fine
I don't know about this ..

you could call poiosn control 

http://chemistry.about.com/b/2007/09/12/yes-apple-seeds-and-cherry-pits-are-poisonous.htm


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## tonyshuman (Jun 4, 2010)

Yes, if he chewed it, and broke open the seed, that could be bad due to the cyanide in the pit. Bunnies can break seeds apart with their teeth, just like they can with hard corn kernels. I would call the vet at least and see what they have to say. If he didn't chew on it at all, I would expect it to pass through ok, maybe cause a little slowdown, but with ample water and lots of fresh smelling hay, it would work through. The idea of him chewing on it though is not good.

I usually have some things I look for in a potential poisoning case, but with cyanide it's pretty quick. If his breathing gets slow or labored, or his mucus membranes get pale, it would be an immediate problem. There is a cyanide antidote. I also do not know if a single pit contains enough cyanide to harm a rabbit--the vet would know that, and probably have access to the antidote.


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## kirbyultra (Jun 6, 2010)

Thanks, everyone. This is very good to know... will not soon be leaving cherry pits anywhere near accessible to the buns anymore! 

I have been carefully observing Toby and his poops the last few days. The bun is as happy as ever, binkying about, scheming new ways to terrorize my other buns :biggrin: His food intake has been normal across the board. Poops have been normal in size and shape. Some furry ones, but is fairly normal for Toby. No sign of a pit. No deformed poops in sight, no sign of blockage or slowdown. I am starting to think he never actually ate the pit! ray: 

I will continue to keep a very close eye on him.


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## JimD (Jun 6, 2010)

ray:


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