My friend gifted me a basket of treats for my bunnies for my birthday a few days ago. One of the treats is silvervine sticks wrapped in sisal and raffia with a little gallfruit thing on it. It looks like it’s made for cats judging by the packaging.
I asked her if it was a mistake or actually intended for my buns, and she said yeah, that she gives it to her rabbits all the time. She sent me the Amazon page for it so I could check it out and I see no mention of rabbits anywhere on the page.
I know sisal and raffia is safe, and I googled and see that some people say silvervine is okay, and even some market it for rabbits on amazon, but I see nothing about gallfruit.
I was really just wondering if it’s true that Silvervine is safe, if anyone has any concrete articles on it or proof it’s okay, and if gallfruit is really okay for them too given I can’t find anything about bunnies and gallfruit on Google.
Idk if I’m just being overprotective, and I don’t wanna seem ungrateful for the gifts or that I don’t trust my friend, but I’m just so scared I’m gonna give them something that hurts them. I basically look up and research everything I give them. I feel the same way about all my pets, really, but bunnies in particular, since there’s so much misinformation and confusion in regards to rabbits in general.
Like I feel it’s unsafe to give them anything without first looking into it. I’m super paranoid because even a lot of things I’ve seen that say they are safe for bunnies or have bunnies on the package actually aren’t, like seeds and yogurt and stuff.
I see rabbits all the time being lumped in with guinea pigs and hamsters since they are small exotic pets, and basically marketing things to all small pets, things that are safe for rodents but are dangerous or toxic to lagomorphs.
I don’t think many companies realize they aren’t rodents and that those things are dangerous for them. Or maybe they just don’t care. I won’t name any companies but I’ve seen some pretty big companies market things for rabbits that are actually horrible for them.
And yes I’ve seen some people give them to their buns with no consequences but I’ve also seen people’s bunnies get blockages, have bad reactions, choke, and even die from treats branded for rabbits. And given that this isn’t even branded for rabbits, I’m nervous..
All that rambling aside, thank you for listening. I’m sorry if this is a stupid question, like I said I’m just really nervous about stuff like this and wanna make sure I’m doing the right thing. Despite having rabbits for years and offering advice on this sub a lot, I never feel like I truly know everything about buns, and I’m always trying to keep up to date on stuff about them, and learn more about how to care for them.
Typically if I’m uncertain if something’s safe for them or there’s just not a lot of info on it, I won’t even bother taking the risk and giving it to them. But my buns love sticks, apple, willow, sisal, raffia, etc, and if it’s something safe I would love to give them something new to enjoy!
Thanks again.
by DontOpen_GayInside
