I love feeding treats to my rabbits, and I bet you do too. But just because something is healthy for us doesn’t mean it’s safe for our bunny friends.
My wife was raiding our fridge for rabbit treats and came up with dragon fruit, so we naturally wondered:
Can rabbits eat dragon fruit?
Rabbits can eat dragon fruit or pitaya safely as long as it’s served in moderation when the bunnies are old enough. Rabbits who are at least 7 months old are fine eating this fruit as long as it’s used as a treat and served in small amounts less than twice per week.
Let’s dive into what’s good and bad about dragon fruit, including what role it serves in a rabbit diet.
Table of Contents
Dragon Fruit Nutrition And Rabbits
To start, here’s a quick reference chart on the nutritional value of 100g of dragon fruit.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Calories | 60 |
| Protein | 1.2g |
| Fat | 0g |
| Carbs | 13g |
| Fiber | 1g |
| Vitamin C | 9mg |
| Iron | 0.65mg |
| Phosphorus | 36mg |
| Calcium | 8.8mg |
| Water | 83g |
Facts from Nutrition and You.
All of this adds to a good-sounding, healthy food for your pet, but the truth is a little different.
After all, rabbits are much different in their diet than we humans are.
Do you eat grass and hay as the main part of your diet?
I don’t think so.
Still, the details for the pros and cons of dragon fruit for rabbits will follow.
What’s Good About Dragon Fruit For Rabbits?
Dragon fruit isn’t all bad for rabbits; there’s a good amount of good here.
Let’s start with the positive.
Tastes Great!
As something high in sugar, it’s going to taste pretty good.
Rabbits don’t always like sugary things, and not every rabbit will like dragon fruit.
Give your 7-month or older rabbit a piece to see if he/she likes it. This is the only way to tell.
However, after talking to many rabbit owners, I’ve learned that most bunnies will eat it happily, and some seem to love it.
Good Source Of Fiber
Fiber is critical in rabbit diets. They need it and get most of theirs from hay.
They also have a high-fiber pellet as part of their diet.
So it makes sense that a little more from a healthy fruit is a good thing.
Dragon fruit fits the bill with fiber, helping keep the bunny healthy and have a regular digestive system.
Low In Fat
With treat-type foods and event fruits, fat is the enemy.
Some animals need a little more fat in their diet, but this isn’t the case with rabbits. It’s not important.
But it is dangerous if they have a lot of fats.
Dragon fruit is low in fat for the benefits it offers, so it’s one of the better fruit and treat options for your furry friend.
All-Around Healthy Vitamins
On top of what we said before, dragon fruit has a good smattering of other important vitamins.
It’ll offer a good boost to their immune system.
The phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, and Vitamin C are great with dragon fruit and good for your bunny.
What’s Bad About Dragon Fruit For Rabbits?
It’s not all sunshine and roses, though.
The downsides of dragon fruit for bunnies almost outweigh the upsides.
For some owners, they do outweigh the positives. Some owners won’t feed their rabbits dragon fruit at all.
These downsides won’t show themselves in moderation, but you still need to know what to watch out for in feeding them this interesting fruit.
Too High In Sugar
The sugar content in dragon fruit makes it tasty, but it’s not good for a rabbit’s health.
Too much sugar too often will make them gain weight and even develop health issues similar to diabetes (which is rare but not impossible for rabbits).
You may not think this fruit is that sugary, especially compared to another like star fruit, but it’s more than what a rabbit needs.
Sugar isn’t a normal part of their diet.
Regarding the other fruit, check out our guide to rabbits and star fruit.
High Risk Of Obesity
Along with the sugar, there’s a high risk of obesity if you feed your rabbits too much dragon fruit.
Most of a rabbit’s food adds little calories to its body. The hay mostly just passes through their systems.
The calories in dragon fruit stick around more than their hay do, so it makes them gain weight quickly.
Obesity adds a whole host of other health problems and may even shorten their life span!
Too Much Water
Water is the root of all life as we know it, so is too much water a bad thing?
Sometimes it is.
100 grams of dragon fruit is 88% water.
While rabbits need a lot of water, they need hay, pellets, and greens to help soak it up.
Without it, their digestive systems get thrown off, and they develop diarrhea which can be fatal in some cases.
Oversaturation Of Nutrients
The fiber and vitamins in dragon fruit are good for rabbits, but it’s not enough to give them all they need.
By the time they eat enough dragon fruit to get enough, some of the vitamins will be oversaturated.
Too much of a specific vitamin blocks the absorption of the vitamin and will even turn toxic in some cases.
How Much Dragon Fruit Can Rabbits Eat?
Only feed your rabbit dragon fruit twice per week at the most.
Serving size should be kept to 1-2 tablespoons of the flesh of the fruit.
Seeds are OK but don’t feed them the skin.
Larger rabbits (over 6 lbs) can have more, but even then, we recommend sticking to the 1-2 tablespoon amount.