Last Updated on March 9, 2023 by Woody Pet

Can Rabbits Eat Celery? Yes and Here Is How You Serve It Safely

Bugs Bunny, the most popular rabbit in the cartoon world, is often seen munching on a carrot. It is surprising to most people that carrots are not actually meant to make up most of a rabbit’s diet. Now that we turned your world upside down, let’s talk about another veggie.

Accessible to most households and known for its many health benefits, celery is a vegetable often present in lunch boxes and on dinner tables. But, as pet rabbit owners are concerned, can rabbits eat celery as well? The short answer is yes, they can.

However, considering how the digestive system of a rabbit works and keeping in mind the science behind the stringy texture inside of celery, we will discuss below the quantity of celery that is safe for your pet rabbit, as well as how to serve it to make sure that your pet bunny has a happy stomach in the end.

Celery Vitamins

Celery is a very healthy and nutritious veggie, as it is packed with amazing vitamins, including Vitamin A, and Vitamin K, and a lot of very useful dietary fibers. Fibers are amazing because, just like in humans, they assist in the well-functioning of metabolic reactions.

Vitamins, on the other hand, assist with several bodily functions depending on their type

 Rabbits can not make their own vitamins, so they have to get them from outside sources, like celery! A rabbit’s organism requires all the vitamins, except for Vitamin C. Celery nutrients also include Vitamins B6 and Riboflavin and many minerals like Calcium, Phosphorus, and Magnesium.

All these components play a positive role in a rabbit’s health and are good at nourishing our furry friends as they grow. 

Celery Benefits for Rabbit’s Diet

Not only can rabbits eat celery, but it is actually recommended for it to be a part of their diet. Celery has many benefits for a rabbit’s diet.

As celery is low in cholesterol, fat-free, low in sodium, and low in calories, it is a healthy and nutritious food, not only for us humans, but for rabbits as well.

Additionally, celery is filled with water and has a savory taste that rabbits quite enjoy eating, so it is like a treat to them.

Aside from taste and nutrition, there are other benefits of feeding celery to your favorite little furry friend. As celery is crunchy and difficult to munch on, it helps to keep their teeth in check.

A rabbit’s teeth will continue to grow throughout their whole life and sometimes that means having overgrowth in their gums.

When chewing on crunchy things, rabbits help their teeth to grow straight down how they should. Finally, celery is a very good hydrating snack, because of its composition which includes main water. 

How to Serve Celery to A Rabbit

Now that we have it cleared – yes, rabbits can definitely eat celery and yes, you should incorporate it into their diet. Now here is how to serve it.

If you are just starting out, it is recommended to first introduce the food in a small quantity and look for signs of diarrhea or an upset stomach. Celery is not likely to cause that, but the introduction of new food in pets is often associated with little mishaps.

If there are no signs that your bunny has reacted badly to celery, you can give them more. It is recommended to cut the celery into one-inch sections to make it easier for them to eat.

The suggested quantity of celery to feed to your bunny is half a celery stick a day. Celery leaves can also be included and fed to your bunny. 

Side Effects of Eating Too Much Celery

While we said that celery is delicious and nutritious, there are, of course, side effects of eating too much celery. There are also precautions that we should take when giving the recommended amount of celery to our rabbits.

Celery strings are our number one thing to worry about. Firstly, they can get stuck in a rabbit’s teeth and infect them, or in their stomach and block its system. Humans have a constant movement of the digestive tract, which is called peristalsis and makes it so that things can not easily get stuck inside us.

Well, rabbits do not, so they are prone to having their digestive tract slow down or stop completely if it is blocked by something. Aside from that, too much celery can cause an upset stomach due to its sugar content, which is low for human standards and high for rabbit standards.

Also, an excess of celery vitamins in a rabbit’s body can cause side effects, including kidney damage when an excess of Vitamin C is introduced or neurological damage when an excess of Vitamin A is introduced. All these things can be avoided if we serve the celery properly, introduce it slowly, and always pay attention to how our rabbit reacts to it.

Can Rabbits Eat Celery Conclusion

To sum up, as we clarified in the article, celery is a very nutrient-dense veggie, filled with vitamins and nutrients, and, not only can rabbits eat celery, but it is highly recommended that they do so

.

Celery has many benefits for a rabbit’s organism, including keeping their teeth in check, providing them with a nutritious and tasty treat, and helping their digestive tract work due to the high fiber content.

However, celery can have several side effects because of its strings and its high sugar content (for rabbit standards). In addition, overconsumption of celery vitamins and minerals can cause harm to a rabbit’s organism. In order to avoid diarrhea, an upset stomach, or even more serious issues, it is highly recommended that you give your rabbit no more than half of a celery stick a day, cut in one-inch portions.

It is also common sense to be paying attention to how the rabbit is reacting to celery and other foods, especially upon introducing them for the very first time.

At the end of the day, balance is key, and, while celery should be a part of the well-balanced diet of a rabbit, so should other fruits and veggies, always keeping in mind that about 75% of what rabbits eat should consist of hay.