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We associate carrots with rabbits because of Bugs Bunny. In the Bugs Bunny cartoons, Bugs was usually seen munching on a carrot. But is this based on really rabbits’ eating habits or is the idea that rabbits LOVE carrots just cartoon truth?
In this article, we’re going to find out if rabbits can eat carrots, if they love carrots, and if carrots are good for rabbits to eat.
Do you know why Bugs Bunny munched on carrots? He stole it from a famous actor! Read the story here!
Do Rabbits Like Carrots?
Rabbits really do like to eat carrots, but they don’t love them more than they love other vegetables. Just like us, rabbits have a sweet tooth and vegetables have more sugar than leafy greens or hay, which makes them a favorite for bunnies.
FYI, most rabbits love fruit even more than vegetables because those fruits contain even more sugar.
Do Rabbits Eat Carrots In The Wild?
A wild rabbit will very seldom eat carrots or any other root vegetable. Instead, they forage on surface grass and greens. However, they will occasionally find the top of a sweet carrot to eat or even a piece of fruit that has fallen from a tree.
In all my years of gardening, I’ve never had a rabbit dig up a patch of carrots. I have had rabbits eat the green tops off of carrots and even nibble on the portion of the carrot that has grown above the surface.
I think it’s best if we mimic this wild rabbit’s diet for our pet rabbits and only give sweet carrots and even sweeter fruits as occasional treats.
Can Rabbits Eat Carrots Only?
Rabbits could eat only carrots and some pet bunnies might even prefer to live on carrots, however, it wouldn’t be good for them. A rabbit that ate only carrots would not be a healthy rabbit.
Living on just carrots would cause your bunny a number of health issues. Those potential health issues include:
- Obesity
- Teeth Growing Too Long
- Teeth Decay
- Poor Digestion
To learn what a pet rabbit should be fed, read this article about the ideal bunny diet.
Can Rabbits Eat Carrot Greens?
Throughout the rest of this article, when I’m talking about the ‘carrots’ I’m referring to the orange root portion of the carrot which is high in sugar. However, asking about feeding carrot greens to rabbits is a great question.
Rabbits can eat all of the green carrot tops that they want. Carrot greens are packed with good nutrients and are high in fiber which makes them great bunny food. Carrot greens can be a regular part of rabbits’ fresh greens.
Do Wild Rabbits Eat Carrots?
Wild rabbits primarily eat grass and weeds and they seldom eat root vegetables. However, given the opportunity wild rabbits would certainly eat a carrot. Wild rabbits have a sweet tooth too!
Our family keeps a big garden and wild rabbits do get their share of our vegetables, but they primarily eat the veggies growing on the plants, not the root vegetables.
We have occasionally had a rabbit eat part of a carrot, but they usually just eat the bit of the carrot that is growing above the ground. I’ve never seen a wild rabbit dig down into the ground to eat a whole carrot when fresh leafy greens were available.
Are Carrots Bad For Rabbits? How much is too much?
Carrots are not bad for rabbits when fed in moderation as a treat and not as a staple of their diet. A good serving of a carrot for a rabbit is a small piece 1 to 3″ long depending upon the size of the bunny. Rabbits should eat carrots only about twice a week.
A pet rabbit’s diet should be mostly hay and fresh greens (grass and weeds) supplemented with rabbit pellets. Vegetables, such as carrots, and fruits are considered treats and should make up a very small portion of our bunny’s diet.
Treats should be given just a few times a week and in very small portion sizes.
If you want to learn more about choosing good bunny treats, here is a link to an article we wrote just about rabbit treats.
If you’d like to learn what brands of feed we recommend for pet rabbits, be sure to visit our recommended gear page.
Your rabbit friend,
~Stacey
In fact, if it weren’t for Bugs Bunny, I don’t think we’d have this myth. Why? Because Bugs Bunny eats carrots because Clark Gable did once. In a movie.