Rabbits like to eat green leafy vegetables, such as eggplants. However, rabbits can also get bored if they are fed the same food every day. You may be wondering whether you can add some variety to your rabbit’s diet. Some vegetables are definitely better for your rabbits than others. There are even vegetables that are poisonous when eaten by rabbits.
Rabbits are allowed to eat eggplant in moderation. Eggplants are a good source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. However, they belong to the nightshade plant family, which is known to contain traces of toxic compounds. The leaves and tips of the eggplant are particularly poisonous and should not be fed to rabbits. However, rabbits can eat tiny portions of eggplant.
You can feed your rabbit raw pieces of eggplant, but not dried or cooked eggplant. Drying or cooking this vegetable can drastically reduce its nutritional value.
In addition, rabbits suffering from diabetes mellitus, obesity, hyperglycemia, and other adverse cardiovascular conditions will benefit from eating powdered eggplant.
Are Eggplants Healthy for Rabbits?
All varieties of eggplant, regardless of shape or size, tend to have approximately the same nutritional value.
The following nutritional values are based on a 3.5 oz (100 g) serving of popular edible vegetables from the nightshade family (Solanaceae).
| Nutrient | Eggplant | Potato | Red Tomato | Sun-Dried Tomato |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | 92.3 g | 79.25 g | 94.52 g | 14.56 g |
| Carbohydrates | 5.88 g | 17.49 g | 3.89 g | 55.76 g |
| Protein | 0.98 g | 2.05 g | 0.88 g | 14.11 g |
| Fat | 0.18 g | 0.09 g | 0.2 g | 2.97 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3.0 g | 2.1 g | 1.2 g | 12.3 g |
| Sugar | 3.53 g | 0.82 g | 2.63 g | 37.59 g |
| Potassium | 229 mg | 425 mg | 237 mg | 3,427 mg |
| Manganese | 0.232 mg | 0.153 mg | 0.1 mg | 1,846 mg |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.084 mg | 0.298 mg | 0.08 mg | 0.332 mg |
Eggplants are a good source of fiber and essential vitamins and minerals. Rabbits cannot produce their own vitamins, so a diet rich in vitamins is all the more critical for their health.
Several minerals, like potassium and manganese, are also needed for critical bodily functions such as healthy muscle growth and bone formation.
Compared to the sun-dried tomato, however, the eggplant does not appear to be exceptionally nutritious.
But while sun-dried tomatoes are the highest in fiber, they are also high in protein, fat, carbohydrates, and sugar.
All of these nutrients can make a rabbit very sick if eaten in large quantities.
It is best not to give your rabbit too much or any dried fruit and vegetables.
Drying loses some essential vitamins, minerals, and almost all of the water content while retaining the same amount of fat and calories.
Rabbits need all these nutrients to thrive. So, if you give them food without these nutrients, it’s basically their equivalent of junk food.
What Are Eggplants?
The eggplant belongs to the nightshade family (Solanaceae). This family includes a variety of plant species, most of which are poisonous if eaten.
All rabbit owners should steer clear of poisonous plants, but there are some that are perfectly edible.
The eggplant is scientifically known as Solanum melongena and belongs to the nightshade genus (Solanum).
Other members of this genus that you may be familiar with are potatoes and various types of tomatoes.
Can Adult Rabbits Eat Eggplant?
Feeding eggplant to adult rabbits is fine, but only in very small quantities and no more than twice a week.
Eggplants and other nightshade plants (Solanaceae) contain a toxic glycoalkaloid known as solanine.
Glycoalkaloids are organic, bitter-tasting compounds found in the Solanum genus. Some of them are considered highly toxic, and solanine is the most conspicuous poison of all.
Solanum plants develop solanine to deter insects, herbivores such as rabbits, and other creatures from eating them. In this way, it is a kind of natural pesticide.
Higher concentrations of this toxic substance are found in the green parts or eyes of potatoes. However, other parts, such as the leaves, flesh, and stem, can also contain traces of this glycoalkaloid.
Compared to the other foods of the Solanum genus, potatoes generally contain the highest levels of solanine.
Fortunately, eggplant contains lower levels of solanine, so you and your rabbits are not at risk of solanine poisoning.
Symptoms of solanine poisoning include:
- Fever or drop in average body temperature (hypothermia)
- Headache
- Slow pulse
- Slow breathing
- Stomach or abdominal pain
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
The last two symptoms, vomiting, and diarrhea, can be particularly harmful to rabbits.
For one thing, rabbits cannot vomit. So, if they ingest something poisonous, they cannot excrete it without it being fully digested. This, in turn, can lead to diarrhea.
Diarrhea in rabbits is dangerous. It is not only a sign that your rabbit has developed a severe digestive problem, but it can even be fatal if left untreated.
To prevent this, you should only ever give your rabbits tiny portions of eggplant.
With other foods such as onions, however, even small amounts are taboo, as these can kill a rabbit in the worst-case scenario.
Can Baby Rabbits Eat Eggplant?
The digestive tract of young rabbits is more sensitive than that of adult rabbits, so you need to be careful what you feed them. It’s best to wait until your rabbit is a little older before letting it eat eggplant.
However, eggplant can also provide a young rabbit with essential nutrients that promote healthy growth. Feeding tiny portions of eggplant could prove beneficial.
The daily diet of rabbits should contain at least 0.6 percent potassium to promote maximum growth.
Potassium deficiency in rabbits can cause rapidly progressive muscular dystrophy, multiple hemorrhagic spots in the stomach, occasional jaundice, swollen and pale kidneys, and eventually death.
It is also said that rabbits should consume about 0.3 milligrams of manganese daily to maintain average, healthy bone growth.
3.5 oz (100 g) of eggplant contains just under this amount, so you should be safe here.
Rabbits should also consume about 39 micrograms of vitamin B-6 daily. Without this vitamin, your rabbit risks growing more slowly and even dying.
Much of this vitamin is absorbed through food and then redistributed in the rabbit’s cecum.
Rabbits defecate both solid pellets and much softer feces called cecotropes. They are produced in the rabbit’s digestive tract to help it absorb essential nutrients.
How to Get Rabbits to Eat Eggplants
Whether a rabbit will tolerate eggplant in its diet depends on several factors, including its personal food preference, its current digestive health, and how you incorporate this vegetable into a rabbit’s diet.
Rabbits can be a bit picky, so you may have a trial-and-error phase before you figure out which vegetables they like. It’s also not a good idea to feed a rabbit eggplant if you know they have digestive issues.
It’s best to introduce new foods into your rabbit’s diet slowly. As eggplants should only be fed as an infrequent treat, this should not be a significant problem.
It would be best to observe how your rabbit reacts to the new food. Even if it shows no visible disgust, this does not mean that it will necessarily tolerate the eggplants well.
If your rabbit’s digestive system does not digest the eggplant well, you will recognize this because it leaves behind soft droppings.
Rabbits eat their intestines, so if you see some lying around, it could be a sign of a digestive problem. It’s also possible that your rabbit suffers from diarrhea, which could be fatal if left untreated.
Can Rabbits Eat Eggplant Leaves?
Even though rabbits love to eat leafy greens, you should never give your rabbit eggplant leaves or tops. These parts are highly poisonous, even more so than the actual flesh of the eggplant. This is because they have a high solanine content.
Your rabbit might not react to the tiny amounts in the eggplant flesh, but that doesn’t mean they can eat more significant amounts of this vegetable. Consuming large doses of solanine can lead to solanine intoxication.
Can Rabbits Eat Cooked Eggplant?
Cooking eggplant can decrease or otherwise deplete the nutrients in raw eggplant that would benefit the rabbit’s health.
Even steaming these vegetables can have this effect.
In addition, you should not give your rabbit eggplants that you have prepared yourself for dinner.
Eggplants are naturally quite bitter and, therefore, require oils, spices, and herbs to make them more palatable for humans.
Eggplants absorb flavors and fats when cooked, which is good for humans but dangerous for rabbits.
Rabbits cannot tolerate much fat; otherwise, there is a risk of developing heart disease and obesity. They also cannot tolerate many spices and large quantities of herbs.
Cooking eggplants does not remarkably reduce the solanine content either. This applies to various cooking methods, such as boiling, microwaving, and deep-frying.
The solanine content is only reduced by 1.2 percent by boiling and about 40 percent by deep-frying.
How Much Eggplant Can Rabbits Eat?
Only give rabbits a small piece of eggplant as a treat. Rabbits’ digestive systems are much more sensitive than humans, and they may not tolerate this vegetable as well.
However, a scientific study states that rabbits suffering from diabetes mellitus, obesity, hyperglycemia, liver problems, and dyslipidemia showed a significant improvement after eating eggplant.
The leaves, pulp, and extracts of eggplants have long been used for medicinal purposes. They are known for their anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties.
They also contain essential bioflavonoids, which are anti-inflammatory compounds, and vitamins such as vitamins A, B, C, and E, to name but a few.
Despite these benefits, the solanine content in eggplants, however low, could be a concern for rabbit owners.
Results of the Study
Overall, however, a diet of 10 to 20 percent eggplant helps in several ways:
- They have a hypoglycemic effect and lower high blood sugar levels.
- It helps with weight loss.
- They help restore liver function.
- It acts as a good regulator of the lipid profile in the blood.
Increased liver enzymes like AST, ALT, and ALP are typically signs of internal damage or an increase in harmful endogenous chemicals.
Significantly lowering these enzymes will help restore your rabbit’s liver to a healthier state.
Since rabbits do not tolerate a high-fat diet well, it is crucial to reduce their fat intake as much as possible.
The consumption of eggplants naturally lowers the high cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the rabbits’ blood.
These benefits suggest that eggplants can indeed play a role in improving the health of your rabbits.
Keep in mind that these studies were conducted on overweight rabbits with pre-existing health problems.
These findings may not apply to rabbits at a healthy weight or underweight.
However, if your rabbit is obese or heading towards obesity, you should not feed it large amounts of raw eggplant in the hope that it will lose weight.
Fringe Conditions of the Study
Note that the researchers allowed their eggplant samples to dry before grinding them into a powder to make edible pellets.
During the study, they did not give any fresh eggplant slices at all to the rabbits studied.
Furthermore, they could not yet determine precisely which compound in the rabbits’ food was responsible for these benefits.
It is possible that a component of the drying or pelleting process led to these health benefits or that this only applies to powdered, pelleted eggplant.