I was really happy to score some organic dole banana slices that are freeze dried with no sugar at big lots for only $1.50 a bag. raisins or dried cranberries don’t tend to be super pricey either. trader joes also sells inexpensive freeze dried strawberries with no added sugar.

I haven’t dehydrated my own fruit, but one of our volunteers does as a fundraiser for rabbit haven. it works well and the rabbits like it.

Thumpers mom, I think the food dehydrator would be great for ya. Especially if you can score some great deals on fruit at a farmers market or orchard. Another place to try is a local health food store, you can look them up in the phone book under “Health Food Store” you’ll not want a GNC, they don’t have that type of thing and they charge a LOT. Often the smaller family-owned places will have dried fruit with no additives and even in bulk for cheap! Since you live in NY, I don’t know how adventurous you are but Chinatown has a lot of dried fruit (and other um, interesting, dried food).

Have you even tried dried fruit to see if Thumper will like it? I think it’s a great idea as long as he doesn’t turn up his nose at it. Of course, it would always be good for you even if Thumper says no. I know my rabbits don’t like alot of the dried stuff – I don’t understand it but they don’t. They cannot eat the dried banana chips although I’ve heard of plenty of rabbits that just ravish the dried fruit.

I have gotten the Just fruit products at fred meyers/krogers but it is about 4.00 a bag. The strawberries and bananas my rabbits go crazy for. I got the mixed fruit bag and neither care to much for it, so it is just bananas for us now.

I’m going to look when I get home at the dried apples I bought…they were no sugar added.

Can I suggest tinned fruit? I find its much cheaper then dried fruit, plus maybe less sugar in a serving? Also I can get a giant thing of pineapple (which is supposed to work like papaya at reducing hair balls) for less then fifty cents at walmart!….I get mixed fruit and peaches, mandarins, pineapples etc. It’s all stuff they can have. I give them maybe about a handful a day, with a couple of raisins or peices of dried apple or banana and their greens. I’ve found that tinned is much cheaper then the dried, and they seem to like it better (although my piggies rarely turn their nose up at anything!)

I think you’d have to be very careful about canned fruits, since they are often packed in sugar.

Really???

 OI! It’s hard to get all this diet stuff correct! We went to more hay and veggies/fruits about two months ago (I’d say it took about six weeks to do a slow switch from kibbles)…They still have kibbles but I want them to mostly have hay and freash food-and I want to get it right

What about the one’s that say "in light syrup"? I always drain the syrup and rinse the fruit…but …??What should I be careful of (their umn, regularity or  just extra calories?)

Sugar is a dietary concern for rabbits as it can make them obese, avoid the fresh veggies they should eat and too much can cause an imbalance in the good flora in their GI tract. Just like human kids, too much of a good thing can be bad for them.  I would avoid the light syrup (usually corn syrup, fructose & water) ones all together and just stick with fresh.