BUNNY ATE CHOCOLATE! !!!

[Cinnabunn the bunny]

My bunny just ate chocolate. She’s a 7 ib bunny who ate half a square (1×1inches) from a Twix bar. I’m scared because I know chocolate is bad for bunnies. Right now she’s still eating and drinking but I’m scared and it’s late (2 am at the moment) and I don’t know if I should sleep or monitor her. How long should I monitor her for? Should I worry? What’s the lethal chocolate to weight ratio for a bunny? Should I just take her to the er?

[Bam]

Give her hay and water and monitor her. I don’t think you need to worry a lot since Twix has milk chocolate, and there’s not a lot of the toxic component of chocolate (theobromine) in milk chocolate. Dark chocolate is WAY more dangerous. Twix also has biscuit and caramel, neither is toxic to buns but it’s of course not bunny-appropriate food. The amount of pure chocolate isn’t big + your bun isn’t tiny.

I don’t know the lethal dosis, but I’ll try and find sth.

I found this, and it seems your bun is not at risk even with the 20 mg/kg limit, since Twix are not all chocolate + the piece he took wasn’t huge:

Quick Guide for Theobromine levels in different types of chocolate: 
From The Merck Veterinary Manual, 8th ed 

Unsweetened (Baker’s) chocolate = 390-450 mg Theobromine per oz chocolate 
Milk chocolate = 44-60 mg Theobromine per oz chocolate 
Semi-sweet is a bit less than half of the Theobromine content as Baker’s chocolate. 

How much is too much?
The toxic dose of Theobromine (and caffeine) for pets is 100-200mg/kg. (1 kiliogram = 2.2 pounds). However, various reports by the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) have noted problems at doses much lower than this – i.e. 20mg/kg. 

[Cinnabunn the bunny]

Thanks so much for the info. I had trouble finding a credible source. I know I shouldn’t worry so much but my bunnies are my fur babies and I can’t stand the though of losing them. My bunny is still eating and drinking

[Bam]

We bunny-owners do tend to worry about our buns, and many times that probably saves them, they’re not really “wait-and-see” animals. I’ glad you asked, it’s always best to ask when you’re worried.
You might see some poopy butt after this, probably delicious, snack, but try to entice her to eat a lot of hay, hay is the best thing for poopy butt.

[LBJ10]

Great information Bam! We should sticky that somewhere. Yes, I agree that the risk is minimal in this case. It was milk chocolate and just the outer coating.

[Author]

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