carob pods

[jerseygirl]

Does anyone know about giving carob pods as a treat?  I had a box of supermarket rabbit feed from when I looked after a lost bunny for 3 days (b4 becoming house rabbit owner and b4 i knew much about what to feed rabbbits!!!)    It basically was full of everything you shouldn’t give them.  However, when I got Jersey, I would pick out a few bits for treats.  It had bits of dried carob pods which she loved.

Is this a safe treat for her.  I think it’s like chocolate for bunnies!  It looks like bark and seems fiberous.  I’m finding it hard to find anyhow so guess she won’t be getting too much of it.  Just would like to mix things up a bit. Generally she has sultanas, apple pieces, carrot and willow leaves for treats so she’ll live without the carob………………i just love giving her something special!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Gosh I don’t know!! Someone will though for sure!! Your bunny is so cute!

[JK]

I would say no!  There are so many other healthy things to give as treats.  It just sounds like junk to me especially being part of a mix.  if you need ideas of healthy treats please see Diet under Bunny Info above.

[Beka27]

i’m not even sure what those are…

[Gravehearted]

My guess would be they’re not a great choice, since they are high in sugar.
They’re not toxic, but they’re also not on any list I could find as a suggested choice.

You already have some healthy treat choices it sounds like, so I would skip the carob pods.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Hi Jerseygirl, thank you for coming here and asking this question!  I agree with Gravehearted, they are loaded with sugar up to 72%! I have actually used carob pods as a mulch in my garden and wow it smelled GREAT!!! It did have a caution on the bag not to let dogs eat it as it could poison them (just like too much chocolate) and the compounds that are toxic are in higher concentration in the pods and beans than in chocolate itself.  Carob pods are high in tannins (the substance that would make them toxic or medicinal) so I would avoid them as well for that reason. A site I checked actually recommended them for rabbits!!! So I am not going to list them as a source.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carob_tree

[jerseygirl]

Thanks for the input everyone.  I’ve pretty much concluded they’re not a healthy treat also due to the sugar/carb factor that i’ve read about too. 72%  ? Really?!!!! No wonder she liked them. A sweet tooth like me!  Scarlet Rose, I also found suggestion to feed to dogs, teething pups and rabbits in an excerpt from a pet care book.  Such conflicting info out there can make things so confusing.  So I’m going with instinct and just saying there not good for her. Thanks again folks.

[Author]

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