Rabbit ate thin mints!!!

[Rain]

Last night, I kept a sleeve of thin mints in my room. I almost always keep my door closed so that my crazy furball doesn’t come in and do something, and I guess this once I forgot. Anyways, I was doing my daily rabbit wrangling, searching for him all over the house. Then, I find him sitting quietly in my brother’s room. He notices that I came in and bam, he races out of the room and under a couch. I carefully go near him to see what’s wrong, and when he runs out of the couch, I notice that there is a THIN MINT in his tiny mouth!!!! He binkies and runs away, and then there’s a whole goose chase around the living room. Finally I grab it and see that he only ate a fourth. But then I go into my room to check if he got a hold of more, the whole stack of thin mints is scattered on the floor, with only seven cookies. I know there was nine in there before. There was the fourth eaten one, and then he must have eaten a whole other cookie. What should I do now? I have him in his cage and am keeping him on hay and water. What warning signs should I watch out for? I’m very worried, because I know that chocolate is poison to bunnies!  Silly bunny, why can’t he stick to his own food? Should I take him to a vet? I can’t do that right now because my clinic is closed and also because it’s 9:30 PM. I also do not have gas drops on hand. Any advice? 

[Wick & Fable]

I’d find an emergency vet to try and go now if possible, since the amount may be substantial. Chocolate is not good in large quantities. Encourage water and hay consumption as best you can and monitor like a hawk for changes.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Rain]

Alright! There IS no emergency vet near me! This clinic is the only vet clinic in town who does anything with rabbits. Everything else is all cats and dogs! He’s three pounds. A whole cookie is probably too much for him. >.< And it has dark chocolate too, which is even more poisonous than milk chocolate. I'm making sure that there's no diarrhea or anything like that. Should I give him drenched veggies or something for hydration?

[Wick & Fable]

Yes you can do that, just not too too much obviously. He doesn’t need to overly drink, but getting some in his system now would be good. Hay can help as well, so if you have more fresh hay, offer that for him.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Rain]

Luckily, I just brought home a bunch of fresh hay today. He’s been munching on that and his normal amount of veggies for about fourty minutes now. In this time, I haven’t seen any new poops. A few, which were normal sized and everything, but just a few. Is this a bad sign, or is it just because it’s still too early?

Edit: The poops are smaller too now.

[LBJ10]

I don’t know how much chocolate is in those cookies exactly, but if he ate several then I would be concerned. The ingredients list just says cocoa powder, but it isn’t listed as the first ingredient. Cocoa powder does tend be be high in Theobromine though.

The danger is not an upset stomach necessarily. Excessive amounts of Theobromine causes heart and neurological symptoms. I don’t know about rabbits, but dogs will typically exhibit symptoms between 1 and 4 hours after ingestion. However, symptoms can appear any time during the first 24 hours.

[GarfyTheLop]

Any update on him?

[Sirius&Luna]

How is he?

The problem with chocolate isn’t necessarily poisoning, but it upsets the entire GI system, and can cause stasis and general inflammation. Unfortunately my Sirius died from escaping and eating 4 or 5 small chocolate truffles. The vet said it was likely the sugar and fat that upset his entire system because it was all very inflamed when she operated on him, not necessarily the chocolate. It’s great that you’ve got him eating, but this really is something that requires a vet check (which I know you know!).

Let us know how he is!

[Rain]

Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear that!
He seems okay and not in any pain, and his poops (I think most of them were getting covered by his litter so that’s why I didn’t see very many) and the only thing is that he’s a litter hyper. He ate one. Or maybe last night I miscounted and I ate one and he ate the fourth of the cookie. I don’t think he would be able to eat a whole cookie and move on to another. I will try to take him to a vet, but I’m not sure it can be done today. (there are things that were planned ahead of time for today and they’re important for my parents so they can’t cancel it). I will try on Friday though, but I hope it’s not too late.

[Deleted User]

As a rule of thumb, I try to never take anything that is harmful for my rabbit out of the kitchen. If it is something that could harm her from accidental ingestion, then it is prepared AND eaten in the kitchen, and I am careful to note that if anything is dropped/spilled that it is cleaned up immediately. Accidents happen, but I find that it is just best to take any measures to reduce the possibility of them happening. Sometimes me and the hubs get lazy and want to eat while we watch a movie. For instance, we ate coconut shrimp the other night (which was delicious btw) but flakes of coconut were falling all over the place. After we finished eating, I just ran the vacuum around the coffee table to make sure that there was nothing left for a nosy bunny to come and eat. It really is up to us to make sure that they don’t ever have access to harmful substances. They don’t know any better, we do!

[Deleted User]

He should be ok if his eating and pooping. Seriously I have had rabbits steal all kinds off of my plate, Chicken, Prawns, Biscuits, Prawn Crackers. They all lived to tell the tale. As long as they don’t eat large amounts of it as part of their daily diet they will be ok. Its not like eating rat poison, but these things will happen when they live under the same roof. Rabbits actually love sweet things, so be careful with that or else they wont want their own food lol. Try not to worry to much. If your bunny was in pain or sick I am sure you would noticed the character change. 🙂

[Deleted User]

Well, every bunny is different. Just like some people are more prone to health issues, so are rabbits. While one rabbit may have an iron stomach and be fine eating junk, another could get tummy troubles leading to a bout of stasis. I think it is always best to err on the side of caution. Decisions should be based on factual evidence (i.e. chocolate is bad),  not anecdotal (my rabbit ate such and such and he was fine).

Don’t mean to discredit you at all Emma! But it is important that we realize that everybunny reacts differently. I agree though, that if he is still eating, pooping, and behaving normally that he may be ok. If you notice any change in any of those factors, definitely see a vet.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Rain on 2/08/2018 7:24 AM

Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear that!
He seems okay and not in any pain, and his poops (I think most of them were getting covered by his litter so that’s why I didn’t see very many) and the only thing is that he’s a litter hyper. He ate one. Or maybe last night I miscounted and I ate one and he ate the fourth of the cookie. I don’t think he would be able to eat a whole cookie and move on to another. I will try to take him to a vet, but I’m not sure it can be done today. (there are things that were planned ahead of time for today and they’re important for my parents so they can’t cancel it). I will try on Friday though, but I hope it’s not too late.

I would have thought if he was going to suffer any side effects, he would be showing them by now. Having said that, it’s really important that your parents get on board with caring for this rabbit. It sounds like your parents aren’t prepared to sacrifice anything to take care of him. At the end of the day, we all get poorly sometimes. Animals included. And it rarely happens at a convenient time. Your parents need to understand that the health of an animal in their care takes priority. It’s concerning that they seem to care so little.

[Deleted User]

Posted By BunNoob on 2/08/2018 7:37 AM

Well, every bunny is different. Just like some people are more prone to health issues, so are rabbits. While one rabbit may have an iron stomach and be fine eating junk, another could get tummy troubles leading to a bout of stasis. I think it is always best to err on the side of caution. Decisions should be based on factual evidence (i.e. chocolate is bad),  not anecdotal (my rabbit ate such and such and he was fine).

Don’t mean to discredit you at all Emma! But it is important that we realize that everybunny reacts differently. I agree though, that if he is still eating, pooping, and behaving normally that he may be ok. If you notice any change in any of those factors, definitely see a vet.

I think the point I was making is that bunnies are quite tough, and if her bun is eating and pooping and doesn’t appear in pain then there should be no need for the extra pressure or stress. I have had so many accidents in the past where my rabbits have eaten something off the floor, and I have never once felt the need to panic. Its still food, just for us. I have eaten a bit of rabbit food before and lived  

As long as people know what a rabbit should be eating on a daily bases and what they shouldn’t, then when these accidents happen (and they do), just try not to panic if the bunny is functioning and acting normal. 

I remember getting home from holiday and learnt that my brother had fed my past rabbit KitKats everyday! I went mad! She was perfectly fine so I didn’t rush her to the vets, but I nearly put him in hospital 

So don’t panic, is what I am saying. 

[Rain]

Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear that!
He seems okay and not in any pain, and his poops (I think most of them were getting covered by his litter so that’s why I didn’t see very many) and the only thing is that he’s a litter hyper. He ate one. Or maybe last night I miscounted and I ate one and he ate the fourth of the cookie. I don’t think he would be able to eat a whole cookie and move on to another. I will try to take him to a vet, but I’m not sure it can be done today. (there are things that were planned ahead of time for today and they’re important for my parents so they can’t cancel it). I will try on Friday though, but I hope it’s not too late.

[LBJ10]

Emma is correct, there are plenty of bunnies who have eaten things they shouldn’t. Things that are supposed to be toxic, like avocado, have passed through numerous bunnies on here. There are definitely some things that are highly toxic and demand swift action. But sometimes the best course of action is to up their hay/water intake, monitor poops, and just keep a general eye out. In some cases, it isn’t even the “toxic ingredient” that causes the problem, as S&L pointed out. Some bunnies have stomachs of steel and others are highly sensitive to inappropriate foods.

In Rain’s case here, there was the worry of GI upset/stasis and Theobromine poisoning. It’s been 24 hours now and I’m assuming no symptoms have manifested. If that is the case, I don’t think there is much to worry about anymore. A good lesson though!

[Rain]

I think Rain has a very strong little belly. Even at four weeks old when I got him, he only had a tiny bought of cecals like twice because of the stress of moving to a new home and everything. But after the first two weeks, he was perfectly fine. Either that or he didn’t eat a whole cookie after all. I have a terrible memory.
I don’t think that there’s anything wrong so far. As many of you have said, any symptoms would have shown by now. His poops became bigger and frequent again today, so I think the worst has passed. I’m still taking him to a vet tomorrow, though. I had to schedule a pre neuter/spay for Rain anyways. He’s a he for now. Thank you everyone! Your information has helped calm me down so much and helped me with this situation and how to avoid it from happening again. Thank you! I’m going to avoid giving any treats for the next couple days, just until things are perfectly normal again. And of course watching every little movement of his. He’s very annoyed today that I was hovering over him.
Is hyperness normal? Today the second I let him out of cage (this was after eleven hours btw so maybe that’s why. ) he just started zooming around every where upstairs. He looked happy. I think. He was binkying and racing around. Then he plopped down and rested for a while. He licked the ground while he was resting which is strange. He doesn’t usually do that. He’s not hyper any more though. Still energetic, but that’s because it’s night time.

[Rain]

I think something went wrong here in the posts. There were repeats and stuff, and my other post dissappeared too.

[LBJ10]

Well, hyperactivity is a sign of Theobromine poisoning. But it is usually paired with other symptoms like agitation, tachycardia and panting/breathing difficulties. I know if my buns had something sugary (like fresh banana), they get very hyper. So it could simply be the sugar that’s making him a little bit hyper.

[Author]

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