Do Rabbits Eat Bugs or Not?

The term bug is supposed to refer to insects in the order Hemiptera characterized by mouthparts for piercing or sucking. However, it is used loosely used to mean insects and other small flying, crawling or hoping small creatures.

In this discussion, we will be using the loose definition which will include things such as grasshoppers, crickets, ticks, fleas, moths, caterpillars, aphids, stink bugs, spiders and on. Do some bunnies feed these critters or not?

Do bunnies eat them?

The outright answer is no. Rabbits do not eat any kind of bugs unless this occurs accidentally while they are grazing or in cases where there are bugs in rabbits’ food. Such cases should be considered unintentional and cannot be considered as these pet munching insects or other similar critters. Why is that so?

Firstly, bunnies are herbivores meaning their source of food is only plants and plant materials. Nothing else. They may feed on plant leaves, stem, bark, a few fruits, and so on. As hindgut fermenters, their digestive system can only handle such foods and not flesh that is high in proteins.

Secondly, these prey animals do not have hunting instincts. They are incapable of chasing and capturing (hunting) their own food. They will only rely on stationary food, plant material. Do not forget that their teeth are adapted to cut and masticate plants.

Finally, if you tried throwing a moving object to your bunny, it will ignore it until it is stationary. This should tell you that these pets are never interested in moving things and creatures including arachnids, insects and another small flying, creeping, crawling, or hopping critters.

Conclusion

Note that chewing is one of the rabbit’s natural behavior besides being territorial and digging. Therefore, if you offer them some dead grasshoppers or other bugs, they might eat or nibble them before they decide whether they want to eat or not.

Also, if you notice your unneutered rabbit especially the male one pouncing on anything that invades its market territory, it is not interested in eating it but keeping it away from its territory.