Morning Glory!!!

[Frosted Rabbits]

Okay-- about 6 hours ago, I found that Marsha and Rascal had managed to get behind the board that was protecting my Morning Glory from them-- I saw the problem when I found the vine wilted-- took a look, and the bottom 18 inches of the plant is missing,(the board was 26 inches) There was also a bit of what my Grandmother called Deadly Nightshade mixed in, as well. At this time, both rabbits seem fine and happy. My research frenzy has not found any listing of symptoms of toxic reaction in rabbits-- nothing but generalized warnings about Morning Glory and the nightshade family in general. Not sure what to expect-- but am keeping an hourly check on the two heathens. It is nice, I suppose, that the animals have had their stomachs full of fresh food for the last week or so-- and these two did an excellent job of trimming ALL the grass and weeds in the patio area, as well as decimating what was left of the cosmos and Corn.

here's to watching and waiting....

 

[MaggieJ]

Not a desirable situation, Terry, but chances are they will be okay. "Deadly" nightshade is toxic, being a member of the same family as tomato, but I think it is the berries that are most toxic and they are likely not formed yet. As for morning glory... it is a huge family and some are fine and some not so good, but again, isn't it the seed that is the main problem? Not much you can do but watch and wait... sure hope those naughty little bunnies are okay.

 

[arachyd]

Mine eat a variety of morning glory a few times a week as part of their daily greens. It has blue flowers and was purchased years ago as "heavenly blue" seed. Hopefully your wayward buns only ate what was good for them and won't have any adverse effects. One of the dogs let out a couple of mine once and they ate all my mint, lemon balm, rosemary, most of the morning glory, the lower parts of all my rose bushes and gorged themselves on grass. They trampled what they didn't eat. They lived but I think they were more in danger from me when I saw what they had done.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

well, 14 hours post discovery, and the two mischievous rabbits are still alert and active. The Morning Glory plant in question was "Grandpa Ott"- a deep purple, heirloom variety, and yes, the Deadly Nightshade had not yet set fruit.

What I really don't like, at this point-- with all the research that has gone into some toxic reactions in humans and animals, there is still NO way to be sure what the symptoms are of many of these issues--For example-- it ispretty well known, the seeds of apples, peaches, apricots contain cyanide--yet, most people assume that the digestive system can actually expose the cyanide-- under normal circumstances, it cannot.My rabbits have always 'spit out; apple seeds-- the Stone of peaches and apricots protects the seed- it is usually so hard, that normal chewing cannot break it, to expose the cyanide containing seed to breakdown processes.
Grapes and raisins are Toxic to many pets-- whatever is in them, causes renal failure-- yet the chemical name/cause is unknown, and the dosage is just as much of a mystery.
And yes, Arachyd- I am very like to be more of a danger to their lives than the plants are--after all, I LIKed my big, light green leaves and deep purple flowers-- the Humming Birds were being attracted!!!

 

[MaggieJ]

Would the poison control centres have information that might fill in some of the gaps?

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

Would the poison control centres have information that might fill in some of the gaps?

I doubt it-- for years, Poinsettia was said to be a killer for dogs and cats that ate the leaves-- when, it is ingestion of the flower itself(not the red bracts) that causes some neurological issues, usually an inability to swallow for several hours. we aretold grapes and raisins are toxic to dogs and cats, yet the chemical name is not known-- only that it causes renal failure. forget actually having any studies being done on our rabbits!
I found Milkweed is toxic to rabbits- but what I found was this-- only toxic reports are from the SW, where the seed pod has been included in hay fed to the rabbits. Now- does that mean only one variety of Milkweed? Just the seed pods, just after dried?
Looking for information on toxicity for feed purposes raises more questions than the answers it supplies...

 

[ladysown]

it's the seeds that are the problem with morning glory and the berries with nightshade.

As to milkweed...the flower and seeds are generally to be avoided. Dried (according to my dad) is more toxic than fresh. Why some can eat it not have a problem, and others can't. He doesn't know.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

well, almost 24 hours post discovery-- probably more than 24 hours after ingestion-- both rabbits are fine-- so we can probably put up a caution on Morning glory-- at least these were not the wild varieties-- which may be the real cause for concern...

 

[Devon's Mom Lauren]

The problem with raisins is the iron content and only if the dog ingests a HUGE amount. Grapes not so much because they are not dried/concentrated.

 

[MaggieJ]

But doesn't red meat also have a lot of iron? And especially liver? I've never heard anyone suggest a dog could get too much iron from them.

 

[ladysown]

I always heard with grapes/raisins that the problem is the pesticides used on them. that some dogs react to it, and others are fine. And there is something in the grape skins that when they are dried can cause problems with dogs.

 

[Brody]

glad the rabbits are ok FR

there are still so many variations on toxicity ... scary what we still don't know