Safe Chew Toys for Juvenile Bunnies

[TimothytheNetherlandDwarf]

Hi, I have a male Netherland dwarf (Timothy) who is about 3 months old. He chews on EVERYTHING and swallows quite a bit (especially cardboard). I know you can allow them to chew on apple branches (fresh and dry) of which I have three trees and plenty of branches. But I don't know if he can have them yet because of the whole good gut flora thing, I know he (and his sister too) will "eat" the wood if I give them any. I'm also wondering about dry corn cobs as well. Yes, I'm looking for cheap and/or free bunny "toys" ahehe.


Thanks
:running bunny

 

[whitelop]

NO CORN COBS! They can't digest the corn husks or corn and it can cause GI blockage. I'm not sure of the age you can start giving apple branches, but I would assume that they would be fine.
My rabbit loves cardboard and eats a lot of it. I've been giving her toilet paper and paper towel rolls since she was like 7 weeks old.
Also I would give her those little hay blocks. Like these http://reviews.petco.com/3554/4537/...for-rabbits-small-animals-reviews/reviews.htm
She still likes those, I give her one when she's chewing on bad stuff and she'll pay attention to the hay block instead.

Also I would give her different types of hay in her box. She would get smaller handfuls of different hay and it would keep her occupied!
They can also chew on willow branches. And pine cones, the really dry open ones. I'm not sure what age they can have the pine cones though, but I've been giving pine cones for a while now.

 

[JBun]

I don't think corn cobs are good to use with rabbits, but the apple branches, if untreated, are really good and actually help with digestion because of all the added fiber. I started giving my babies apple branches to nibble on since they were about 4 weeks old. The really small branches, my rabbits will just devour the whole thing. Thicker branches they just strip the bark off of. Willow branches are also really good, and I also give mine dried pine blocks from 1x2's from the lumber store. You just have to make sure the are thoroughly dried out before giving them to your rabbit. I think there are a few other woods like maple and aspen that might be ok too, but you would want to research that to make sure. Do you feed hay? That also helps with the whole chewing thing, and is good for their general health.

 

[TimothytheNetherlandDwarf]

Thanks whitelop,

Yes, I bought a willow ball at Petsmart for them and they torn that thing apart! lol they are just too funny. Also I gave them a small piece of white pine lumber to chew and bite on (however b/c Timmy is now humping his sis they are seperated temporaraly) and it's in his cage. Delilah has no toys now (poor girl) and they're both going stir crazy from boredom. I let them out to play everyday, but because of the humping I have to watch them like an eagle (and I just don't really have the time right now) plus while they're playing they chew everything from the door jam to the edge of the dresser to a magazine left on the floor (which is quickly taken away) I've given them the T.P. and P.T. tubes and they devour them.

 

[JBun]

You can try rubbing plain ivory white bar soap on the things like the dresser, that you don't want them chewing. Rabbits don't like it and it will usually discourage any further chewing.

 

[PaGal]

You can give them a phone book with the cover removed. You can purchase wooden spoons for them to chew on as well. I bought a pack of three at the dollar store. Thumper loves to chew but was never interested in the spoons until I put one in his cage where he spends nights. He's been chewing it like crazy now.

 

[missyscove]

Can you bunny proof an area or give them an exercise pen they can run around in? That might help them burn off some of that energy.
I'm glad to hear you separated them and I wouldn't let them play together until they've both been spayed and neutered. My bunnies love to chew on cardboard, but they just tear it apart, they don't eat it. I like to make puzzles for them with toilet paper tubes or small cardboard boxes with hay and a few treats inside so they have to work to get to it.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Ours just love cardboard boxes and brown grocery bags. Fresh apple branches are "bunny crack" as ours all love them, even though they do disappear quickly.

 

[TimothytheNetherlandDwarf]

LMAO, "bunny crack".Okay JBun, I'll give them the tiny little soft branches to start with at least. We always have scrap lumber laying around here, but a lot of it is treated with that green stuff, or is wood I can't identify or has rusty nails or staples in it. It was very cold here last winter and we burned a good deal of the pine scrap that was trimed from 2x4s and 2x2s. Okay PaGal, I can try the phone book thing, unfortunately I don't have any right now. . . always throw them out now when we get them, cause we don't use them anymore. I wish I had an X pen for them right now, but cash is a little tight and it'll have to wait (as will the litter box/es I need for them). We just got them back in March a few weeks before Easter (and 8 chicks at the same time) so, aside from food, a water bottle, carefresh and cages; buying them a bunch of stuff hasn't happened, yet. Plus after they tore apart their willow ball that cost 5 bucks, I'm kind of aprehensive to spend money on toys that will only last a few weeks at the most. Also, since I don't have a place to keep hay clean and dry right now, I can't buy that either (plus the owner of the ranch were we got them said to wait until they're four months old before giving them any) then I find out I can give them alfalfa hay for now, but can't find it in small amounts, just Timothy hay. URRG, it's frusterating. We just found out yesterday that to have Tim neutered will cost $116 and there's a chance he won't wake up from the anesthesia. . . sheesh! But we're going to have to do it, since it'll be less invasive than spaying Dee, and less expensive. And we can't have a bunch of baby (inbred) bunnies running around here, that's too frackin crazy! I let them play in soda boxes, they like to tunnel in them, but they lose interest after a while and want to chew on the window sill or something instead. But the apple branches should help with their "chew houndatude". Also, I'm wondering if anyone can tell me if that Furimator deshedding comb is as great as it claims to be? Or would I just be wasting my money? Thanks for all the advice everybody!

Tooddles and Bunny Doodles!

 

[missyscove]

There are risks associated with any anesthesia and surgical procedure, but I highly recommend spaying and neutering rabbits. It generally makes them easier to bond, easier to litter train, and cuts down on hormonal behaviors. Males can typically be neutered when their testicles drop and females depend on the vet doing the procedure but generally as young as 2-6 months. Spaying also greatly reduces a doe's chance of uterine and mammary tumors.

In my opinion, rabbits should have unlimited access to hay. Juveniles can have alfalfa but adults should have grass hay (e.g. timothy, orchard, etc.) Their GI tract is designed for pretty much constant eating.

What part of CA are you located in? If you're in southern California I might be able to recommend some resources on good places to get hays.

I wouldn't give them any treated woods.

I have an off brand furminator which works well for bunnies although my favorite is the zoom groom and they seem to like that one too.

 

[TimothytheNetherlandDwarf]

Yes I agree about the spay and neuter situation. They both are being aggressive with each other now (Tim b/c he's reaching sexual maturity) and Dee because she's doing that asserting dominance thing, plus I think she's P.Oed and trying to "get back" at him, she was biting and chasing him a lot yesterday, and he seemed stressed by it so now even at play time they have to be separated. Lol right now he's laying on the foot of my bed all chilled out, the little devil! I'm in SoCal, high desert area. It's total feed store world here because so many people raise horses, goats and etc. Like I posted before, we also have eight new chickens, so obviously their feed is from a feed store, there's also PetSmart and PetCo and a few private pet stores. I plan to buy them a bail of Timothy hay next month (since they'll be four months by then) a small straw (for the hen house) and hay storage shed will be built soon, so it will be kept in there to keep it dry and clean (we have 3 male cats, one of which sprays on everything, so even if weather and etc. wasn't a factor, I have to store it properly for that reason alone. Same case with the straw for the hens. The apple twigs are working great, they don't like the soft ones though. But they strip the bark off the semi-hard branches and then chew the hell out of the wood that's under the bark. I gave them a T.P. tube and they're paying a lot attention to that as well. They still chew on the dresser and window sill though. JBun said use plain Ivory soap to rub on the things I want them to leave alone. I have Dial soap (the white kind) and Dove too. Can I use either of these? Would vegetable soap work, or would that just make them like the furniture even more? Okay, the off brand furminator, how much does that one go for? Can you buy it at PetSmart or PetCo? I’ll Google the zoom groom to find out more about it since I have to admit I’ve never heard of it before. Thanks for all the tips, Missy.