She chewing everything! Lol

[Sophie's Humble Servant]

Sophie has been with us for one week now. Starting yesterday, she has been going insane, chewing everything! I have a sea grass/coconut fibre mat and she is scratching and chewing and ripping it like mad! I'm ok with this but it's like she just went from an occasional nibble to full out war on it. She's also torn apart a twig ball in the last day and is ripping to shreds the sea grass hut I got her. I know that rabbits chew. I do not have any issue with her doing this BUT, why all of a sudden? I should note that she is eating and otherwise acting normally. Poops look normal as well. She also has access to the living room all day. Is she just comfortable now and that's why? Thanks

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

Sophie has been with us for one week now. Starting yesterday, she has been going insane, chewing everything! I have a sea grass/coconut fibre mat and she is scratching and chewing and ripping it like mad! I'm ok with this but it's like she just went from an occasional nibble to full out war on it. She's also torn apart a twig ball in the last day and is ripping to shreds the sea grass hut I got her. I know that rabbits chew. I do not have any issue with her doing this BUT, why all of a sudden? I should note that she is eating and otherwise acting normally. Poops look normal as well. She also has access to the living room all day. Is she just comfortable now and that's why? Thanks

---what we need are chew toys,ie.lots of grasses,tree branches-(edible/non toxic)- try this link http://www.bunnybunch.org/rabbitcare.html --you can also use card board boxes,phone book,-it is difficult for them to manage their teeth--because they constantly grow--and if there is alot of grinding of the teeth-it would be a great idea to inspect the teeth-and be aware of pain--due to an alignment,spurs-or just grass caught between the teeth,--sincerely james waller :bambiandthumper:rose:

 

[Sophie's Humble Servant]

She has a lot of toys. She isn't interested in cardboard rolls or boxes, she likes twig balls to roll around but she just recently tore it apart. She isn't grinding her teeth...I would hear that wouldn't I? I have some wood toys but she doesn't touch them. I tried to give her some newspaper but she ate some of it so I didn't think it would be a good idea. Not only is she chewing the sea grass and twigs but she's also eating it. Is there some point where this is a bad thing? She's still eating lots of hay but she's also eating sea grass, coconut fibre and these twig ball things.

 

[Imbrium]

have you tried willow? it's the only wood my bunnies will chew, and they LOVE it!

newspaper is ok as long as it's ONLY the black and white pages because the ink is soy based. my bunnies absolutely love to demolish phone books:

as for ingesting the other stuff, the things you mentioned are designed to be safe if some of it's ingested. there's absolutely no cause to worry unless you notice a lack of or significant decrease in appetite or signs of an upset tummy (like lying down only to get right back up, as if she can't get comfortable)... and upset tummy/early warning signs of GI stasis are typically only associated with treats that have added sugars (like the **** snack logs that are "no nos" for bunnies but that I give mine anyway because it's the *ONLY* way to stop them from destroying and possibly ingesting bits of their coroplast floors) in bunnies that are particularly sensitive to sugars.

 

[Sophie's Humble Servant]

So her behaviour is normal then? I don't mind that she's chewing on things, I just wondered why is was happening with such a fury all of a sudden. I wish I could give her newspaper but she eats it. She was checked by a vet at the shelter last Sunday and she was healthy.

 

[Imbrium]

it won't hurt her if she eats some of it if it's not the colored pages

if you've only had her for a week, she's probably just ready to really make herself at home, hence the sudden change in behavior. one of the primary ways that bunnies "play" is by destroying things.

I would also leave a large cardboard box with a single entrance hole cut in it sitting out for her - mine ignored their boxes for a week or two... then chewed an exit hole... then started going NUTS digging and chewing and shredding the boxes all to hell! sometimes it just takes them a bit to figure out that cardboard can be destroyed

 

[Sophie's Humble Servant]

Ok I will try that. I'm sure I'm just being paranoid being a new bunny mummy lol, I'm going to start chewing from worrying...my nails!

 

[Imbrium]

hehe... it's always nerve-wracking in the early days... don't worry - you'll be a pro in no time!

 

[warminwisco]

The power chords doors and hutch are fair game for snacking. Ever put tobasco on stuff to keep the chewing down or other treatment? I remember out last rabbit Sammy chewed up stuff til about 1 year?

 

[PaGal]

Thumper is a chewer although he has slowed down on it. He has toilet paper and paper towel tubes that he ignores for the most part. Wooden spoons that he only recently started to chew. I have provided him with bamboo as well as grass balls which he chews, card board boxes and other pieces of card board he chews. Packing paper and telephone books he chews. All of these he will eat some of as well. He has pieces of wood but only occasionally nibbles.

He chewed a lot of our door trim. Nothing I tried stopped him from chewing those. He hasn't chewed it in months though so I'm hoping he's done with that.

Most things Thumper chews he eats as well with no issues. I would just keep an eye on her poops but ingesting some should cause no harm.

 

[Sophie's Humble Servant]

I'm used to Sophie's chewing now. I was just worried at first because I didn't know what was normal or excessive. Now that she's gotten comfortable in her surroundings, there are just certain things that she focuses her time on chewing. For instance, she now primarily chews her sea grass/coconut fibre mat. What I've learned is that she eats the sea grass but she spits out the coconut fibre. She eats cardboard and paper, so I only allow cardboard outside her condo, supervised. She nibbles slightly on cloth and she very rarely will try to pull up carpet fibre. She hasn't even attempted to chew on my furniture lately. When she did it in the past I would click my teeth very loudly and she would stop. Amazingly it worked and she stopped! She more recently likes chewing on wooden blocks that are in the shape of fruit and veg.