Why is she licking the floor?

[whitelop]

I've noticed lately that Ellie has been licking the floor a lot.
She'll lay down and lick her foot then move to licking the floor. Then just licks the floor for a few minutes.

Thats weird right?

I know when they love you, they'll lick you or your clothes. She licks me and my clothes. But does she love the floor too? Or does the floor just taste good?

Sometimes, they're just so weird. And I have hardwood floors in the kitchen, so no carpet licking or eating. Just licking the wood.

Do any of your rabbits lick the floor?

 

[missyscove]

Sounds pretty normal. My bunnies like to hop up on my bed and lick the pillows.

Just be careful what kind of cleaners you're using so she's not ingesting something harmful.

Edit: managed to get a video of Cricket licking my pillow.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46y-tSY9Wl0[/ame]

 

[Chrisdoc]

I don´t think it´s weird. Mine sometimes like the floor, pillows, the furniture and loads of other things.

I´d just be careful what you use to clean the floor but she should be OK. I tell you bunnies do such strange things.

Love the video of cricket, she´s got a gorgeous lickle face.

 

[whitelop]

I only use white vinegar and hot water on the floor, so no harmful chemicals.

Glad that I don't have the only one who licks the floor or other things! LOL

 

[Azerane]

Yep, you're definitely not the only one. I'll agree that it's pretty weird though

 

[Sophie's Humble Servant]

Lol I posted about this a couple of months ago because Sophie does the exact same thing! I thought she was just licking her front feet when she was sprawled out on the carpet but she was licking the rugs! Every time she lays on the one area of the rug she always licks it like mad! It's so weird and I think she has a little frog tongue lol.

 

[whitelop]

Hahaha. Ellie starts out licking her front feet, then its like she grazes the floor with her tongue on the floor and she starts to lick the floor.
Its hilarious to watch, but I don't get it! haha.

She licks my pants a lot too though. When I sit down with her, she licks my legs and feet and pants and hands. Then goes back to licking the floor. LOL

 

[Zeroshero]

Zero obsessively licked carpet, no chewing, just licking so much that I put tarps down in his ex-pen to protect him from his "habit". The vet blamed one of his bouts with stasis on carpet fibers he "may have ingested".

 

[Chrisdoc]

Haha Snowy and Houdini do that, they start cleaning their front paws but then end up licking the floor underneath whether it´s in their cage or in the living room. Aren´t they just the funniest.

 

[gsloan]

My dwarf holland Munchkin, who was* an affection-seeker from day one, was a big time kisser. She'd lick me whenever I got near her. Later in life (after she got an infection and ended up with permanent head tilt) she was a lot less likely to lick unprovoked. BUT, I knew her secret - a good ear scratch would compel her to lick. Like, literally compel - seemed very much a similar reaction to dogs who kick their leg when you scratch them in the right spot. Start scritching those ears and she'd IMMEDIATELY start licking.

And she had a clear preference order. #1 was me. If my hand/face/leg/arm were in tongue range, she was on it. #2 was her bunny companion Lito (with some pretty aggressive licking - not sure how much Lito appreciated that). #3, herself. If neither I nor Lito were in range she'd just start compulsively grooming herself.


Contrast that to Lito. Lito was always less interested in affection than Munckin. But has softened in her old age. She now very much loves to be pet (even if she'll never admit it). And like Munchkin she's developed the compulsive licking thing too with a couple key differences. First, Munchkin's trigger spot was pretty exclusively her ears. Lito - just about anywhere. Get into a good groove petting her and she'll start licking. Second - she licks EXCLUSIVELY the floor. Would never DREAM of licking me. If I am ever so insulting as to offer my hand, there's a good chance she'll up and take off.


* We lost Munchkin last December. Was hard to take, but she lived for 5 stubborn years after an emergency vet was sure she wouldn't make it through one night, so we were happy with the time we had.