Willow and Aspirin

[Ellie]

So my parents came to visit me tonight and wanted to buy some things from Petsmart for the 'grandson.'
When I chose a wicker ball they were both surprised that bunnies eat that (they don't really know much about rabbits.)
They told me that willow (what most wicker is made from, as far as I know) has very similar effects of, and used to be used in aspirin!!
I googled it and it looks like in Ancient Greece and other places, they used it for pain relief, fever reducer, and stomach calming..
I just thought it was interesting that our bunnies love wicker so much... I wonder if it makes them "feel good" or anything?
Does anybody have any insight on this? I actually thought it was really interesting.

 

[Imbrium]

no clue... all I know is wicker balls don't get chewed and willow balls get DEMOLISHED in 3-4 days at my house

 

[mdith4him]

That's so interesting! Maybe they like the taste and it makes them feel good. Our bunnies destroy those wicker balls within a day or two. We don't buy them often because of that. I'd rather spend the money on something that will last longer. I'll have to give that a second thought, though!

 

[Imbrium]

I bought some in bulk from this site - http://www.pawtasticpet.com/search.asp

you have to pay shipping, but if you buy enough, it ends up being cheaper than petsmart. I bought 17 of the willow balls (all they had in stock) and it came out to 50c or something per ball cheaper... plus I was able to tack on some other stuff like the tropiclean stay away chew deterrent (which actually works on bunnies!) and a fun little round hay manger and it barely raised the shipping cost at all.

 

[holtzchick]

That is quite interesting! I haven't even tried willow balls to be honest because I haven't seen them around here. I would love to order one now and see what effect it has on Phonix

 

[kuniklos]

I just finished working at an alternative medicine shop and we did well white willow as an aspirin substitute. Another substitute is Devil's Claw, but I don't think that would be rabbit safe.

I'm not sure all willow varieties would work similarly though.

Ah, our little drug addled fluffies. How did we know we were enabling our bunnies?

 

[ldoerr]

I know that willow is good for fixing rabbit teeth. I have a breeder friend who has a willow tree near one of her rabbit barns. If she notices that her rabbits have malaclusion (sp?) she will give them a willow branch with a couple of leaves. It fixes it almost instantly. Every rabbit that I have ever seen given willow LOVES it, and gobbles it down. It makes me wish that I had a willow tree.

 

[mdith4him]

Wow, thanks, Imbrium, for the link! PetSmart sells them for $4, so $2.50 is a good deal! I'll have to stock up, too.

 

[LakeCondo]

The active ingredient in aspirin is found in willow bark, though I suppose there is some in the wood itself. See wikipedia under aspirin & go to the history section.

Willow trees don't make good lawn trees. Their roots are very water-seeking, so try to grow into the sewer &/or water pipes. They do well on lake & river banks.

 

[Imbrium]

mdith4him wrote:

Wow, thanks, Imbrium, for the link! PetSmart sells them for $4, so $2.50 is a good deal! I'll have to stock up, too.

yeah, the catch is the shipping, but like I said if you're willing to order in bulk, it still comes out ahead I got 3-4 months' worth of them at once instead of driving to petsmart once a week and crossing my fingers they've restocked them.

the only chews my bunnies like are the willow balls and this eco-log thing... they used to play under the log until they got too big and never really chewed on it, but suddenly they've been chewing it like mad to the point I've had to start rationing it so they don't get too much sugar. the willow balls are much healthier, so I like to make sure they always have one or two in the cage.

 

[holtzchick]

I actually got Phoenix a willow dumbell today and she seems to like it so far I wonder how long this will last her:/

 

[Missy]

I make my own willow balls, I have a huge willow tree in my front yard, that is really not good for anything else. So before they have a chance to get all dried out in the winter, I gather a bunch and make the balls, and then store them in grocery bags

 

[Imbrium]

wish I had a willow tree, lol - that's a great money-saver!

 

[holtzchick]

Lol update the willow dumbell is destroyed !! Need to buy her a new one

 

[ldoerr]

Yep Shiny Things will destroy those in a mater of an hour or 2.