Bunny only wants to eat paper/cardboard?

[beefswitch]

Margo's a very picky bun, but recently she doesn't want to eat her hay (except for the really juicy floral lovely bits) or her pellets and instead only really wants to eat paper and cardboard.

She's only ever eaten one brand of pellets to begin with.

The problem is, she only ever wants to play with paper and cardboard as well, so if i remove it completely she'll get bored and be destructive towards the flat.

Is there anything I can do to discourage her from eating the paper/cardboard and make her hay and pellets more interesting to her?

Thank you

 

[blwinteler]

Maybe put the hay into a paper tube. Then, maybe she will start to enjoy the hay again as she eats it with the tube.

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[JBun]

What does her fecal poop look like? Does it seem smaller than usual?

You're going to need to be careful with your bun eating cardboard as cardboard consumption can sometimes lead to a GI blockage.

Often when a rabbit is feeling the need to eat cardboard, it is because they are craving fiber because of a gut slowdown. Can you get a hold of any apple branches for her to chew on? They may help. It might also be good to cut out pellets for a few days and remove the cardboard and feed only hay if she will eat it. If she won't, it's possible the GI slowdown is being caused by her not wanting to eat her food because of dental problems. If she has molar spurs, then it would be painful for her to be eating her food, so that may be why she isn't wanting to eat it and is instead eating cardboard. If it is her teeth, she may eat her pellets if they are soaked and softened in warm water, at least until you can get to the vet and have her teeth checked, which you will want to do right away if she won't eat when you remove the cardboard, as she could easily develop GI stasis in this situation.

 

[squidpop]

If you know anyone who has willow trees - they like those branches too. Maybe she is eating the cardboard because she's dissatisfied with her hay- maybe try a different brand or kind of hay- or give her twice the amount you usually give her and see if she will eat it instead.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We switched ours to Orchard grass. The tube stuffed with hay is a good idea.