Bunny won't chew...

[maherwoman]

Question...we've given Bunny many different chewable items, and she's sampled each one a bit, but not gone gung ho in her chewing yet.

Will she chew when she knows she needs to? Or will she just let her teeth grow?

Will she handle it before it gets bad? I mean, its not like she has a shortage of things to chew, she just has decided not to chew them, for whatever reason.

Her eating habits are just fine (if only shown by her poop and pee amounts...lol), so I know it's not that her teeth are too long for her to want to chew. Her grooming habits are just fine (grooms as often as a cat), so I know it's not that her mouth hurts, for some reason.

Could you guys clue me in on what could be happening? Could it be that she recognizes that she doesn't have to chew right now? Do bunnies chew all the time, or are there some bunnies that do it only when necessary?

Thank you!

 

[Beckers]

Try Timothy Hay cubes--Floppy wouldn't chew on anything until I found these and now he'll sit there gnawing on it, sometimes for half an hour or so. Hopefully this helps keep his teeth worn down.

 

[northerndancer]

Hi

I would say as long as he's eating hay, that is the main thing to keep teeth worn down, isn't it?

ND

 

[Bassetluv]

This is the main problem I have with Raph...he won't chew on things. I've given him wooden toys, branches from my apple tree, boards placed across his cage at chin level (with both apple and carrot rubbed on them to entice him)...anything I can think of, but the most he does is one or two nibbles and then no longer bothers. I've tried the hay cubes and he refuses to chew on them. He eats hay, which is fine for his molars, but it's his incisors that are the problem. They grow at a tremendous rate! After Christmas last year he broke them off at the gumline (I later realized it was because they were too long, growing too rapidly) and within two weeks they were almost at full length again. I'm going to have to take him to the vet's for trimming, but that is going to get very costly after a while.

I'd love to hear some more ideas on how to encourage a rabbit to chew, if anyone has any...

 

[Beelzebunny]

Yes, buy a piece of beautiful antique furniture and then ban your bunny from going anywhere near it. He won't be able to resist!

 

[naturestee]

Beelzebunny wrote:

Yes, buy a piece of beautiful antique furniture and then ban your bunny from going anywhere near it. He won't be able to resist!

:laugh:
I don't think Mocha chewed a whole lot at that age, she just nibbled a little. She started chewing more when she was a little older, and because she would get bored in her cage by herself. All of my buns will go for a while without being overly interested in chew toys (unless they're new and fascinating) and then decide to start a chewing project and do a whole lot at once.

 

[maherwoman]

LOL!! Good idea!! I can just picture Bunny now... :yes:

Beelzebunny wrote:

Yes, buy a piece of beautiful antique furniture and then ban your bunny from going anywhere near it. He won't be able to resist!

 

[maherwoman]

Thank you for the encouragement! I was getting really worried...

A quick note, Bunny was chewing on her cage bars earlier, so I got a good look at the teeth, and they look just fine.

naturestee wrote:

Beelzebunny wrote:

Yes, buy a piece of beautiful antique furniture and then ban your bunny from going anywhere near it. He won't be able to resist!

:laugh:
I don't think Mocha chewed a whole lot at that age, she just nibbled a little. She started chewing more when she was a little older, and because she would get bored in her cage by herself. All of my buns will go for a while without being overly interested in chew toys (unless they're new and fascinating) and then decide to start a chewing project and do a whole lot at once.

 

[dm21]

My bunny, Biggles, isn't really interested in chewing things that much. He scoffs on hay all day long so I'm not really that worried. When Bonnie was alive she used to chew on willow balls - she used to destroy them within a couple of hours of getting them!

 

[Maureen Las]

Babette kept her teeth trimmed on the bottom of an American antique19th century bed frame and then flossed them on the back of a contemporary sofa...the antique is still with us but the sofa was discarded. Her teeth are fine but my home is not.

 

[maherwoman]

Aww...I'm sorry to hear that!!

angieluv wrote:

Babette kept her teeth trimmed on the bottom of an American antique19th century bed frame and then flossed them on the back of a contemporary sofa...the antique is still with us but the sofa was discarded. Her teeth are fine but my home is not.

 

[jordiwes]

I find my bunnies only like to chew in their "safe place", ie. under the bed. If I put chew toys or a grass mat under there it will be gone in no time. Toys left out in the open get ignored.

Their favories are the grass mat and willow ball.