please help :(

[jess8909]

Hi, i got a new bunny from a fair, the lady had him since he was a baby and hes now a a Sr buck hes a big ole bunny, say hes a copper satin buck, well we got home late last night with him and i put him into his own cage, with food, a dish of water and some timothy hay, well i get him out to walk around and stuff and he wants to chew on plastic i know its not a good thing and means that he is lacking something, but can someone tell me if they ever had a bunny that would do this?. and if so what did you do to help it? im going to contact the vet and see if they can tell me anything.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Chewing on plastic doesn't mean he is missing anything. Rabbits do chew a lot and some prefer certain textures to chew, it could be wood, plastic or something else.

Try getting some safe chew toys for him. You also need to bunny proof the area that he is allowed to run around so there aren't things that he should not be chewing laying around.

 

[MikeScone]

Bunnies have to chew - their teeth grow all the time, and if they don't chew on hard things to wear them down, the teeth can overgrow.

Plastic's not good for him, since it isn't digestible and could cause an intestinal blockage if he eats it. If he doesn't eat any, I suppose it's harmless enough.

I'd suggest you find some more acceptable alternatives. Each rabbit has different tastes, so see what it is he likes.

Give him a toilet paper roll (without paper, obviously, just the core) or a plain willow basket (not painted or lacquered). Or, try apple twigs or simply a piece of untreated lumber. Brown corrugated cardboard boxes often make good chew toys, and if they're big enough they can also provide play opportunities as a place to hide or run through (avoid painted or lacquered boxes, obviously).

Even scraps of heavy paper might be interesting - I often share a magazine with Natasha, me reading and her nibbling the tip-in cards.

I cut pieces of scrap shelving down to of 1x2" and about a foot long, then notch the ends and wedge them into a corner of Natasha's cage. She loves to demolish them. My previous rabbit, Scone, just ignored the lumber, so, as I said, they're all individuals.