Aspen/Bamboo Chopsticks?

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This topic has 2sd replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 5 months ago by Cheru and Choco.

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- 11/07/2015 at 2:00 PM
  Cheru and Choco
  Participant
  14 posts
  I was wondering if chopsticks would make a good chew toy for a rabbit. I bought a bag of disposable chopsticks (waribashi.) I bought them for my rabbit (although if it’s a bad idea, I’ll just use them myself.) I had a couple concerns before letting him have at them, though.
  
  First, I was concerned about the material. I’ve tried to look up if bamboo, as a material, is safe for rabbits to chew and consequentially consume. I found mixed results. Some people seem to say it’s okay, some people seem to say only certain types are okay and others don’t think it’s safe. I was wondering if some people could give me their thoughts. If not, I have access to aspen chopsticks, which, I think aspen is safe? (I’m a new owner, if you couldn’t tell…)
  
  One of my main concerns about him gnawing on chopsticks is splinters of wood. I’d heard somewhere about a wood splinter getting caught in the gums of someone’s rabbit and they got an infection. Along with that, I worry that something like a wood splinter could puncture an internal organ or something like that. Is this likely to happen? I wanna clarify that I want to give them for him to chew, not to eat, but bunny’s gonna eat what bunny’s gonna eat.
  
  My other concern is with him choking. While the chopsticks are long, they’re narrow. I’m worried that if he gets a big enough chunk, he could try to eat it and it could get lodged in his throat. Is this something that’s likely to happen?
  
  Why chopsticks? Well, they’re cheap. I got a bag of 30 (which would be 60 individual sticks for him) for 100 yen (about a buck.) So I just thought it would be a quick, convenient replacement until I can start buying him some better toys. I’ll be getting some very soon. I hope…
  
  Anyway, thanks for help. Any information provided is appreciated.
- 11/07/2015 at 2:34 PM
  Bam
  Moderator
  17033 posts
  Aspen is bunny safe. Bamboo I too have read conflicting info about.
  A wooden splinter might get stuck in a bunny’s mouth or lodge itself between the teeth – that’s possible. Still I think most people give their bunnies chew sticks and/or wooden chew toys, because bunnies need to chew. A piece of hay might also get stuck between the teeth, but you can’t not give a bunny hay.
  Wooden splinters piercing internal organs is less likely I think. First of all bunnies grind their food with their molars, secondly they have very strong stomach acid and their tummies are “designed” to deal with cellulose fibers.
  As for a bunny choking, that too could potentially happen, just as a dog might choke on a bone. if your bun is a little pig that throws his food into him, you should probably observe him the first few times you give him a chopstick. I often give my buns Apple twigs the size and length of a chopstick, and they’ve never had any problems with those twigs. One of them just eats the bark but the other one eats the whole stick.
- 11/08/2015 at 7:35 AM
  Cheru and Choco
  Participant
  14 posts
  Okay, thank you! I didn’t know a lot of that, but those are all good points.
  
  I actually let him chew a little bit of one of the bamboo chopsticks with supervision while I held the stick. He seemed to like it fine and he especially seemed to like the taste. I think he licked it a lot more than he chewed it. I gave him an aspen chopstick today, though. He didn’t seem like he was gorging himself on it, so I let him have at it. To compare the two, I liked the way that the aspen would split off finely when he’d chew it. I figured that seemed alright for him. The bamboo, however, would make a lot larger of splinters. It was also tougher for him to get through it. I think the bamboo must be harder than the aspen. Maybe also a different type of fiber, too. Comparing the two, I’m thinking bamboo might not be the best for him for some of the concerns I listed above. It seems like it might be more likely for him to get stabbed, somehow, somewhere, from the bamboo.
  
  Anyway, thanks again for your help!
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