Bunny ate a whole carpet tassle thingy!

[Rain]

My little rabbit is obsessed with chewing and EATING those stringy things at the edges of a carpet. Whenever I’m sitting around and realize I’m not hearing the sounds of sliding feet on a wooden floor I know something’s up. Btw, I’m sorry about the wood floor guys, I can’t do anything about it. I have a couple decent sized rooms that have carpet flooring so I let him go into those as much as possible. So I realize it’s too quiet and I look around for the cute little guy and there he is munching on dusty carpet threads. I take away the carpet from him right? Then he starts pulling carpet strands from the floor. I try to pull them from his mouth as soon as I catch him, but he gulps them down instantly! I thought rabbits have refined taste buds or something! The worst part is, I haven’t seen him poop it out either. Every time he does this, he never poops out stringy looking poop! He eats his hay like normal and drinks all of his water every day. But this carpet really worries me! GUYS NOW HE’S SITTING DOWN IN A MEATLOAF POSITION AND HES CHEWING HIS TEETH!!!!!!! Will my baby boy be okay? Should I take him to a vet? Please do your best to reply as soon as possible!!!!!!! I don’t think his life is at risk RIGHT NOW, like at this very second he might die, so that’s why I’m asking ya’ll first. 

[Dasher]

If it is a loud tooth grinding then he is in pain and needs to be taken to the vet.

[Bam]

The reason you don’t see it pooped out is that he chews thoroughly. That’s a great thing about buns: They tend not to swallow stuff while like dogs and cats do.
Hay and water help with getting stuff through the GI canal.

A young bunny often chews its teeth when they’re feeling very relaxed and comfy. Does he take a treat from you if you offer one? If he does, I think he’ll be fine.

It’s not great that he eats carpet though, does he have cardboard houses and chew toys? Many buns like destroying cardboard houses (known as bunstruction). My bun loves chewing apple sticks.

[Rain]

He takes PLENTY of treats when I offer them! I give him an alfalfa chew stick! I didn’t know young rabbits chew often! Phew! I was hearing from everyone else that chewing air means they have gas pains and dental issues and hurry up and take him to a vet ASAP! God thank you for telling me that. I don’t know what else to give him as a chew toy! He doesn’t really like cardboard! He prefers the rubber grips on my pens. And the wood on furniture. I guess it really is lucky that rabbits take forever to chew(I mean honestly think about hand feeding them a little smidge if pellets! Whoo!) Anyways thanks guys! That really reassured me!

[Wick & Fable]

I wouldn’t use taking a treat as a guarantee of him being well. Please keep monitoring his behaviors. Loud teeth grinding and consistent loaf positions and hesitancy to move all are discomfort and pain signs.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Rain]

Hmm I agree. He still eats his hay and everything so the major important parts are there. He hardly sits still for a moment! Who needs a gym when you have a rabbit for your daily workout right? ??

[sarahthegemini]

The threads could tangle up in his tummy. Please in the future, remove all tassles/block access. It’s very dangerous for a bun to ingest that sort of thing.

[Rain]

Agreed! I’m going to be very careful to make the area safe so next time this doesn’t happen. I’m still slightly anxious so could someone give me somebody important major symptoms to watch out for in my bunny in case something did go wrong?

[ams1786]

My rabbit ate the full side of fringe (like several feet) off two different carpets (she must have been doing it secretly for months and we didn’t notice til it was gone). She’s fine. The tassels are likely natural fibers and they’re probably chewing it up fully. He will likely be fine but just keep a close eye on him and, if he loses his appetite over the next several hours, get him to a vet ASAP. Any stomach issues would show up in 24 hours or so. You can give him lots of wet greens to keep things moving.

Re: wood floors, they’re fine as long as they have areas to rest their feet (like carpets/towels etc). The issue is when it’s all wood with nothing soft (or you have one of those rabbits who just hates wood).

[Rain]

Okay! Thanks! It’s been more than three days now and he’s fine so I think it’s okay. I am just going to stalk him around the house from now on and see his every movement.

[Author]

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