bunny just eats his toys :(

[Casper and Thumper]

Hey guys, I was wondering if you could give me any advice. So one of my bunnies plays with toys normally, he chews on everything but that’s all he does, he chews it up and then spits it out. But my other bunny just eats all his toys. Like he chews them up and swallows them. I haven’t been giving him very many toys recently and I feel really bad about it but I also really don’t want him ingesting a whole lot of stuff that isn’t food either. Like I know that all the toys i give him are safe for bunnies and probably won’t hurt him in small amounts but I’m still worried. All the toys say “safe for chewing” on them but sadly none of them address whether or not eating it would cause an issue lol. I don’t want him to get like an intestinal blockage or something from eating a rattan ball or something, or any other complications that could happen from eating non food objects. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do?

[DanaNM]

What kind of toys do you mean? If they are rabbit specific toys for chewing, they are safe to be eaten.

. . . 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.  

[Casper and Thumper]

They are rabbit specific toys and I know it wont harm him to eat them in small amounts but he likes to just sit and eat like whole toys at once. All of his toys are made with rabbit safe ingredients but I don’t know if it would cause issues for him to eat like a whole bunch of wood or other things his toys are made of at once. Like would he be at risk of getting an intestinal blockage? Or make him sick to eat a bunch of non food items?

[Wick & Fable]

So rabbit-specific toys should be things that are designed to be eaten. Willow basket, twigs, hay mats…. these are all toys, but also food. If these are the types of toys you are talking about, then it really shouldn’t be a problem! In fact, many rabbit owners get sort of frustrated that their rabbits do not interact with toys. It sounds like your rabbit is getting a lot engagement from the toys. Rabbits chew wood and hay-based toys/hay very well before swallowing, so unless there’s a foreign material, it should not cause blockage.

With cardboard, eating cardboard is fine, but if a rabbit is getting full on cardboard which leads to not eating enough hay, then you want to reduce the amount of cardboard around.

Something I would wonder in general is if he is eating wood/hay toys because there is something wrong with the hay you are providing him/he senses he’s not getting enough hay. Also, a frustrated/bored rabbit is a destructive rabbit. It’s great that he’s destroying his toys appropriately, but also wonder about if he is excessively bored. How much socialization does he get?

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.

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