He ate the whole stick!

[Knabbel Did It]

Arborist Scooter Beans doesn’t really chew on anything (yet, anyway) except food.  However, I bought that cute little basket with the apple wood sticks in it here at BB and took a few out for him to nibble on.  He ignored them the first day or two, but then I sort of did a little tug-of-war thing with him to try to get him interested (I don’t want him to have long tooth issues later) and he played along.  In fact he played along so well that he ended up eating the whole stick in one sitting just like it was parsley, only slower.  Granted, it was one of the smallest sticks in the basket, but I truly didn’t expect him to EAT it, just gnaw on it a bit.  I was freaking out like I used to when my kids started eating table food thinking he was going to choke on it, but he didn’t and he licked his lips and started looking for another one! 

So while I’m on the subject, when he tears off pieces of his cardboard boxes or his telephone book, is it okay if he eats a bit of those as long as it’s not a lot?  I just get all worried and take the whole thing away from him if I think he’s eating more than a mouthful.  Am I over-reacting?  I know carpet is bad, bad, bad, and don’t give him any leeway on that, but what, if any, other non-food items are basically harmless if it’s not eaten as a meal?   Thanks!

 

[Monkeybun]

cardboard, phone book paper, apple stick are totally fine if he eats. just make sure he still eats real food too

[BinkyBunny]

ditto Monkeybun. The only thing you have to watch out for with cardboard is if cardboard has a wax coating (most don’t though).

I’m glad that your bunny liked the Basket of Apple sticks. My bunnies are like that too, they will ignore sticks at first for some reason, but then give it time, and they will chew it up in no time. I think sometimes because sticks are round, bunnies have a hard time gripping it at first with their teeth and then once they realize they just need to get it at the right angle and put some real “umpf” into the bite, they then realize how yummy they are. Looks like you helped Aborist Scooter Beans (love that name!) find a successful chewing technique! LOL.

[Kate Monster]

Spencer will eat entire baskets in just a few days, and I’m not talking about the little tiny ones. Like the ones advertised as hay racks or for keeping toys in. It’s pretty amazing actually. Spencer the Magnificent, able to make a basket disappear into his belly in five days or less!

[Knabbel Did It]

Okay, thanks for the reassurance!  I haven’t read too much about bunnies actually eating the cardboard and newsprint; I thought they just liked to tear it up.  And the sticks…I never knew  !   (I freaked out one time when a three-year old kid ate his cupcake wrapper right along with his cupcake, and when I told his mom about it, she just shrugged her shoulders like it was a pretty normal occurance  – weird learning experience for me!)

 

[RabbitPam]

I actually feel reassured when I see her eat a lot of the sticks and hard chew items. It means she’s having a good tooth grinding, and the it is essential for a bunny to chew on hard things to keep their teeth in check. Their teeth never stop growing, and it’s a health risk to have a bunny not grind them down themselves.

[LBJ10]

Wooly will eat an entire stick. He will sit there chewing on it, drawing it in as if it was a stiff piece of spaghetti. Freaked me out the first time too! Haha!

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