Ingested plastic

[FluffyBunny]

So, apparently, SOMEBUNNY was a little too eager to get his hay this morning!!  I left a huge new unopened bag of hay on top of my bunny’s food bin yesterday evening. I thought he couldn’t reach it. But over the night, he chewed his way into the hay bag

So, there’s a hole in the soft plastic bag – about 2.5 inches by 2 inches. There’s a tiny bit of hay missing too. But my main concern is, it seems he ate all the plastic he chewed off – there’s none on the floor. He seems to be fine, he was hyper, playing with toys,  had made some poop and was starving for his pellets. But I’m a little worried about how much plastic he ate. Could it cause any problems later on? Should I be worried?

[Deleted User]

If he’s pooping and eating normal in the 24 hours I’d say he’s fine.
My rabbits managed to pull into their condo an entire leaf bag through an NIC square (1.5″ by 1.5″), dumping the hay contents on the OUTSIDE of their condo in the process. My female rabbit has also bitten off over ten zip ties, which I found bit by bit in a frenzied search for them… and I read on the forum about rabbits having nibbled on remote control buttons… tztztztz! none of these things is good for them, but many times they end up being fine. watch him for signs of GI trouble. Check his droppings too.

[peepi&warri]

My boys do that too. I think a lot of the time they just stretch the plastic into a big hole and don’t actually tear the plastic off though. Can you tell if the plastic just got stretched? I would make sure your bun gets lots of hay and water and keep monitoring the poops.

[Deleted User]

Peepi, your avatar photo is priceless.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I would keep an eye for pooping but I know mine have eaten remote control buttons, carpet, holes in clothing, rubber off the brush handle etc. etc. so as long as it passes O.K. should be no trouble at all

[peepi&warri]

Thanks petzy. He likes to go potty in that dust pan… he’s my little dust bunny.

[FluffyBunny]

He seems to be fine today (although I haven’t seen any plastic in his poo…haha). To answer P&W, most of it looks chewed rather than stretched.
Thanks guys

[KatnipCrzy]

There really is not much you can do other than to keep an eye on him- monitor eating, drinking and poo output.

If it was a dog a vet might recommend something to help bulk up the plastic to help it pass- but rabbits eat so much fiber there is nothing different to recommend!

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