Is cage chewing a sign that something could be wrong?

[Sawyer]

I’m new to rabbits. I have an 8 month old Holland Lop boy that I’ve had for two months; he was born and raised at a breeder’s before that and lived in a large cage most of the time.

Here, he is never closed up in his cage. His cage is in a bathroom and the cage door is always left open. Whenever I’m home and awake, the bathroom door is also open and he is free to roam the entire downstairs as he likes. At night and when I’m at work, he’s closed up in the bathroom but again, the cage door is open — he gets the whole bathroom and it’s a decent sized bathroom. So he’s a pretty free bunny.

He gets about 1/4 cup pellets twice a day and a handful of salad once a day and has unlimited hay and water. He has cardboard boxes, a straw basket, wood chewing sticks, and toilet paper rolls for chewing (although he has never paid a bit of attention to the wood sticks or toilet paper rolls and rarely chews the boxes or basket).

Just in the last few days, he has started going in his cage and gnawing on the metal bars. He’s also doing a lot of digging and scratching along the edges of the cage.

I don’t care if he does it — if he enjoys it, it doesn’t matter to me. My only concern is if it might be a sign that something is wrong. My sister had a hamster that suddenly started chewing its cage and they found out it was a sign of dehydration — my bunny is drinking plenty of water so I know it’s not that, but it made me think perhaps for rabbits it might mean something else.

Thanks for any help you might be able to provide!

[Chilly's Mom]

Chilly cage chews the area that I have fenced off for her. She has her cage with litter box and pillow, but then there’s the area in which she can come out and run around in. She chews that. I just figure that she’s chewing that because she wants out to explore more of the room. My other rabbit is content with the run around space that’s available. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with cage chewing. I did notice that there was some cardboard just outside the border of the cage that Chilly loves, so could there be something that smells good to your bunny that makes him salavate/cage chew?

With the toilet paper rolls you should pinch one end closed and put some snacks like dried fruit or stuff grass inside then pinch that end closed. Shake the roll in front of the bunny and let go. Curiousity should set in.

With the baskets and boxes, maybe some peanut butter smeared on them would get them interested.

[Elrohwen]

If it helps, my bun will go into his cage and dig and dig at the corners and I think he just does it for fun! He can get out anytime he wants, so I really think he just wants to dig at something and his plastic cage floor is his favorite place to do it.

For the cage chewing, I don’t really know what to suggest. I have had gerbils who chewed like crazy on their metal wheels and didn’t chew on the wood in their cage, so it could just be that they like the taste/texture that the metal provides?? My only concern would be that it’s possible for a bunny to break a tooth while chewing on metal like that.

Maybe try providing him with new things. Even if it’s just another cardboard box, sometimes my bun will chew things more when they’re new to him. Or maybe a phone book? Grass mats?

[Chilly's Mom]

like the phonebook idea, but it does make a big mess! Ahh what we do for our bunnies.

[Elrohwen]

Haha, yes, I have pieces of ripped up phonebook all over my living room rug. The worst is that Otto will only play with it if I pretend to read it first. Then if I read a magazine for real, he’s immediately more interested in eating that. Silly buns.

[Author]

Messages