More active chewing – sign of increased comfort?

[joea64]

For the first few weeks or so living with me, Panda and Fernando didn’t seem to be really into chewing stuff except for their hay, which there is always plenty of (refreshed twice daily). I offered them cardboard pieces, willow sticks and chew toys but they almost always seemed to have a “meh” reaction (though they did chew a willow ball I gave them to absolute flinders within 24 hours!). More recently, though, they’ve been chewing more actively, particularly Fernando. I noticed last week before bringing them home from bunny-sitting that his favorite hidey box on the condo’s upper deck exhibits definite signs of chewing, though some of the chew marks may have been there all along, and I’ve seen him chomping contentedly on the box’s cardboard a couple of times in the last few days where I never noticed it before. Also, one or both of them seems finally to have taken to the willow sticks; I gave them a couple more over the weekend and noticed this morning that at least one of them had been chewed to a nub (I put in a couple of fresh ones before leaving for work). I think I’ll cut up one of the cardboard boxes in my closet and give them some again to chew on. Has any of you noticed similar behaviors, where your bun didn’t seem to be particularly chew-happy for a while but then started getting more enthusiastic about it?

[Wick & Fable]

Actually, I feel a lot of cases of increased chewing are paired with negative reasons unfortunately. Some rabbits chew due to dental discomfort, boredom, frustration, and stress.

Wick only chews when he’s gotten somewhere and doesn’t know how to get down, for example. It’s not due to comfort, but because he gets frustrated. Outside that, he doesn’t chew.

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.

[joea64]

Hmmmm. I’ll have to keep a close eye on their behavior and see how they’re doing. I’m pretty certain that the problem, if there’s one, isn’t dental at root cause; both rabbits are very active, enthusiastic eaters of hay, pellets, treats and greens and if they were having tooth issues I’m pretty sure I’d notice it because they’d be off their feed on something or other.

I know they probably had some stress to work off from all the traveling they’d been doing the past week, but they do seem to be pretty happy now that they’re back home. I don’t know if there’s anything they’re frustrated about, but I have started experimenting this week with leaving their X-pen up all night in order to give them more time outside their condo, amounting to 10-12 hours per 24-hour period. Maybe being able to roam and hop around in a bigger field for longer per day will help relieve any boredom they might have been feeling. I suppose, when it gets down to it, that I’m going to have to start thinking about bunnyproofing a large enough portion of my efficiency that they can roam around freely at least during periods when I’m able to supervise them.

P.S. Also, after doing a bit more research on the topic, I think Fernando’s relative youth is a factor. He’s 9-10 months old, about six to seven months younger than his mother Panda, who seems to be a much less active chewer. According to http://animals.mom.me/rabbit-sudden…10849.html ,

“Younger rabbits have bountiful levels of energy, prompting them to explore every unchartered nook and cranny in your home, chewing as they investigate. Rabbits have a burrowing instinct. Wild rabbits chew grasses to clear their way when tunneling to create a burrow. Pet rabbits may chew on carpets, wallpaper, blankets, throws and other household items in an attempt to burrow. Female rabbits have a stronger burrowing instinct than males. If your rabbit is not spayed or neutered, talk to your veterinarian about carrying out this procedure. Once a rabbit is spayed or neutered, the inappropriate chewing will decrease over time as the critter matures.”

Fernando is a very active, curious bun who likes to try to get out of the X-pen or condo when he can, so I’m now leaning toward his feeling a measure of frustration at not being able to explore as much as he wants. He’s of course been neutered (as Panda has been spayed), so I’m thinking right now the best thing to do is to keep up with giving them as much time out in the X-pen as possible and provide them with plenty of things to chew on.

[Bam]

I think happy bunnies chew. A marked increase in chaewing can mean tooth problems, but non-dental buns chew. My Bam chews more now when he’s on a diet, and it may well be frustration from not getting all the food he wants, but I can’t smother him with food just to keep him from chewing. He doesn’t eat the cardboard.

Wild rabbits spend their days foraging and running from enemies and digging holes and making/rasing babies. Indoors the chances of performing species appropriate behaviors are limited. We can add enrichment and I think cardboard houses and twigs and hiding their food a bit are forms of enrichment.

[joea64]

Posted By bam on 10/18/2017 9:54 AM

I think happy bunnies chew. A marked increase in chaewing can mean tooth problems, but non-dental buns chew. My Bam chews more now when he’s on a diet, and it may well be frustration from not getting all the food he wants, but I can’t smother him with food just to keep him from chewing. He doesn’t eat the cardboard.

Wild rabbits spend their days foraging and running from enemies and digging holes and making/rasing babies. Indoors the chances of performing species appropriate behaviors are limited. We can add enrichment and I think cardboard houses and twigs and hiding their food a bit are forms of enrichment.

Good thoughts – I should probably pick up some more rabbit-suitable twigs in addition to the willow twigs I already have, and maybe look at getting a proper cardboard house/castle for them for Christmas. They have old beer cartons as hidey boxes in their condo and out in the X-pen, but even if they don’t care that much  I’d like to indulge them in something a bit fancier. Maybe I can get some hard-plastic cups or something from the baby toys section to hide food under…

[Mikey]

I think it depends on the bunny. My Badger chews when hes happy, bored, sleepy, really at any point of the day. He just likes to chew on things and gets offended if you take his chews away. Its a good thing he enjoys this habit because a few of his teeth grow in sideways. If he didnt chew as much as he does, his teeth would need to be filed regularly. Blue chews only when he is bored, and he only really likes to chew on hard things like packed boxes or really tough sticks. Ive never seen Bombur chew.

[Deleted User]

I have two bunnies and before they were bonded together Daryl was a massive chewer of boxes and trixie wasn’t. Daryls favourite thing has always been getting a cardboard box and putting holes in specific places, making the holes I’ve created bigger, shredding with his paws and making nice neat little piles of cardboard after he’s ripped it off. This is like his little project. I’ve noticed now they are a bonded pair that this is something trixie feels the need to join in with. They will spend a lot of time doing this. I’ve noticed the same with willow sticks, they often share the same stick despite there being lots to choose from. I definitely think that behaviour like this is part of them establishing a routine as I often see them doing these specific things at the same points in the day. In the case of my bunnies I really see it as a positive thing because it’s what they are choosing to fill their time with. I always watch them, particularly Daryl when he’s doing this and it is always really apparent that he has an agenda in mind and he is doing all of this to reach an end goal.

[joea64]

Good point, Eddy. I sometimes forget that it’s been not quite two months (monthly bunniversary is Friday!) since they moved in with me, and it may have taken them that long to get down a proper routine of the sort that bunnies love. I’ll have to observe them this weekend when I’m around more during the day to get a better feel of what they do during the day, in addition to lounging/sleeping which constitutes the bulk of their high-daylight activities.

Just to dispel any potential confusion, I want Panda and Fernando to have both ample opportunities and supplies to chew, and to be doing their chewing daily on plenty of rabbit-suitable things. The more they chew on the right sorts of things, the healthier their teeth will stay.

[sarahthegemini]

I don’t really think it means anything other than they love chewing.

[joea64]

Posted By sarahthegemini on 10/18/2017 1:05 PM

I don’t really think it means anything other than they love chewing.

The rabbit equivalent of Freud’s “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”

[DanaNM]

Yep, sometimes it can be discomfort, sometimes it can be fun, sometimes it can be boredom, sometimes who knows! They definitely do have “projects” though, and will tend to obsess over a certain item/area until it is “done”.

. . . 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.  

[joea64]

Since I’ve started giving them all-night time to run back and forth between their condo and X-pen, they actually seem to have moderated their chewing. I’ve also swapped out some hidey boxes that were getting worn out and provided them with extra cardboard pieces to munch on, and made sure to keep their litterbox loaded with hay. Indeed, they spend quite a bit of time daily nomming on their hay pile which is certainly a good thing for their teeth and tummies!

[Bladesmith]

Clover and Dawn chew frequently. I keep a lot of toys and chewables available to them round the clock. Of course, initially they chewed huge holes in my leather couch and recliner, but I get the idea that they were after the salt, since they went after the two most used seats.

One of their favorite things to chew on is an old Saltine cracker box. It’s rough enough cardboard to wear their teeth down, but light enough to fling it around in their bunny antics. Clover frequently shoves her whole head in and then hops around with it until the funny wears off. Dawn sometimes sleeps in it.

[Author]

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