My bunny has eaten ALOT of lino

[Shael]

Hello.

This morning I noticed my rabbit wasn’t eating, and was not behaving normal.

I took her to the vet, he said the only thing he found that was abnormal is that he could not hear much bowel movement.

He gave her a shot of something to help move it along, I am to take her back tomorrow if she is still not eating.

But when I got home, I noticed that a load of the lino had vanished, like a good 12″ squared. And she did not just chew it, because I could not see any bits around.

Why would she just keep eating the lino?,  It obviously does not taste nice. she has also eaten alot of my wallpaper. I have told her off everytime she does this, but continues anyway.

Will a rabbit really continue to eat something until they kill themselves? I was unaware that she was actually digesting these undigestable things, so I gave up trying to stop her.

She ate a bit of salad when she got back, but she is not herself. I am very worried about her.

[DanaNM]

You should share this information with your vet, because it may change the treatment procedure. There is a chance of a blockage with eating that much of a foreign substance, so the vet may want to do x-rays.

And yes, rabbits do eat lots of things they aren’t supposed to. As domesticated animals they don’t have the same instincts that wild rabbits do.

. . . 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.  

[Wick & Fable]

“I have told her off everytime she does this…” – unfortunately, rabbits and humans don’t communicate or think the same way, so rather than trying to instruct otherwise, it will probably be more effective to find ways for her to not do this, such as limiting access to the edges of the flooring that she can get to and eat. As Dana mentioned, domesticated rabbits do not have instincts that say whether or not something is good for them. Even from an animal perspective, they can’t really have a good gauge on human-made things, considering they aren’t natural either.

Rabbits chew, and your rabbit decided to chew on lino. Rabbit chewing/destruction is in their nature and they in fact need to do it to survive. It is your responsibility to find rabbit-safe things for her chew and digest, including hay and rabbit-safe materials, like particular woods, mats, and cardboard, and at the same time eliminate her access to things you feel she shouldn’t chew, like parts of your home and toxic things.

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.

[LBJ10]

I agree that the vet should be made aware. You want to make sure she doesn’t have a blockage.

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