Treat recommendation for rabbits that don’t chew

[Rabbitpossm]

I finally found something that Sully will chew. He only sometimes chews soft things (like the rubber part of my phone case.) Ever since I got him I’ve been keeping an eye on his teeth since he won’t touch any of the chew toys or rabbit friendly sticks I’ve gotten for him. Yesterday I picked up a pack of Kaytee timothy biscuits that I found and he loves them. They’re pretty hard and solid so I think I’ve finally found a good healthy solution for him and his dental needs. 

Just wanted to share this as a recommendation for any rabbit, but especially for rabbits that aren’t much for chewing. (And I just wanted to share this out of joy, he’s adorable with them. He grabs one, takes some nibbles, then carries it elsewhere, and repeat.)

[Ashley]

My bunny is the same! He doesn’t enjoy chewing on things and because of that, his teeth are overgrown. He barely touches his hay and I’ve tried so many different kinds already. I’ve had to take him to get his teeth trimmed and it is very expensive as he needs to be anesthetized. I’m going to try the Kaytee timothy biscuits but I was wondering if that has worked for you so far? Does your bunny hate hay too and are his teeth overgrown?

[Rabbitpossm]

Oh no! Luckily my bunny devours his hay so we haven’t had any issues yet.

I hope the Kaytee timothy bites works for your bun! The two options are baked with carrots or apples, so hopefully that part gets your bun interested! From looking at the carrot flavour I bought there’s some tiny pieces baked in so I trust the recommended 3-5 per day suggestion as not being too much sugar for a bun.

Since Sully is good with hay I’ve been giving him just one or two a day and sometimes more as a treat.

I’ve also read about people soaked wood chews in rabbit safe flavoured liquids/juices. (the thingI read said apple juice but I’m not sure if that’s entirely rabbit safe, or maybe just specific organic/natural apple juice.) The first wooden chew I got him was rings on a rod. If I stuffed some raspberries or other treats in there he’d take some nibbles to get to the treats. Not many but, it was something :p Perhaps tricks like that would get your bun nibbling.

[Yilina]

Hi! If your bunny eats a decent amount of hay there shouldn’t be any problems with overgrown teeth. There are many rabbits that don’t enjoy chewing and they are fine as long as they ear hay (my own Tambor, for example).

[Yilina]

Posted By Ashley on 8/24/2018 1:37 AM

My bunny is the same! He doesn’t enjoy chewing on things and because of that, his teeth are overgrown. He barely touches his hay and I’ve tried so many different kinds already. I’ve had to take him to get his teeth trimmed and it is very expensive as he needs to be anesthetized. I’m going to try the Kaytee timothy biscuits but I was wondering if that has worked for you so far? Does your bunny hate hay too and are his teeth overgrown?

Hi there! It’s very important that bunnies eat hay, not only for their teeth but also for their digestive system. I’m sure that, if you create a new post about this, the Binky bunny community can help you find ways to encourage him to eat hay.

[joea64]

I’m glad – most of the time, anyway! – to report that both Panda and Fernando are assiduous chewers. Fernando in particular will chew anything that looks interesting, including my clothes when I’m wearing them. They’ve gone through something like four hidey boxes each between them since they love to chew the ones I put on the upper level of their condo to shreds.

Oxbow also produces timothy hay bites, which may be better (I don’t really trust Kaytee). They also produce a very popular line of treat biscuits/cookies for small mammals called Simple Rewards, which are my go-to treats for my buns (actually, is that what you were talking about? Timothy is one of their flavors). Panda and Fernando particularly esteem the apple/banana flavor, but I found out a couple of months back that they also like the bell pepper variety. Panda also likes the peppermint and cranberry, but Fernando isn’t so enthusiastic about those flavors. They cost US $5 – $7 the bag (usually 2 oz., but many flavors including apple/banana now come in 3-oz. bags) depending on where you shop down here. They’re more “crunchy” than “chewy” from what I see; the buns generally break the biscuits up and munch on a bit at a time.

[Nutmeg]

Ashley – I had a rescue bunny that grew up on unlimited pelets – she was over 4 years old when I got her… getting her to eat hay was IMPOSSIBLE… even when I cut down her pellets to a 1/4 cup a day she would basically starve herself.

I don’t know HOW she didn’t have teeth problems – maybe because she loved ripping up cardboard?

But anyways … I found these Oxbow Harvest Stacks of compressed Timothy hay with a bit of dried carrot mixed in to it and she went NUTS for it and ate that hay right up… was hovering the tiny pieces off the carpet too lol 

Its 90% hay and 10% dried carrot and each one (there is 4 or 5 in there) is twice the size of a hockey puck…

http://www.oxbowanimalhealth.com/our-products/hay/harvest-stacks-western-timothy-with-carrots

[Rabbitpossm]

yeah, I was fairly conscious/active in checking his teeth because of it but did feel more comfortable knowing how much hay he eats. (he could eat a flemish’s worth of hay a day.) I know that at the very least he’s still very healthy cause he’ll eat a great amount of hay, but I was still looking for other things he might be interested in as a not avid chewer, and wanted to share since I figured he wasn’t the only bunny likethis. Also, Ashley, Yilina is right, look into this communities suggestions of getting them to eat hay, cause it is so important!

Joea64, I’m going to look into the oxbow timothy bites! Oxbow is my preferred brand always. Normally I buy all my stuff from the sanctuary I used to volunteer at, which was predominantly oxbow products, and they either supplied oxbow or local brands. but now that I’m not going there weekly I need to find places nearby my house. and kaytee became one of the easier things to find. But now that I know oxbow makes very similar treats, I’m gonna look to order them if I can’t buy them nearby. Because yeah, I’m suspect about Kaytee. they’re better than a lot of the rest of them, but I don’t fully like that brand.

The petshops that I’m willing to support close to me don’t have too wide of a selection (that is the pet shops that don’t carry live animals.)

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