Pet Information > ASK Experts > Exotic Pets > Rabbits > eating wood

eating wood

22 10:15:31

Question
Our 4 month old netherland dwarf is chewing wood.  It seems odd that digesting wood is safe for her.  The breeder told us to put a block of untreated wood in the cage.  She barely touches it, but when I let her out the cage she chews on the base board around the house.  I know it is bad for her because it is painted.  How can I get her interested in the block of wood inside her cage?  How much wood is okay, and how much wood is too much or even dangerous for her?

Answer
Dear Marta,

It's not the wood they like so much as engaging in activity that feels like natural burrowing behavior they do in the wild.  The baseboards are attractive because they don't *move* while she chews them.  This appeals to a rabbit, as it's a bit like burrowing and chewing through the ground and through roots they encounter as they go along.  A wooden block that doesn't hold still for chewing is just not much fun.  I've never known a rabbit who liked them.  But fixed wood...that's the ticket!

There is really no good way to stop them from doing this natural behavior.  But to protect your baseboards, you can tack up a strip of untreated molding (make it a good-sized bit!) against the part of the baseboard where she chews, and she will go to town on that!  You can remove the strip when company comes over, and replace it when it becomes worn out.

As she gets older, this behavior will slow down, but it could get more intense as she enters her "terrible teens" and the sex hormones kick in.  This will be time to spay her, since unspayed, unbred female rabbits have a very high risk of uterine cancer:

www.rabbit.org/health/spay.html

You can find a good rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

and all the best information for the proper care of your bunny pal here:

www.rabbit.org/

Good luck!  :)

Dana