Chewing rabbit

Question
QUESTION: Hello!

I have a rabbit that lives in a cage with a second level for her to jump up on. There's a hole in the top of the second level to put a food bowl in. My problem is that she keeps chewing on the plastic from underneath the food bowl hole, and I think she may be eating the plastic, though I'm not sure.

If she is eating the plastic, could it hurt her? How can I get her to stop chewing on it? I've tried providing different toys, but she doesn't appear to find any of them as interesting as the plastic in her cage.

Thanks!

ANSWER: Plastic obviously isn't good for your rabbit, but the pieces are probably small and pass through.

I may not be visualizing the cage properly, but is it possible to cover the hole in some way by either stapling/attaching a foil pie tin under the hole, or one of the cloth ferret slings?

You could also try attaching bird toys in the area around the hole.  Many bird toys are safe for rabbits to chew on.  Your rabbit may like them, or may see them as enough of a nuisance to stop chewing on the cage.

You could also try the bitter sprays sold in pet stores to deter chewing.  They've never worked with any of my rabbits, but for some people they do work.

Rabbits can be tough to find a toy that will work with them.  Have you tried a phonebook?  A lot of rabbits love shredding, digging, and working out a lot of energy on phonebooks.

Also, does your rabbit have a friend?  Rabbits with friends often divert their energy on each other.  While it doesn't completely stop chewing behavior, a friend may work.  But if she doesn't have a friend, don't run out and get another rabbit if you're not comfortable with the idea or just can't get another rabbit.

You may already have tried these toys, but this site has more toy ideas:
http://web.archive.org/web/20010828041750/http://www.therabbitcharity.freeserve.

I hope this helps


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello!

Well, I couldn't really say she has a FRIEND. I DO have another rabbit. But the problem is that my other rabbit, Yuki, I had for several years before I got this rabbit, Sophie. And Yuki is a very big bunny, while Sophie is a dwarf. And the biggest problem is that Yuki is a growling, pouncing, biting, scratching, very territorial rabbit. So unfortunately the two rabbits are kept is separate cages, for fear that big, aggressive Yuki will harm little, docile Sophie.

No, I have never tried a phone book. I've heard from many people that rabbits love them, but my concern is, if Sophie will eat plastic, what if she eats large amount of inky paper in a phone book?

Thank you for the list of toys. I've tried a few, but many of them are new to me. I'll give them a shot, especially for the ever bored Yuki.

Because I was worried for my rabbits health, and didn't know when you'd respond to my question, what I ended up doing was taking off the second level of the cage, completely removing the temptation. Of course, this is not what I wish to do permanently, because poor little Sophie LOVES the second level of her home. I gave her a big cardboard box for her to jump up on and hide in, but that just doesn't seem to replace her beloved second level.

I've tried putting big balls of paper into the hole she's been chewing on, but she just pulls them out and keeps chewing. I'll try the bird toy idea, that sounds good.

While we're on the subject, I have another question. My other rabbit, Yuki, the destructive one, will tear apart anything and everything as soon as she gets out of her cage. But anything I give her while she's IN the cage, she refuses to even touch. Even when I give her the SAME cardboard box that she was chewing on while out of her cage, once she's in the cage, she won't touch it. Got any ideas?

Thanks a lot!


Answer
Well, I don't think I have a magic bullet to the problem with Yuki.  I swear rabbits are a lot like cats in their particularness for their toys.

Many of my rabbits will love something out of their cage but won't touch it once they toy has been moved to inside the cage.  And even outside the cage, they can be funny about things.  One of my rabbits loves shredding phone books but only if it is in a particular spot in the room.

Also, some of my rabbits treat their cage like it's their chill-out relaxation pad and never want to do anything but relax and eat in their cage.

So, it may take a lot of trial and error before you find what Yuki may want to play with when she's in her cage.

On the issue of phone books, I originally had the same concern, but someone told me that soy ink is used in phonebooks now.  I've given my rabbits phonebooks for years and haven't seen any problems.  Sometimes, the rabbits do eat the paper, but most of the time, just shred and dig it up.