rabbit licking

Question
QUESTION: Hi
Does a rabbit lick you for affection or is it the salt?  I was petting my rabbit laying next to her for about 10 minutes and then I stopped and she licked my face and head like she was grooming me.  I couldnt believe it she was also licking my hand.  Do You think she licked my face because she was (in her mind) grooming me or thanking me or do they lick for other reasons?

Also I ripped up white paper and put it in a basket,  Is regular white paper safe for them to chew up and maybe she swallows it not sure,


Thanks again in advance
Jen
ANSWER: Hi Jen,

nope, she is licking you because she is reciprocating your grooming of her.  It is truly a sign of love, because rabbits only lick/groom their friends.  

Rabbits know exactly what they are doing.  It's not just for salt.  You've got a rabbit that trusts you and loves you and is showing affection back to you by grooming you.  She is bonded to you, the alpha bunny.

Lee

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

QUESTION: Hi Wow that makes me feel good...What about the other question I asked above...... I ripped up white paper and put it in a basket,  Is regular white paper safe for them to chew up and maybe she swallows it not sure,  

Answer
Hi Jen,

well, white paper is bleached, and yes, you are correct, she could chew it and swallow it.  A little paper will not be a big deal, as rabbits (wild and domestic) eat twigs and bark and chew & eat wood chew toys, and that's all that paper is, essentially.  So a little bit won't hurt her.  If she eats a lot, I'd probably not fill it with paper.

The area I'd be concerned about is that she may mistake the basket filled with paper to be a litterpan.  If this occurs, you may want to consider filling it with something different.  We give our guys 'diggy piles' of clean, old 100% cotton tshirts and towels to dig in and chew on.  They can amuse themselves for hours and you don't have lots of paper fragments to clean up.

Lee