rabbit chew toys

Question
I know that twigs from apple trees are safe for rabbits to chew on, but do you know if it is safe for them to chew on CRABapple tree twigs. ? I have two indoor rabbits that love to chew apple twigs but I was wondering about the CRABapple.  Also, can you give me any other suggestions on what I could give them to chew on ?

Answer
I've never heard one way or the other about crabapple twigs. However, they are not listed in this info from the HRS site:

"Chewing wood: For pure chewing enjoyment and immense pleasure, there's nothing better than a nice piece of soft wood to gnaw on...for some rabbits. Many of my rabbits aren't the least bit interested in a piece of plain old wood and many never gnaw. But most do love a good piece of apple tree twig and will gnaw the bark from the twig as though it were a delicious treat. (Caution: Not to be fed are branches from apricot, cherry, peach, plum and redwood trees, listed as toxic by poison centers.)"

For ultimate safety, you might avoid the crabapple just in case. Seems that fruit trees have the most propensity to contain toxins. Also avoid cedar and juniper. I would think other hardwoods such as oak, pecan or walnut would be OK.

Frankly I've never had a rabbit much interested in twigs. More seem to be interested in "chewy" hay or fresh grass. As for wood chewing, many like something that is fixed in place (like baseboards, unfortunately!) so they can really get their teeth into it. You might bolt a block of untreated pine (most hardwoods are too hard and they lose interest) to the side of the cage or other prime area for chewing interest.

Toys available in pet stores made of light wood attract some rabbits--they can both chew and toss. Heavy duty plastic baby toys are in the same category. Heavy cardboard, such as salt canisters with the metal parts and paper removed, and the roll inserts from aluminum foil or plastic wrap are also good chew toys without the possibility of the rabbit consuming too much. If your rabbit consumes cardboard at a reasonable rate (my rule of thumb is a toilet paper tube should take 2 weeks to disappear, if it does), you can give them lighter cardboard toys as well.

More info on toys at http://rabbit.org/faq/sections/toys.html and on chewing at http://rabbit.org/faq/sections/chewing.html

Good luck! Thanks for your concern for your rabbit companion's health and wellbeing.

Gina