# is it bad that my bunny is eating its towel?



## scubagirl68

Hi I have a new rabbit and I recently put a towel in to line her cage (as I was told to do) but I have caught her nibbling on the strings and I'm afraid that she might eat them and choke or something. Should I be worried about this?


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## Shuu

Towel threads in the stomach can cause blockages. If you know s/he's eating it, it's best to remove it. Better safe than sorry.


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## Pipp

If it's a cotton or another natural fiberand she's only chewing it a bit, it's not so bad, but if its nylon or something, as Shuu said, if she's actually eating it, it can cause a blockage.

SAS and PIPP :bunnydance: (who LOVES her holey cotton blanket!)


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## Lassie

Hi, Buster has a towel where I put his food at on the floor and he nibbles at it and puts holes in it and he also does it on his stuff animals too.


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## m.e.

Just keep an eyeon your bunny, monitor poop production , etc. to make sure they'renot eating anything that could cause problems. If there _is_ ablockage, caused by towel, stuffed animal, or otherwise, surgery ispretty much your only option.


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## AmberNBuns

I have bunny towels and they are all ragged. Iwas monitoring him at first and I came to the conclusion that he wasjust trying to destroy them. He would grab a big mouthful and rrrrip,but he never sat and chewed on it after he pulled it apart.

Now carpet pad on the other hand... :?He EATS that. I have toboot his little butt every time he comes near a section of exposedpadding where my dogs ripped the carpet.

I say let him rip, but pay close attention. If he starts chewinglike he has a piece of hay in his mouth, that's a pretty goodindication that he's ingesting something. I can't imagine they wouldswallow anything without chewing. That just seems against rabbit natureto me.

Oh, and as SAS said, cotton is better than any other type of fiber, if you have a choice. I only give my bunnies cotton towels.


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## CuddlesMom

how about a grass pad???!! I bought one for mybun...at petsmart its for rabbits etc.....it looks like woven hayreally he loves it and its ok for them


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## Trina

QUESTION!

A few nights ago, I tossed in a little paper-towl roll into Emmy's cagefor her to nibble on for fun. When I went to check up on her a fewhours going to bed, I saw the whole thing teared up, and caught hereating the paper. After I saw her eating it, I took away the pieces ofthe paper, and gave her a bowl of hay... 

Is this dangerous for her system of blockage?


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## CuddlesMom

my bun eats paper towel rolls .... i try to get most of the paper towel off of it....i have not had any problems


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## Dutches_Rock

Cookie just destroys the towel for the fun ofit. If you're seeing little threads all over the cage buttom, it'slikely your rabbit isn't eating the towel, but just ripping it toshreads.


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## scubagirl68

Thanks! That sounds like a good idea. I don't think she is eating her towel anymore, but I think she would like the grass pad.


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## scubagirl68

Thanks! That sounds like a good idea. I don't think she is eating her towel anymore, but I think she would like the grass pad.


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## dr_peter_kraz

I support towels. If you have a newbunobserve her with the towel to see if she is just playing (which is harmless) but eating is not. Ahh, if a rabbit isin a wire cage a towel will make it so they do not hurt therefeet. There toes can get stuck and there feet can getsore.


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## rabbitgirl

NOT that I recommend this, but a very young Bubonce got ahold of a big fuzzy-backed plastic tablecloth. He ripped it to shreds and ate a good deal of it, and was never the worse for the experience.

Moral of this story: 

a.) do _not_ put plastic tablecloths in reach of bunny

b.) sometimes their little digestive systems are more durable than we think

So thewisest option is to keep potential blockage-causing materials out of the way--I've never had a problem with very limited paper, cotton, or wood--but even when mistakes happen, it's not always fatal.Just keep a close eye on the little stinker, and if things seem normal (eating, drinking, playing, pooping, etc.), don't worry, it probably all went through. Mine love ripping towels whenever possible--under my eye of course.

Here's a scarier story, though, about strings, since you mentioned them hanging off the towel: I once, about 10 years ago,came out to find a young blind Californian had hung himself by the neck from a looped strap I'd set on top the cage the night before. Somehow--no idea how he managed it--he'd pulled it through, stuck his head in, got stuck, panicked, and started spinning until he'd wound himself off the ground. He was nearly dead when I came out to feed early that morning--but I untangled him quicklyand he survived. 

That was one of the most horrific and guilt-producing things a kid cango through--ever since I've been paranoid about stranglythings hanging in reach. Bub's tablecloth incident was an idiot mistake on my part--we all have those!--but normally I keep everything rope-ish or string-ishway way out of reach of little teeth unless I'm supervising.

Sorry for the horrible story, but hopefully it will help someone avoid a similar happening!

Rose


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## Mika

Interesting topic!

My bun LOVES RUBBER - more importantly, she EATS the rubber from slippers we wear around the house. 

She also chews on the shoe mat in the foyer of the house - there was arubber edge that went around the shoe mat, and that is completely gone!She also chews on the mat now!

I don't know what to do! When I see her chewing on a slipper, i quickly take it away.

She has eaten quite a bit of the slippers around the house over thepast few months. She has been fine, but I don't know what todo to stop her.

Any suggestions?



Thanks!


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## mynameisjeff

My bunnies eat so much paper and cardboard. It must be delicious. I do worry about blockages (although it has not happened yet). I feel lucky that they are ga-ga over timothy hay and eat plenty, which I understand can help keep things moving. The also love to chew up towels, but I honestly don't know if any is being ingested. One of our boys was chewing up the mat in his cage, which later showed up in his poops (poops were strung together by strings from the mat). We've since gotten rid of the mat. 

Jeff
www.jeffreyanderson.blogspot.com


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## JimD

*scubagirl68 wrote: *


> Hi I have a new rabbit and I recently put a towel in to line her cage (as I was told to do) but I have caught her nibbling on the strings and I'm afraid that she might eat them and choke or something. Should I be worried about this?


 All of my buns have cotton blankies. They love them!!!

CuddlesMom* wrote: *


> how about a grass pad???!! I bought one for my bun...at petsmart its for rabbits etc.....it looks like woven hay really he loves it and its ok for them


 My buns love the grss mats, too....and they're perfectly safe for them. I just think they cost too much. Someone said that Pier One has placemats made the same way out of the same material only cheaper.....I'll have to check it out.

Trina* wrote: *


> QUESTION!
> 
> A few nights ago, I tossed in a little paper-towl roll into Emmy's cage for her to nibble on for fun. When I went to check up on her a few hours going to bed, I saw the whole thing teared up, and caught her eating the paper. After I saw her eating it, I took away the pieces of the paper, and gave her a bowl of hay...
> 
> Is this dangerous for her system of blockage?


 
I never had a problem with blockages when I gave my buns paper tubes. As long as the paper given is not refined it should breakdown and pass through their systems(i.e. magazines, glossy paper, printed paper other than newspaper or phonebooks). Stuff the tubes with hay and they'll eat some hay along with the paper.

~Jim


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## mynameisjeff

I found a website for Chinchillas that sells 12X12 Seagrass mats for $1.69, which I imagine is pretty cheap:

www.chinworld.com

The mats are under the "Miscellaneous" section.

Jeff

www.jeffreyanderson.blogspot.com


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## Gabby

Honestly I don't think it is worth the risk. Personally if they need something to stand on or what not, try something they can eat safely, like grass mats or baskets etc. 



and if you think it's to expensive, well just think how much you'll spend on surgery if they get a blockage, also is it really worth your rabbits life? whats a few more pennies vs potential death from a blockage. 

There are very few buns I'd trust with "no no" items but yes there are ones who are good little angels and don't chew stuff they shouldn't. Just remember they are rabbits, rabbits like to chew so why not let their stuff be things they can chew. 

take it from a girl who works at a vet office where we have to advise people often on this matter, and not just in rabbits, cats and dogs as well. 

The more surgeries you see that could have been prevented, the more you think about how you can make their life safer and happier. 



Granted there are accidents, where something gets left out or people were not aware the critter could reach an item, but I can tell you most people who've had to deal with it once, are generally dilligent about not making the same mistake twice..

And then there are those few. After the vet had done surgery 2 times on one animal to remove the same object, there was a long discussion, and item tossed in our trash. We don't want a repete..

and let me tell you cotton can be just as deadly as the others natural or not. When I was a kid we lost a cat due to his appetite of faberic and string. And it was cotton. 

My 2 cents--Gabby


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## Tango

Hi!

My bunny seems to eat everything he can find. i've caught him eating newspaper, toilet paper, grass, straw, towel, you name it. and he really seems to eat it! so i've taken away anything remotely synthetic, but i'm wondering if he's maybe looknig for something to chew (i heard munching something hardish is good for their teeth???) what should i try? any suggestions? i need something thats edible but still hard enough etc for his teeth? (his house is full of hay which he also eats by the way..)

Thanks?!?! :?

May


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## naturestee

Baby bunnies will often test everything to see what's best to chew. Mocha did that and man, did she keep me running! I would take away any cloth just to be safe. I posted a bunch of toy ideas in the toy thread you bumped up- check there. As a note, don't give her anything that's been treated with dyes or stains unless it's food safe dyes on toys from a pet store. Everything else should be untreated.


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## Tango

Great advice! thanks! i was actually just wondering about dyes on stuff you see in pet shops!!!


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## BACI

"grass matts cost too much" I used to think the same thing, however we just purchased some for $2-3 a piece. The $3 matt is atleast 12 in long and she loves it. I would be more concerned about the buns consuming toxic printers ink from phone books or newspaper./images/emoticons/big_grin.gif baci


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## Maureen Las

Rabbitgirls story about the blind bunny just about made me sick...Peewee likes to get in his towels and under them and sometimes pokes his head through a hole in the towel...I'd better be more cautious with that.


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## maherwoman

*Do you mean like a grass or straw mat? Like this?

http://www.critterstore.com/sp-60392.html

CuddlesMom wrote: *


> how about a grass pad???!! I bought one for my bun...at petsmart its for rabbits etc.....it looks like woven hay really he loves it and its ok for them


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