# Bunny ate plastic bag



## kirbyultra (Jul 1, 2009)

My brother is bunny sitting my boys Kirby and Toby. He accidentally setthe plastic bag containing hay too close to Kirby's pen today. He came home and saw kirby ate a hole in the bag big enough to fit a fist through it 

Kirby is a 5.5 lb bunny, almost 3 yrs old. The thought frightens me but I am unsure if that much plastic would pass through him naturally. My bro says Kirby pooped a fresh pile of poos this evening. They look a big smaller but not tiny or broken. He fed Kirby dinner as usual plus a tablespoon of pumpkin. Kirby's worked through half of his greens and pellets so far and all the pumpkin and has been munching on hay tonight. He seems to be doing normal rabbit things. Nothing out of routine so far. 

But I am so worried. My brother feels bad, he's gonna watch closely and see if kirby passes the bag bits. It's a blue bag, should be easy to spot. Is there anything else we should be doing? Kirby doesn't like to drink water as a general habit. What else can I try to hydrate? I've tried apple and pineapple juice in the past with no better luck. 

Has anyone else had a bun who ate this much plastic bag?


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## Pipp (Jul 1, 2009)

Canned Pumpkin should be the ticket. Its a nice wet fiber that will help push it through. And of course hay! He hopefully got lots of that too, once he got through the plastic. 

Also fresh grass, wet parsley, dandelion, etc. You sound like you have it under control.

Watch for poops getting small and misshapen, or a sudden stoppage. 

Keep him well hydrated and don't worry. They eat trees, all sorts of things, they really can handle a lot. 

sas :bunnydance:


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## Flashy (Jul 1, 2009)

You're definitely not alone with a bag chewing, or chewing in general, bunny. I had a week the other week where the same trio of bunnies chewed a polystyrene handle (and ingested some of it), a polyanthus plant (which is poisonous) and then, like Kirby, the hay bag but the evidence was there for me to see (all slip ups on my account, unfortunately), but fortunately, they were all fine. 

Has your brother looked around the area because it may be the bag wasn't actually eaten, but he chewed and pulled bits off and they may be strewn around the area. That's generally what mine do, thankfully. Hopefully Kirby will be fine and the bite size chunks will pass through no problem.

Keep us updated.


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## kirbyultra (Jul 1, 2009)

No kirby actually ate the bag all right. Kirby has always been a chew n eat bun, not a chew and leave bun, Flashy  I just hope kirby ate mouthfuls, not one piece and pulled a long piece at a time, as I imagine long pieces of plastic would be hard to pass.

I will make sure kirby gets some more pumpkin and wet greens, Pipp. I see kirby through the webcam and he is lying out flat on the floor, not sitting or in chicken mode. Would you say lying flat on the floor means he is happy?


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## Pipp (Jul 1, 2009)

Watch him for awhile. If he's restless, especially pressing his tummy down, he's probably uncomfortable. 

If he's just laying there chilling out, he's probably happy. 


sas :bunnydance:


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## tonyshuman (Jul 1, 2009)

Lots of good advice here. I wanted to add my experience with terrible things my guys have eaten: plastic insulation on cords, metal insulation in cords, rubber door stoppers, rubber pieces on shoes, backpacks, furniture feet, brushes. Plastic wheels on a suitcase, plastic on bike helmets. Styrofoam packing peanuts, plastic water bottles, plastic food containers. Leather shoes, suitcase handles, purses, and belts. Tomato plant, chocolate. Couch and stuffing. Veggies I just purchased at the store out of the bag while I'm unloading groceries (ie totally unwashed).

I try very hard to keep these things out of their reach, but you can't protect against all possibilities. They've made it through fine with all of these things. I always push the hay when they eat something I know is toxic or they eat a lot of something. I have never seen any of these things in their poos (although I don't usually smash them up and go looking). It happens, we try our best to prevent it, but it happens.

I too hope it was small pieces. I haven't had anybunny eat a plastic bag, although if Tony gets a hold of one he puts his head through the handle and runs around with it on like a cape, because the noise scares the poop out of him and he can't figure out how to get it off, and he moves so fast I can't catch him. Spiking his water with a drop of vanilla may also help, as hydration helps move stuff along, plastic or no.

Good luck!


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## kirbyultra (Jul 2, 2009)

Oh my that's a lot of stuff your buns have eaten! kirby seems ok, he's eating as normal. I had my bro decrease pellets so he'd eat more hay. He's pooping normally too. No sign of the bag bits in any poops though. 

He seems ok right now but does it mean he's in the clear or could he still go into gut stasis/slowdown days later if I don't see the bag bits in his output? 

:dutch


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## Maureen Las (Jul 2, 2009)

I really doubt if it was enough to do anything 

don't worry about it just keep an eye on him and give him a lot of hay...


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## kirbyultra (Jul 2, 2009)

angieluv wrote:


> I really doubt if it was enough to do anything
> 
> don't worry about it just keep an eye on him and give him a lot of hay...



Tomorrow night I get on my return flight. I'm coming home Kirby!!! I miss him tons. I hope you're right and it was nothing.


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## jamesedwardwaller (Jul 2, 2009)

i don,t see my resonse to this thread,sorry you appear to have not gotten it,..what goes in must go all the way through,.unlike feline/rabbits cannot throw up(no muscles),.increase fiber.ie timothy/orchard grass,water,wet down fresh greens too,..though this incident may be benign,follow it all the way through,.listen to the lungs,gi-tract,feeling the area also,..sincerely james waller


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## kirbyultra (Jul 4, 2009)

I'm home! Kirby is doing ok. He is eating his hay and pooping but not so much touching his salad but that might be because he's used to the way that I do it and not my brother. His poops look smaller than usual, a little darker and not a perfect round cocoa puff. I think the plastic hasn't been passed. I'm still doing all the suggestions plus I will try and offer him a drop of vanilla in his water. Just plain pure vanilla extract right?  thanks everyone for your replies.


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## kirbyultra (Jul 6, 2009)

Kirby pooped out some stringy poos the last two days and his poops aren't odd shaped anymore! I think he pooped it out without problems


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## Maureen Las (Jul 6, 2009)

Hurray for normal poop !!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## BethM (Jul 7, 2009)

I am glad Kirby seems to be ok!

My Tobi always eats everything she chews. She ate about half of a rubbermaid "house," and is now working her way through the top layer of linoleum on her flooring. 
I think if they can chew the things into small enough pieces, they will pass through just fine.


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## tonyshuman (Jul 7, 2009)

I'm glad he's pooing!

As for the vanilla, I do a drop, and I've heard you can use artificial as well. The original recipe comes from a breeder, so it's 1tsp per gallon, but that doesn't translate well to house-bunny sized portions.


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