Rabbit Food Question: How Do I Stop My Rabbits From Eating Cardboard?
Written by The Rabbit Hole Hay Team
While the majority of your rabbit’s diet should be grass hay (such as Timothy Hay, Orchard Grass, or Mountain Grass), you know that they'll be eating other foods, and things that you don’t exactly want them to eat.
Rabbits are curious little creatures but they also start chewing on everything if they’re not receiving all of the proper rabbit foods in their diet. So how do you get your rabbit to stop chewing and eating cardboard?
Let's take a second to first find out why they are chewing on the cardboard in the first place.
Why Your Rabbit Eats Cardboard
Your rabbit likes to eat cardboard because it solves a couple things for them.
- Fills their instinct to be constantly chewing
- Combats a sense of boredom
As you'll read below, eating cardboard isn't necessarily bad for them, but you'll want to do your best to limit the amount they eat by making sure they have a diet that consists of at least 80% grass hay.
Grass hay such as Timothy Hay, Orchard Grass, and Mountain Grass are important staples to your rabbit's diet because they hold key ingredients that will keep your rabbit happy and healthy.
- Grass hay holds the high amount of fiber that they require.
- Most grass hay have the required coarseness to help wear down their constantly growing teeth.
- Grass hay helps keep their entire body healthy: muscles, hair, digestive system, internal organs, etc.
The constant foraging and grazing encouraged by hay helps to keep them physically active and mentally stimulated. It also helps to wear down their teeth while the long strand fiber helps to keep their digestion regular and functioning properly.
If given proper access to hay, rabbits will typically eat at least their own body size in hay a day. This is why it's important they they have constant access to fresh Timothy Hay, Orchard Grass, or Mountain Grass that isn't just in their hutch/cage. You should also place some hay in their litter box as rabbits like to eat while going to the bathroom.
If you see that your rabbit is eating their bedding and not the hay, check to make sure that the hay is fresh and not molding. It's good to note that your rabbit will most likely nibble on their bedding even with fresh hay available in their litter box. It's just good to make sure that the bedding isn't the only thing they're eating when using the litter box.
Yet, what happens when you've given them hay and you still see them gnawing away on other things, such as carpet or cardboard? Do you need to freak out? Give this helpful article a read below so you know what to expect when you see your rabbit do this!
Can I Give My Rabbit Cardboard?
Posted by Rabbits.Life
Yes, but be careful with the amount of cardboard that they eat.
Probably the reason why pet rabbits love to eat cardboard is that it packs on cellulose, which is a significant component of leaves and vegetables that they eat. However, this does not tell us that cardboards can be meal replacements. The bulk of their diet should still consist of hay, green leafy vegetables and clean water. Also, they always need something to grow out their teeth because if they don’t, it can be detrimental to their health. More importantly, pet rabbits view cardboards as toys, and these can provide mental stimulation for them especially if your pet rabbit tends to get bored without a human to keep them company. Anything challenging for your pet rabbit can keep his or her senses alive. Biting, munching and shredding cardboards with their teeth is challenging and entertaining enough for them. Instead of leaving your pet rabbit isolated inside her cage for the most part of the day, throw in a piece of cardboard for his or her entertainment. Playtime for pet rabbits is crucial in order for them not to feel isolated, bored and depressed, which all in all lead to signs of being destructive.
However, when handing over cardboards for your pet rabbit to use to whatever purpose he or she likes, it is essential to look at the chemicals that are printed on the surface of the cardboards. Try to give plain cardboards without any printed ink on top of it so you won’t have to worry about your pet rabbit getting poisoned with the ink. This rule also applies should you wish to give your pet rabbit newspapers for toys.
There are pet rabbit owners who do not have a hard time with their rabbit’s natural chewing and digging instincts. Even if you see your pet rabbit chewing and digging with cardboards, you cannot necessarily say that the edges of your furniture, the stuffing on your couch and the newly laid down carpet on your living room are not victims. That is why it is important to have cardboards and even newspapers in abundance so your pet rabbit immediately knows that those are the only things in your house that are safe for him or her to chew and dig on and not your valuable possessions.
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