Bunny eats all her bedding!

hi guys.

im not new to keeping rabbits, ive just lately been reading online how much more like a cat or other house pet they could be, and how more in depth it is. Ive had bunnies ever since i was a kid. Now i mainly do aquariums, but i still got a mini rex (aint mini no more!) from when i was younger.

Her names Nona, and shes a plump little thing. She has a fading hox sore, which ive tried to remedy by using more straw, but by morning, she eats ALL OF IT!

It doesnt matter how much or how little she eats. She will just eat it all. I will give her usually some carrots and brocoli or carrot tops before i got to bed, as well as refill her pellets. Shes about 6 or 7 i beleive. But no matter what, she'll eat all the straw. Then get mad at me cause her feet hurt (she yells and snaps until i give her straw, then she comes out and licks me)

That, and because shes on the chubby side, she does what we call milkjug. Basically she'll run into the middle of the room, and stand on her back legs, and let her weight balance her. And she'll sit like that a long time. just watching people go by. She does it in her cage which is what gave her the sores in the first place.

Anything i can do for nona guys?

thanks in advance

Try changing her bedding. If using straw means she eats it and sits on what hurts her feet then give her her straw to eat and something else. Carefresh is a soft bedding that's okay if she nibbles a bit (but she probably wouldn't want to eat it).

You don't mention whether you feed her hay? Rabbits main diet should be loads of good quality hay. Hay can be different 'flavours' so if she doesn't think much to the taste of the hay that could be why she's eating the straw instead
Tam

hmm i never tried that. We have race horses at onea the local tracks i could get a flake of hay pretty easily

You should always allow rabbits unlimited hay. Getting some from a racetrack is okay so long as it's not alfalfa. Alfalfa is too high in calcium and other nutrients and can lead to things like kidney failure. Timothy hay is the best for rabbits.

ive had timothy, i might still ahve some andi know at the barn we have timothy

you think it might help her shed some fat?

Dieting her will do that better than feeding her more. But yes, if you give her hay and an inedible bedding then you can better control her eating. It's the difference between you eating a single meal verses eating a buffet.

An ideal diet for a rabbit is unlimited hay and a small quantity of pellets. Pellets are what will be causing the weight problem

Timothy hay is good, making sure she has that always available for munching on and reducing her pellets will help her loose weight.

An average sized bun should only have about 50g of pellets a day, as she's overweight you can cut that back more.

She can fill up on hay then, as much as she likes, that's full of fibre so won't make her put on weight but it's really good for her teeth and gut.

Tam

hay as in the green stuff or straw as in the yellow stuff?

if its pellets ill cut back. Is it wrong to give her greens/carrots?

heck if she ate anacharis id give it to her (aquatic plant that grows in my tank literally 2 feet a week)

id just like to cut down her weight and make her cage more comfortable for her.

good for her teeth? yea her teeth are WHITE...look better than mine hah

Our house bunny isn't on straw at all, we have a pet blanket for him in his hutch.
hay is the green stuff. It's fine to give greens/carrots, there's a list of edible fruit and veg in the reference section.
Mine have unlimited hay, and get through two hay racks full a day, variety of greens in the morning and 25g pellets each and then the same in the evening. Hope that helps.
Nona sounds like a real character!

It's fine to give her straw (yellow) for bedding but she also needs hay (green) for eating. If you give her both she should start eating the hay and leave the straw alone

Bunnies teeth grow continusly and the hay helps wear them down so they don't overgrow. If she didn't have access to hay then she was probably eating straw because it's the closest thing.

A little carrot is okay, the tops are better than the organge bits.

I presume the cage doesn't have a wire bottom? They're quite common in the US (not sure where you're from) and can cause feet trouble. Another thing that's good bedding is vet pet (pet fleece) it's really soft fleecy carpet type stuff that vets use. Some bunnies chew it though so it doesn't work with everyone.

Tam

yup im in the us.

it does have a wire bottom.

its a big cage, 3x3 feet. and i cant figure out how all this straw disappears NIGHTLY into her little stomach.

She seems to be the smartest im gonna try something soft in her cage for her to sit on. I sat down to tune my guitar and brought carrot greens with me. She just sat on my lap the whole time. when she was done she just wanted attention...bad as my cat!

oh btw, why is it when you scratch a bunnies back, they go into a trance of licking?? all 3 of mine do it, and the generation before them did it.

and the one dutch, if you rub his right ear only, he stands up and takes a bath. he drops the other ear, and washes his face

I normally put straw in my hutches and also hay,being the hay to eat and straw as bedding,you can also use ripped up newpaper and mix in with the straw,maybe your rabbit will stop eating the straw once youv put hay in,as it happened to two of my boys when i first had them,but now they make a nest out of the straw,maybe your rabbits telling you "give me hay"lol,let us know how you get on,

If it's a wire bottomed cage you could put a few planks of wood in there for her, or thick card maybe - or even just thickly folded newspapers - Makes it harder to keep clean, but if you give her a cat litter tray with some newspaper and hay in, I bet she'll do most of her toileting in there, as they like to eat and toilet at the same time

You can give carrots and other green veggies just in moderation. If she's not used to eating vegetable and you suddenly give her a bunch it will give her diareha. Also make sure that any vegetable you give her is ok for her to eat (like potatoes are bad for bunnies with all the startch) carrots are great but really should only be given as treats because they are high in sugar with can cause weight and health problems if they are given too much.

wire bottom cages are really bad for rabbits feet, if they are sore it will be even more painful for her to stand on. I use a plastic bottomed cage with plenty of hay and straw in it for Dexter. He now has a little fleece blanket to sleep on as well
This is Dexter in his cage.