Eating wood shavings

When I clean out my bunny Mint, he always comes back to his hutch and eats some of the new wood shavings !!! I can only guess that they smell quite nice ? Anybody else find their rabbit does this and know why it happens ?

I would get rid of the shavings. What kind are they? Any aromatic woods such as pine or cedar that have not been kiln dried can be harmful. Eating shavings probably isn't the best idea. One here or there is probably ok, but rabbits don't need shavings in their cages like hamsters etc.
Hay & Straw should be best for Rabbit bedding.

if you have to use shavings in the litter tray, cover with a layer of straw or hay. You can also use wooden pellets or pulped paper in the litter tray instead of wood shavings. For bedding I defo wouldn't use wood shavings because the phenols in them can cause respitory problems & possible kidney damage. Better to use straw or hay or fabrics like vet bed.

They are just the bog standard huge bales of cage sawdust/shavings from that well known pet shop. Nothing aromatic in there, just freshly cleaned out cage with the armoa of wood I suppose. So, use no sawdust/wood chips at all ? Just some newspaper with a layer of straw ? and his usual hay in the bed area ? I am putting the excel rabbit forage seperately downstairs rather than in his bed as he doesn't seem to really eat any of the hay from his bed area.

Apparantly the natural "fumes" from wood shavings, like pine etc, could be detrimental to a rabbits health.
One rescue did a study where they had regular blood testing of their rabbits (think they were trying to isolate a problem) and found that those on shavings had raised levels of a chemical from the shavings in their liver.

Ideally I'd avoid shavings altogether to be on the safe side.

Okey Dokey, avoid them I will then ! I have to say they don't do a great deal for my sinuses either

Probably best!

I use the wood litter from Pets at Home in kermits litter tray, i find it quote good. Then in his sleeping area, kermit actually likes the floor of the cage with nothing on it! If i put hay down near where he sleeps he moves it out the way!

OK, I've bene out and changed it for thick chopped straw instead...but what if he eats some of that, is that ok ?

Hi there.

Just caught up with this thread.

Glad you've lost the shavings - really not great. When the buns wee on them they mix with the phenols and become quite acidic and can burn the buns skin and respiratory tract. Not to mention the dust can get in the eyes, ears and nose too. So great that they have gone. There is nothing wrong with straw at all. However, if bunny does decide to fill up on straw, he/she may not get the goodness that he/she needs. It's fibre for sure but to eat straw has no nutritional value but can fill bunny up with roughage like hay.

So nothing harmful in using it, but it's not actually necessary to cover the whole of the hutch with anything other than newspaper and maybe some vet bed or similar. Then just have a litter tray with a litter such as Megazorb/Carefresh for absorbancy (newspaper would also do) with a big layer of hay. Then you only need to clean the tray out and not the whole hutch every few days.

Thanks, great advice. I will keep an eye on him and see if he starts eating the straw, if he does then I will change for your second idea....his manger is full of rabbit forage and normal hay mixed (he won't touch the Timothy hay) and his bed area also has hay, so it should be easy to see if he is still eating that. At the moment he must be getting a good amount of nutrition as he is outside on the 'grass' (a term I use loosely for my lawn) for much of the day and eating clover leaves, dandelion leaves, flowers and grass. I don't want him to start eating the straw if it has little nutritional value, as he is so young and so much growing to do.

Charys said:

Thanks, great advice. I will keep an eye on him and see if he starts eating the straw, if he does then I will change for your second idea....his manger is full of rabbit forage and normal hay mixed (he won't touch the Timothy hay) and his bed area also has hay, so it should be easy to see if he is still eating that. At the moment he must be getting a good amount of nutrition as he is outside on the 'grass' (a term I use loosely for my lawn) for much of the day and eating clover leaves, dandelion leaves, flowers and grass. I don't want him to start eating the straw if it has little nutritional value, as he is so young and so much growing to do.

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That all sounds great to me. I am sure that you won't have any problems at all.

If you bun particularly liked eating wood, you could just try a few twigs from bunny safe plants. Maybe hazel, or willow, apple or pear wood. That might satisfy the need to munch/chew and will certainly keep the teeth sharp without filling bunny up.

Lets us all know how you get on.