Chewing bunnies

I just found this picture--my first glimpse of Mr. Quinn at the Bunny Buddies' "adoption day" in December. If I'd looked more closely I'd have realized that Quinn was a "chewer". See where he's been chewing the side of the box? Not that I'd have loved him less. He's been a delight, but rabbits who chew are a real problem.

First of all, rabbits need to chew because their teeth grow continuously and chewing keeps them appropriately filed down. You need to give them chewy things to eat--hay, sticks, etc., as well as "chewing posts" -- something challenging to chew that's not forbidden, sort of like a cat's "scratching post". Quinn currently has an old wooden knife rack and a wooden footstool, but he hasn't definitively learned yet what's allowed and what's not.

Left to his own devices Quinn chews cardboard boxes, baskets, wood furniture where there's a edge for him to get his teeth around, books, and woodwork (he's even chewed at shoulder height by jumping up on the bed and sitting on top of a pile of pillows to attack the door frame). He chews plastic occasionally but it's obviously not as satisfactory as wood so he usually gives it up quickly. He'll occasionally chew fabric--preferably heavy ones like rugs. He's better than a predecessor, Mr. Tops, who chewed holes in any clothing you happened to leave in his reach (sheets, blankets, towels, t-shirts, etc.), but at least Mr. Tops didn't go in for rugs.

Eventually rabbits learn what they're allowed to do and what not, but it's important to restrict their access until they do learn and to make your lessons clear. And it's paramount to give them something they are allowed to chew.