Why won't my bunny eat his salt or mineral lick? What should I give him to chew?

Question

My pet lop bunny is 8 months old now and won't use his salt or mineral lick but sometimes randomly decides to chew on paper or paper towel that has dropped on the floor, he doesn't chew anything else though. What is the problem?

Answer 1

I would give him lettuce.

Answer 2

You probably don't notice a they will only lick it. They don't sit there and spend a long time licking it either so you just might miss it. It is not until after a period of time that you start to notice the salt lick getting smaller. It lasts a while. Rabbits like to chew on anything they can reach. My rabbit used to have shredded newspaper as bedding but I changed to rabbit hay as she was eating the newspaper. My rabbit also chewed a hole in a blanket. It was a bit too close to her cage and she pulled it through the cage and chewed a hole in it.

Answer 3

DON'T give lettuce, it can cause digest problems in some rabbits, for treats i would give mine a few rasins, a small slice of apple, a small hunk of bannanna(always a HUGE favorite), some picked grass or hay but make sure u know where it comes from so u know there are no chemicals on it. If your feeding a good quality rabbit pellet then it's balanced enough that your rabit won't need a salt or mineral block so it simply wont pay them any attention. Pet stores have blocked wood for small animals and birds that are safe for them to chew on. You can purchase regular wood but make sure you never buy anything treated, that's why i prefer petstore wood that i know is made to be chewed. I would get my rabbits the lil half tunnels/hide things for reptiles/small animals and flip them upside down so it would make 'rocking' chairs for my bunnies. They would chew them and sit in them when they didn't want to sit on the wire. Watch out for things with ropes as bunnies can choke on those or get bowel blockages. Pieces of logs from outside can have parasites. I really wouldn't worry the jingle bell ball cat toys are great for supervised play, rabbits love to chase them, rabbits aren't rodents but are mammals they don't constantly need to chew like guniea pigs, hamester ect. If your rabbit's got bad teeth (called a malaclusion where they have an over or under bite where there teeth don't wear down) then a vet can clip them for u much like triming their nails. Hope that helps.

Answer 4

HI Andie!
These little fellas are my favorite rabbit, the Lops!
I at one time raised a small litter of rabbits and learned alot. They like to constantly chew and it is important for them, mainly to keep their teeth from getting too long!
My rabbits didn't go for those salt licks too much either. go to a specialty pet store and you will find many things he might like. Most common are those safe wood nibbles that come in colors as they have vegetable coloring so it's safe for bunnies! these can be gnawed on easily.
also ask at the register as these pet places they are trained to help with any pet questions you have!

also good, are only small amounts of cut fresh carrots. Rabbits love carrots! not too much at one time, though!

Answer 5

at pet stores they have cedar objects like little carrots, etc. that come with a clip. You can hang it on his cage. He need to chew on harder things to keep his teeth from growing too much. Give him carrots. He will likck the salt and mineral when he needs them, plus he's a baby so give him time. You could also put some cardboard in there sort of as a house and he'll chew it

Answer 6

all animals don't exactly "eat" the salt lick or mineral lick - they usually just lick it if their water intake is too low so it'll help their body balance their water level - if you have a sufficient amount of water available your bunny probably will not use it as often as it should. Bunnies like to chew since their teeth grows continuously, you might want to provide your bunny with some hard goodies for him to chew on.

Answer 7

Your rabbit stands a good chance of dying if you don't take it to the vet. But what you can do for right now is make sure that it eats and drinks. If it is not doing that you take some of it's food pellets put it in a dish and add hot water to it. Then let it sit and cool and mix it around. Get a syringe without a needle and feed your rabbit.

Answer 8

I had a rabbit for nine years. She NEVER licked a salt lick that I saw. She didn't like vegetables. She liked candy, and she LOVED to shred paper. She liked bananas.

Rabbits aren't really supposed to eat fresh veggies--it is hard on their digestive systems, which are really sensitive. Maybe get her some unprinted newsprint to play with? (Note: my rabbit loved bananas, but I have been told they cause gas build-up, so it's best to give them little tastes ONLY).

Your rabbit will be perfectly fine if it just eats regular bunny food. Mine wouldn't eat treats that were made for bunnies. They make sticks for them to chew on. Mine didn't like those, either, but I know someone who had a rabbit that did.

Experiment, research with books or google, but most of all don't waste a bunch of money on gadgets. Food, paper towels (apparently!), a safe place to live, and love are really all your bunny needs.

Answer 9

Dude, if you can find a big branch off an apple tree or something, cut it into a small enough piece so its not too big to go in the cage, like the thickness of a wrist, and let ur bunny chew on it. they need to chew stuff to wear their teeth down because like their claws their teeth always grow, and ul have to take it to the vet to get them trimmed if they get real long.

or get a wooden chew thingy from the pet shop.

Answer 10

The food you give your rabbit has everything he or she needs, so the lick is not needed, but sold so you can spend money on it at a story.

Rabbits do chew on wood from time to time. That is for fiber, so paper has fiber in it. If paper is OK, fine, but maybe a nice pcs of clean wood, pine would be fine.
Johnny

Answer 11

these answers are all great. I would just like to add to the fact that he probably chews on the paper towel and paper becuase it's fun. They love to play. I can't add anything else that the others haven't already said.