Lukie suddenly eating fabric/rugs, making himself ill!

[Dee]

I think I’ve figured out why Luke keeps going through this sick/better/sick cycle, and it’s not moldy hay. I caught him under the couch and it’s all chewed, so I blocked the whole couch off and he was great for a couple days. I was so happy! Then he started to act weird again, and I noticed that he had eaten holes in my bedspread!! Plus there are little depressions in the rugs where he has obviously been pulling at it. He has always picked it the rugs occasionally, usually just to get my attention and hear how naughty he is. Very occasionally he has demolished a corner of a rug but not ingested much, but I put Ivory soap around the edges and that seemed to solve the problem.

Now I have two worries- if he will recover from his latest fabric ingestion and WHY is he doing this?? I have taken up the kitchen rug, since he hides and picks the rugs. Then I put big sheets of cardboard under the coffee table and under his Cottontail Cottage. I also removed my bedspread. I think that covers everything he might go after, but who knows? I’m at work now stressing out. He has always been a free range bun and he’s very sensitive, so I’m afraid he might get sicker from stress if I suddenly confine him to the kitchen (the only place with tile so he can hop because the rest of the house needs rugs since its slippery hardwood floors). The kitchen is HUGE, so space isn’t an issue, just his little feelings being hurt. Yet I can’t have him making himself ill! He is still lunging after his treats and pellets and eating hay, but he’s being picky with his greens and hiding a lot so I know he doesn’t feel just right.

I have 2 possible theories. One, I stopped his pellets after Precious died because I was afraid they were bad (I got rid of all their food!). And new ones just arrived a few days ago. So possibly a vitamin deficiency? Although he gets his homemade pumpkin & Critical Care cookies, which are quite nutritious. Two, he misses having Precious to watch through the gate? Well, there is a third, which is that something else is wrong with him and causing him to eat things out of pain or frustration. He’s only 3, so rather young for serious disease. His molars have always had small points that the vets could see but nothing causing any trouble. I really don’t want to haul him into the vet and have him sedated at this point. It might be too much for him.

Any ideas?

[SuperBunnyto]

I’m sorry to hear about the chewing! That is definitely one of the more difficult things with bunnies: finding something they can chew that won’t make them sick! You mentioned that Luke had a companion that died recently? He might be grieving. Sometimes grieving shows in the form of odd/ aggressive behaviors. When my bun lost her partner, she was heartbroken.

Does he have chewing toys that he prefers? One thing I do with my buns (although their chewing is not as intense as what you’re describing) is to place chewable toys in the area they’re attempting to chew. You can also get sea grass or Timothy hay mats to place around.

The other thing I’ve added to their routine is chamomile flowers in their breakfast in the morning (you can also sprinkle it on the hay). It has a calming effect, and it helps with upset tummies.

However, if his chewing is that intense, you may have to confine him to one area until you figure out what’s going on. 🙁

[Dee]

Thanks for your reply SuperBunnyTo! I think you may be right about Luke greiving. He wasn’t bonded to the bunny that died, as Luke is very afraid of other rabbits and gets nippy so they never could be trusted together. But they spent a lot of time looking at each other through the gate, ate greens on their respective sides, and drive me crazy every morning trying to break through the gate. I think Luke misses her. I am going to try to bond him to another rabbit, but we must get this health issue taken care of first.

The chewy toys/mats are a great idea- hopefully he will prefer them to household items. And I’ll try chamomile! There were little bits of it in a hay we buy, and he loved it.

I’m giving him one more chance tonight, and if he gets into anything, he will have to be in the kitchen. Thanks agsin!!

[jerseygirl]

I noticed a bit of a change in Timbu after Jelly had to be put to sleep. They were not bonded but shared a room side by side. So I do believe there can be some grief even with unbonded bunnies.
He might be going through an adjustment period.

I must admit though, when I first read your post Dee, I immediately thought teeth before I’d even reached the end of your post where you mention this.
Bam’s rabbit Yohio is a good example. She noticed him chewing more wood and inappropriate things and once the vet finally trimmed of some points they’d previously thought would not cause any problems, the behaviour stopped. I think there were some other things but I cannot recall them right now.
Rabbits are weird how they will still eat some foods but not others when they have some dental troubles. Things you think they wouldn’t manage, like hay. They don’t make it easy for us to know what is wrong.

[Bam]

Losing his not bonded co-rabbit could very well be affecting him. I saw changes in Bam after I lost Yohio, although in a very different way, Bam blossomed. He became more social and more active and seemed overall happier. But it was a marked difference and I take to mean that rabbits can be quite profoundly affected by each other’s presence even if they are in separate areas and dont interact directly.

Nutritional deficiency is very unlikely.

[Dee]

Hi Jerseygirl and Bam, thank you for your replies and I apologize for the delay in response!!

That is so amazing- and a bit scary- how emotionally sensitive rabbits are. I always thought only bonded partners would be really affected by the loss of another bun. And Lukie was always such a brat to Precious, snorting at her and trying to nip her nose through the gate. I think it was all show, that he was just afraid of her. He did groom her if she didn’t move!

Bam, I saw a similar change in Nelli, our older female, after her husbun BunBun died. She never had any use for us before, but she became friendlier and even let us pet her most of the time. Sadly, she also aged rapidly- her previously unnoticed E. Cuniculi symptoms emerged, and 11 months later, she died of kidney failure ?. I adore Lukie and am so glad we adopted him, but for Nelli’s sake, I felt badly that we brought a young bunny into her life. If we had known how quickly she would become old and ill, we wouldn’t have put her through that. Although we gave up trying to bond them pretty fast, and afterward, I think she enjoyed grumping at Luke from her side of gate. He was fascinated by her lol.

Jersey, I am concerned about Luke’s teeth, especially after you mentioned it, as I really respect your opinion. Two vets have noticed points on his molars during a regular mouth exam- the first was about 14 months ago, and the second was of course, just recently. I’m glad that they don’t seem to have gotten worse- although since it was different vets- therefore different perspectives- it actually could have progressed. What is the protocol for this? Should I call our regular vet, and ask to have him sedated and examined? Do I need a special “real exotics vet” to make it as safe as possible? Our regular vet says he is not a rabbit expert, but has always successfully treated out rabbits and neutered BunBun. I trust him, as long as he says he is comfortable doing it, but if there is actual evidence that better outcomes are had with exotic vets doing this, I would rather go for that. I know sedation is a risk, as well as jaw fracture with a certain instrument (I just read about that!).

Sorry for all the questions. I’ve never had a bun have molars checked in more than the regular awake exam.

Oh, I’m pleased to add that Lukie is back to his old self, chomping down his greens as we speak- he actually just climbed into the bowl for better access ?. The cardboard under the tables and all the other changes have stopped him from ingesting any more fabric. His poops are nice and big- and he just received his Binky Bunny oat hay today and is very pleased with it, so I expect even bigger poops soon ?. The excitement!! It really frightens me that if we hadn’t figured out what was going on, we could have lost Lukie. I feel like the worse he felt, the more he hid, and the more he hid, the more nonedible stuff he ate. Poor thing.

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