I have a rabbit named Chris who often chews anything in his way. He does that to end the boredom and it is his habit. Sometimes, he also chewed on the cardboard and therefore and a vital question arises can rabbits eat cardboard and is that cardboard safe for the bunnies
In the simplest language, cardboard is safe because they are wood but it is not a regular diet like hay. Furthermore, some types of cardboard are dangerous such as inked cardboard or cardboard with a plastic covering. This blog deeply explains why cardboard is safe for rabbits.
Are cardboard safe for the bunnies?
Yes, cardboard is wood and they are safe for the rabbits. They are mostly made up of small pieces of different woods which are processed. They have their own nutritional values but they have no exact nutritional components because different kinds of wood are used to make one cardboard.
Why do Rabbits love cardboard?
Rabbis love eating cardboard for two reasons
- Rabbits are happy creatures and they like to be involved in anything. They cannot sit idle. Chewing is their hobby and they love to chew. So if they found a cardboard in their home. They will definitely chew on them
- Rabbits love to chew the harder things and cardboard is the best thing they can chew. They enjoy chewing the cardboard due to the hardness and texture of it
Therefore, if you give your rabbit a cardboard they will enjoy it and chew on it. This is instinctual and you can not stop them
What are the benefits of cardboard for Rabbits?
Improves the teeth growth
Rabbits overgrow their teeth very quickly and these cardboards keep them sharp and do not let them overgrow quickly. Rabbit teeth can be grown to the size that they came out of their mouth. Therefore, hard things such as cardboard keep them safe from the overgrowing and make them more beautiful.
Improve Mental health
Rabbit plays with the cardboard toys and it helps them relieve the tension and rabbits feel very calm. Therefore, the cardboard toys also contribute to the mental health of the rabbits.
What are the disadvantages of cardboard for the rabbits?
There are many disadvantages of feeding cardboard to the rabbits because it is not a natural diet
Cardboard has fewer calories
Firstly, cardboard has fewer calories in it and they are not a regular diet for rabbits. Rabbits should be given hay as a main component and feeding these cardboard does not fit with their diet. Furthermore, rabbits have small stomachs and they can not eat a less-calorie diet. Therefore, it is not appropriate to feed your rabbit cardboard as a regular diet
Overfeeding can cause stomach issues
As we have mentioned earlier rabbit has sensitive stomachs and cardboard are very tough diet. A small amount of hard cardboard can damage the inner lining of the stomach. Therefore, avoid giving them these hard cardboard in large quantity. A small quantity of these cardboard is perfect for them.
Cardboard eating left debris and small pieces
Rabbits love to shred pieces of cardboard and they leave them on the floor. This can be unhygienic and messy in the home. Your floor might get dirty with the small shredded pieces of cardboard and rabbits might enjoy eating them. Therefore, feeding cardboard has some serious house issues if you have a sensitive wife\husband (lol)
Which cardboard is safe for the rabbits
Remove the plastic covering sticker from the cardboard
You should always remove the plastic stickers and cover the cardboard. The rabbit will chew them and engulf them. There is also a chance that they might stuck in the rabbit’s mouth due to the stickiness in them. Furthermore, they are not digestible and may affect the digestive system of the rabbits. Some stickers have many toxins which are used to colour them. Therefore, make sure that you remove the stickers from the cardboard
Toilet rolls are the perfect playing, material for bunnies
My bunny loves to play with the toilet roll. He tosses it grabs it in his mouth and runs. The question is what if he eats it and engulfs it? The answer is toilet paper rolls and inner hard cardboard are safe for the rabbits and rabbits love to play with these items because they are very fluffy and eatable.
Cardboard Boxes and house is also a good idea
Many people have cardboard in their houses or shoe boxes made up of cardboard. You can use them to make a house or simply put your rabbits inside them. Rabbits enjoy these small houses and love to stay in them. They felt safe and owned the place.
Rabbits are territorial animals and they love their houses. Do not force them to leave the old house and stay in the new cardboard house. However, if they like to stay in the house, you should make it more beautiful.
You should avoid coloured cardboard
We have many card boards which are painted or coloured. Paint has oil and many unhealthy things which might disturb the stomachs of the rabbits. Printed cardboard can be good but you should see that the ink should not be larger than the skin. Avoid feeding painted or printed cardboard.
Many cardboard has ink writing and you should not feed your rabbit any ink subject beacuse ink is toxic to all animals and humans. Avoid using in cardboard. However, a newspaper is fine because it uses printed ink instead of other ink.
You can remove the outer covering of the cardboard and feed them the lower part which has no paint or ink.
How much cardboard is safe for rabbits
As we have mentioned earlier cardboard is safe for the rabbits but you should stick with the smaller amount. It can be 5-10 percent of the total diet of rabbits which means you can use the thumb rule to feed the rabbit. The thumb rule means a thumb of cardboard is perfect for the rabbits to eat. And if you raise the amount, you will face the consequences of this
What are alternative choices for rabbits instead of Cardboard?
1- You can feed newspaper to the rabbits
Newspapers areperfectlyy fine for the rabbits and they enjoys chewingthemt. You can make a small ball of newspaper and give it to the rabbits to play with. You can also shred the newspaper and give it to the rabbits. In this way, they will enjoy the newpaper
2-You can feed them papers
We all have papers in our homes and these papers can be proven good if we feed them to the rabbits. Always remember that you should not feed the inked paper and also avoid giving the magazine paper to the rabbits. Rabbits hate the ink and printed paper. However, plain paper can be a good choice for them.
Final Verdict
- Cardboards are perfectly fine for the rabbits and rabbits love to feed over them. Do nott useplastic-coveredd, painted and oilycardboards
- Do not overfeed cardboards to your rabbits
- Use the cardboard as a home or living space for the bunnies
- Let the rabbit feed over the cardboard
- You can use paper and other things such as newspapers to help the rabbit feed.
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