yesterday we adopted a rescue rabbit,bought a new hutch lined it with newspaper,sawdust and straw.
the rabbit seems to think hes a paper shredder,ripping and eating most of the newspaper,hes got food and some carrots,is this normal????

Yes very normal, my rabbit would choose ripping and chewing paper up over any food or activity.;)

Absolutley normal!! Rabbits love shreading/digging/eating paper/card etc. Sounds stupid but i give mine plain paper now as I was worried about the newspaper print (paranoid parent hey!!) and since then he doesnt eat the newsparer that lines his box (he is an indoor one though I have done the same previously with outdoor ones).

He may just be anxious and when he settles down into his new home the shreading may reduce!

Good luck and good work for rescuing - there are so many out there that need good homes

Rabbits love to shred paper or anything that they can :hihi: but just watch the rabbit does not eat the paper as i think the ink is bad for them, and also when i was little i had a rabbit die from an obstruction caused by paper, so i tend not to use it for mine now.

It is perfectly normal behaviour which is exhibited by any rabbit I have ever had. They do not normally eat enough to cause any harm but you can offer them toys and towels to play with and dig at instead. Many people also give them copies of phone books and the yellow pages to rip up.

A good site for rabbit toys is www.bunnybasics.com, ours love the grassy mat, vine balls and willow rings.

hes got through 4 pages of the advertiser,lol
even eating his own mess!!!
think ill try to stear away from the newspaper,worried andout the ink,tbh,
hes a very tame rabbit though,
thankyou for your replys,ill have a look at the link thanks:thumbsup:

Buns are suppsed to eat their poops. They have to digest food twice to extract all the nutrients out of them. The first set are soft, called cecotropes, these are eaten from the anus and then redigested and excreted the second time as the little round hard poops. Research has found that rabbits prevenetd from eating their own poop will die.

Please dont worry about the paper, it wont do him any harm. All my rabbits eat it and ive never had a problem (ive had a lot of rabbits).

Thanks for all the advice, here's a picture of "Coco"

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p141/Winesathome/Picture010.jpg

:)

Did you give you new rabbit a litter tray? This will help keep the hutch clean, also you will not need to use shavings to absorb the liquid.

Your rabbit needs good fresh hay in addition to straw

He's a gorgeous looking bunster. Which rescue did he come from?

hmm might try a litter tray,worth a go i think,
iv been out and bought him some bits to nibble on and a pot food dish,try to stop him throwing his food everywhere,lol,

A ceramic one?

Have you given Coco any toys to play with? Maybe he will throw them around rather than his food bowl.

Try empty yoghurt pots, the inside of loo / kitchen rolls, or wooden parrot toys

I gave her the address for bunnybasics to get him some toys. Mine love the natural vine and willow ones.

My bun Peanut used to have newspaper on the floor when he was a really little baby. He never chewed it, but I removed it cos it sent his little white feet black! :lol: Now he has newspaper in his litter tray, and he will pee on any paper on the floor. :hihi: He likes to dig under it aswell (in his litter tray) but there is no problem with him eating it. I agree, get him some nice natural willow/vine/sisel rope toys and he'll be well away :D

I got Smirnoff a Budgie toy for Xmas. It's a set of balls hanging down from the top of his cage with bellson. He loves knocking that around. I found he didn't bother with the chube things or anything else from pet shops. Going to have a look at Sooz's link now though, sure there's some good things on there.

Between them Marley Frankie and Peter have completely eradicated the willow ring and vine ball. Im going to have to buy more now :rolleyes:

West Wales Willows grow / make as wide range of willow toys for bunnies, also the hay they grow / sell is excellent.

http://www.westwaleswillows.co.uk/

West Wales Willows grow / make as wide range of willow toys for bunnies, also the hay they grow / sell is excellent.

http://www.westwaleswillows.co.uk/

Just had a look at that site - I love the willow tunnel and hay round-feeder :thumbsup:

I've previously also used www.thehayexperts.co.uk to buy bunny toys. Jen seems to really like the wooden 'rattles' and entertains herself by flinging them about her hutch, the furry hooligan :)

The willow and vine toys both get chewed down quickly, although I've noticed that the willow ones tend to last slightly longer!