What Wood Is Safe for Bunnies to Chew?

It's important to give your bunny plenty of fibrous things to chew. Chewing wood helps wear down their front teeth, which never stop growing,¹ and wood chews are a cheap, easy extra alongside the hay that should make up most of their diet.²

Why do bunnies chew wood?

In the wild, rabbits gnaw bark, twigs and branches. It wears down front teeth that grow about 3 mm (an eighth of an inch) every week.¹

Your bunny has the same urge, which is why baseboards, door frames and furniture get chewed. Safe wood chews give them somewhere better to put it.

Wood that's safe for bunnies to chew

Untreated wood is generally fine for bunnies. The easiest safe choice is chews made for rabbits, such as applewood sticks from a pet store.³

Wood to avoid

Avoid wood with a lot of aromatic oil, such as pine and cedar, and wood from trees with pitted fruit, such as peach, plum, apricot, cherry and avocado. Avoid anything painted, stained or full of glue too, which rules out most plywood and fiberboard.³

Wood, willow and wicker from home decoration stores is often treated with dyes, paints and varnishes, so buy chews and toys from a pet store instead.

Why not use branches from outside?

It's tempting to pick twigs and branches from the yard or the park, but vets advise against it: they can carry mold spores, parasites, bacteria or insects that can make your bunny ill.³ Stick to chews made for rabbits.

Making wood chews more fun

Break chew sticks into smaller pieces, and push thin ones through a toilet roll tube so your bunny has to pull them out.

References

1. PetMD (Lauren Jones, VMD), How to care for rabbit teeth. Says rabbits' teeth grow about 3 mm each week. Checked 20 Oct 2026.

2. PetMD (Melissa Witherell, DVM), What do rabbits eat?. Says hay should be about 80% of a rabbit's diet and always available, and that hay wears down their continuously growing teeth. Checked 20 Oct 2026.

3. PetMD (Laurie Hess, DVM, DABVP), How to pick out safe rabbit toys. Says untreated wood is generally fine, commercially available applewood sticks are safe, wood with a lot of aromatic oil such as cedar and pine and wood from trees with pitted fruit (peach, plum, apricot, cherry, avocado) are not safe, painted, stained or heavily glued objects should be avoided, and sticks or branches found in the yard should never be given because they may carry mold spores, parasites, bacteria or insects. Checked 26 Oct 2026.