Enrichment-toy trauma in a New Zealand White Rabbit* (2001)

Shomer, N. H., Peikert, S., Terwilliger, G.

Abstract

An injury was caused by an enrichment toy (a whiffle ball, which is a perforated hollow ball made of hard plastic) that led to its removal from the rabbit enrichment program. ... The whiffle ball had been considered safe. It was made of hard non-toxic plastic, had no sharp edges, was too large to be swallowed or inhaled, and was judged too sturdy to be broken by the rabbits. However, the ball became lodged in the incisors of an adult female New Zealand White rabbit, preventing her from eating or drinking for 12 h and causing marked trauma to her gums. *Abstract published in: AALAS [American Association for Laboratory Animal Science] 51st National Meeting Official Program 126, 2000. Shomer NH, Peikert S; Enrichment toy trauma in a New Zealand White Rabbit.