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Hu, T. Gnawing Behavior. Encyclopedia. Available online: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/61916 (accessed on 09 November 2026).
Hu T. Gnawing Behavior. Encyclopedia. Available at: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/61916. Accessed November 09, 2026.
Hu, Tinley. "Gnawing Behavior" Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/61916 (accessed November 09, 2026).
Hu, T. (2026, November 05). Gnawing Behavior. In Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/61916
Hu, Tinley. "Gnawing Behavior." Encyclopedia. Web. 05 November, 2026.
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Gnawing Behavior
EditGnawing behaviour comprises repeated incisal biting, scraping and abrasion of hard substrates, and is the behaviour around which the rodent masticatory apparatus is organised, all rodents retaining a conserved mechanical complex for gnawing despite extensive diversification of jaw form [1]. In lagomorphs the incisors grow continuously and are worn down during normal function, so that tooth length depends on the abrasiveness of food, occlusal contact and resting tooth grinding [2]. In captivity, gnawing is also directed at cage bars and wire mesh, where it can develop into a stereotypic pattern in laboratory mice [2][3]. Gnawing blocks are provided as cage enrichment, giving rabbits an outlet for substrate-directed gnawing [4].
gnawing behaviour
incisors
rodents
lagomorphs
stereotypic behaviour
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References
- Robert E. Druzinsky. The oral apparatus of rodents: variations on the theme of a gnawing machine; Cambridge University Press (CUP): Cambridge, United Kingdom, 2015; pp. 323-349. [CrossRef]
- Smaranda Crăciun; George Cosmin Nadăş; Odontogenic Abscesses in Pet Rabbits: A Comprehensive Review of Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, and Treatment Advances. Animals 2025, 15, 1994. [CrossRef]
- Hanno Würbel; Rosemary Chapman; Craig Rutland; Effect of feed and environmental enrichment on development of stereotypic wire-gnawing in laboratory mice. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 1998, 60, 69-81. [CrossRef]
- Luc Maertens; Stephanie Buijs; Chantal Davoust; Gnawing blocks as cage enrichment and dietary supplement for does and fatteners: intake, performance and behaviour. World Rabbit Sci. 2013, 21, 1195. [CrossRef]
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