Lignophagia is the abnormal behaviour of chewing and eating wood.[1] It has been recorded in several species, but perhaps most commonly in horses where it is usually called, simply, "wood chewing". Lignophagia is a form of the pica disorder, in which normally non-nutritive substances are chewed or eaten. For some animals, wood is the normal primary food source; such animals are known as being xylophagous.
A related stereotypy in horses is cribbing, where a horse grabs a board or other edged object with its teeth, arches its neck and sucks in air. While this activity may cause some tooth marks on the surface used, this is not the same disorder as lignophagia.
- ^ Broom, D.M.; Fraser, A.F. (2015). Domestic Animal Behaviour and Welfare (5 ed.). CABI.