What happens when you cut an electrical cord in half, plug the cord into the wall and touch the two exposed ends to your hand?

That's right, you get shocked. Under the right circumstances, you might even be electrocuted. So, why doesn't Tess get shocked when she chews a cord plugged into the wall socket in half?

Let me back up a bit. Tess is a 3-year-old spayed female rabbit. She has free roam of the house, where she uses a litter box. Tina, her caretaker, says Tess is in excellent condition. Tess' diet is based on formulated rabbit pellets and Timothy hay, and water of course.

Apparently, Tess is a chewer. She appears to have little preference as to what she chews. Tina has been tolerant, but recently became concerned when she found that her television no longer worked. She checked to see if it was plugged. It was. The cord, though, had been thoroughly chewed through the insulation with the cooper wire severed on both sides. This chewing had gone on not just in one spot but for several inches along the length of the cord, although the cord was severed in only one place.

Tina's concern is entirely valid as the current and voltage within a standard electrical socket can provide an electrical shock. The mystery here, and I must admit it is a mystery, is why Tess didn't suffer an electrical shock.

I, too, have had firsthand experience with rabbits that chewed through electrical cords. In undergraduate school, my roommate kept two rabbits in our dorm room. Of course, this was entirely against the rules, as were the two pythons I had (now there's a combination, talk about your predator/prey arrangement).

When the rabbits were not caged, they chewed every electrical cord in the room. None of our appliances worked, and nothing ever happened to the rabbits. I, of course, got shocked if I touched a tattered cord, while the rabbits went merrily along chewing up everything.

I can tell you that rabbits are not immune to the effects of electricity, but none of my experiences would bear this out. I have treated several patients over the years for electrical shock and, sadly, I have seen a few patients die from electrocution from chewing electrical cords that were plugged into the wall. None of these patients were rabbits.

I can tell you that teeth themselves do not conduct electricity and it may be that the rabbits did not make contact with the copper wire with other than their teeth, but that seems unlikely. In short, I'm at a loss for an explanation. That said, I would not count on rabbits being immune to this particular risk and would advise anyone with rabbits not to allow them to chew on electrical cords. Those of you who allow them free roam of your houses will have to figure out how to accomplish this task.

Oh, and by the way, even though my roommate's rabbits rendered useless many dollars' worth of my electrical devices, I was never tempted to let them play with my pythons.

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(Jeff Kahler is a veterinarian in Modesto, Calif. Questions can be submitted to Your Pet in care of LifeStyles, The Modesto Bee, P.O. Box 5256, Modesto CA 95352.)