Yet another destruction story…please help

[Miss Bunnykins]

I have successfully (almost) bonded my year old neutered mini rex to my two year old spayed lop mix. I say almost because he really doesn’t show her much affection, he is more interested in running around and destroying our walls and baseboards. Hence the problem. We got him because she seemed lonely and very inactive. We thought a mini rex would give her more motivation to play…instead, his bad habits have started to influence her

We have given him a slew of replacement things to chew: wood blocks, phone books, various cardboard houses (even the cottontail cottage, which he used to get better access to chewing higher up our walls), carrot shaped chew sticks on the bunny kabob thing, untreated branches (which he strips and whittles down to toothpicks in a matter of an hour), toilet paper and paper towel rolls.

Yet he insists on chewing, chewing, chewing. He pulls up pieces from our carpet, chews up the corners of walls taking off wallpaper and drywall with it, chews the wood molding around all of our doors and baseboards, and has made a huge dent in the side of his plastic litterbox.

We have both rabbits confined to our living room so we can watch them, he just does it so fast that the damage is already done by the time we catch him. If we squirt him with a waterbottle, he finally runs away after about the 5th squirt, but he always goes back to resume his destruction…sometimes right away  Clapping or stomping on the floor has no effect.

I have tried bitter spray, rubbing perfume or vinegar on the areas he chews, and blocking off areas he chews…but he just finds something else to chew on. I can’t pull up all of the carpet because we rent and we are going to have TONS of repairs to do before we move.

I don’t want to sound mean, but he was the runt of the litter and he just does not seem as smart as our other rabbit that knows her name, knows she is in trouble as soon as she even sees the squirt bottle, and will let you know when she is displeased with you and hold that grudge accordingly (like when I cut her nails ) Like I said, I don’t want to sound mean and I have owned 2 rabbits before and I have never encountered a rabbit this hardheaded and irreverent. Any help is very appreciated.

[LBJ10]

Hmm, sounds like my Leopold. Would it be possible to confine him to an exercise pen for awhile?

[Sarita]

Some rabbits are just like this and unfortunately they just have to be confined to keep from destroying your house. I had a rabbit like this who just was intent on digging my house up and she was the nicest rabbit ever except for this. They just focus on their project and it’s the project of their choice, not yours.

I have no idea what her background was before I got her but she was full grown and I had her spayed which didn’t alter her need for a project. I don’t think she was less smart than my other rabbits, just more project minded and determined.

I have no idea what was growing through her head either.

[Dee]

It’s shacking how much damage these adorable, furry little things can do, isn’t it?! My male dwarf mix, BunBun, is rather destructive. He has chewed through wires (without injury Thank God, and now they’re all enclosed), drywall, wooden thresholds, door frames, doors, furniture, rugs, carpets, clothes and books. There is hardly anything that he can reach that doesn’t have his little toothmarks on it. He ripped apart my last couch to the point where it had to be thrown out. There’s hardly anything within his reach that is not covered with his little toothmarks. I must say that he has gotten better with age- he is now about 3 years old. We got him when he was only a few months.
I think your bunny may be still in the destructive “teen stage”, so hopefully he will mellow out. You may have to confine him to an Xpen though, especially if he’s eating carpet since that could give him a blockage. Discipline never worked well with my BunBun either- he will just shake his head and binky up in the air, kicking up his heels at me… then go right back to his :project”. When I used to stop him from eating the couch, he would pee on it for revenge- lol. Good luck- I wish I had better advice, but I think bunnies are tough to train!

[Beka27]

I also don’t think it’s a remark on how “smart” a rabbit is. He is doing what instinctively he is supposed to. If anything, the more destructive buns are the smarter ones. I agree that they need to be confined or relocated to another space. Not all rabbits can be free range in a room. He is still young, so it’s possible that he will mellow out within the next year.

[Lagomorphic]

How much positive attention is your “problem child” getting? My buns are much more inclined to stop doing something (even something “bad” that they really want to do) when I make my warning noise if they’ve been getting a lot of positive attention from me at other times. I can really see a difference when I’ve been busy and haven’t been able to spend much time with them – it’s like they’re not as motivated to do what I say.

[Author]

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