Please help! I’m desperate

[Heather316]

 Hello! I need bunny help desperately. I have been wanting a bunny for years and finally got an apartment and knew I could have one for its whole life. I spent lots of time researching and decided on a buck netherland dwarf. I got him from a local breeder and love him! But.. He is SO destructive. To everything and anything. I keep him in the cage when I’m gone and allow him to roam my office (bunny proof) when I am home and he just tried to tear up everything! Even his water bottle is suffering! He chews the cage, the floor, the toys (that’s the only good part) digs up the floor, digs up my carpet, everything!! He is about 13 weeks old so too young to neuter. I don’t want to let him out of his cage but he wants out so bad! I’m desperate. I want to keep him but he is driving me insane! Do you have any suggestions? Is there bunny training?! Haha thank you in advance for your help

[Heather316]

Also, having trouble with litter training. He is usually good about peeing consistently in his litter box but recently starting peeing elsewhere (no health reasons) and a he never poops in his litter box. How can I fix this?

[Beka27]

These behaviors are very hormone related as you know. There isn’t going to be a lot that can be recommended until he’s been neutered. It’s okay for him to be caged and have very limited exercise time until that can be done.

Rabbits can be neutered when their testicles descend. Maybe in a week, maybe in a few weeks…

You’ve already met with the vet and you’re just waiting for the testes to make their appearance?

[Heather316]

I have not yet. I thought he was way too young! I thought they had to be about 4 or 5 months old. But I can find a vet and figure that out. I am soooo ready for these behaviors to be past us!

So you think these behaviors will stop when he gets neutered?

[CheriB603]

He is just a baby. And one with lots of energy. First – bunny proof your office. Get those cords up & covered, if the office is carpeted and he digs there, put a shallow cardboard box over the part of the carpet where he digs and in the box either place an old piece of carpet, some shredded paper or old sheet and whenever he starts to dig somewhere else, put him in the dig box. If he does dig there, reward him with a treat. How big is your office? Buns like a lot of room to explore and maybe he feels cramped. As for the litter box, be sure there are no other shavings or bedding in the cage that he can mistake for litter. Watch him and when he goes in his box praise him and give a treat. Put hay in his box to much while he poos. Some bunnies are just more active than others. Give it a few months, if he is just too much for you, either expand his area or give him to someone who has a better, more roomy set up. Keeping him confined because he’s destructive will make the situation worse. Good luck!

[Beka27]

For the most part, they should stop, or at least lessen considerably. He will continue to get better as he ages too. Rabbits mellow with age, and when they become adults at around a year old, they do become better companions. You’re in the thick of it right now so I understand your frustration!

I’m not sure what your set up is like, but he needs a very, very bunny proofed space in the meantime.

[Heather316]

Thank you all for your advice. He has PLENTY of room and lots of toys. Ill try the dig box idea! His cage is decent size too. I hate having animals in cages so this is so hard for me! I want him to have more than just my office but I’m so worried he will find something not bunny proof in a bigger area.

[Beka27]

You’re very welcome! As you see by other posts on here, your guy is totally normal. This is a common concern with young bunnies!

Rabbits are not good candidates for “free roam” until they are neutered AND about 12+ months old… and some rabbits can never truly be free roam. Lots of people opt for a “hybrid free roam”. The bunny is free during daytime hours and is penned in a large space (like an xpen) at night. And honestly, rabbits like to have their own “safe space”, a large cage or pen does not need to be viewed as punishment.

At this point, he is pretty much the equivalent of a 2-year-old child. He wants freedom, but he still needs boundaries. The boundaries are not punishment, but rather a way to keep him (and your stuff!) safe…

[Stickerbunny]

He sounds a lot like Stickers was when she was just a baby. Baby rabbits are terrors – destructive, hormonal and gigantic pains if their area isn’t 100% bunny proofed (including no carpet to get at). It’s a downside of having a baby – much like having a puppy means destructive, hyper and untrained. When he grows up, he should mellow a bit. Carpet is still an issue for both of mine though, they munch it and dig at it like it is grass. But, a no or threatening them with the squirt bottle (just grabbing it and pointing it in their direction is enough) stops it.

What I ended up doing so Stickers could have free roam of a room was to cover ALL corners of the carpet… every single one. You could grab a x-pen and put down a linoleum flooring on it so he has a bigger run space without destroying your stuff.

[bpash89]

I think we all can feel your pain. My little girl was awful for a few weeks right before and after her spay. She’s still a destructive little monster but not nearly as bad as before. Mine isn’t even 1 yet though so I have lots of hope for the future and my future furniture… :/

You just gotta wait it out. I was always bad and treated her cage like a punishment if she did something she wasn’t supposed to. It was her ‘time out’ space to get her out of my hair while I cleaned up whatever messes she made. Now she only goes in there to eat and use her box, she spends next to no time in her cage (totally free range) and I think that is my fault. So don’t do that. A spray water bottle works great if yelling and redirecting doesn’t seem to be enough.

My only suggestion is to set a routine. Bunnies love routines and it will make your life easier. Have a schedule of when you feed him/clean his cage/let him out to run/go to bed. If he’s really that bad then I would say only let him out for a limited time when you can watch him the whole time. Maybe a couple hours a day (spread it out if you can since bunnies are most active at dawn and dusk) when you can sit and play with him and keep him away from stuff he isn’t supposed to touch. Give him a treat when he does something good like using his litter box like he should or playing with his toys over destroying the carpet in the name of boredom (I usually use pellets since my little girl loves them and you can feed them without worrying about them getting too much sugar). Just using positive reinforcement over trying to punish them. It’s hard to do when you are frustrated but it really does work better to train them.

Good luck. It really will get better after he is neutered.

[Author]

Messages