Forum

OUR FORUM IS UP BUT WE ARE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF UPDATING AND FIXING THINGS.  SOME THINGS WILL LOOK WEIRD AND/OR NOT BE CORRECT. YOUR PATIENCE IS APPRECIATED.  We are not fully ready to answer questions in a timely manner as we are not officially open, but we will do our best. 

You may have received a 2-factor authentication (2FA) email from us on 4/21/2020. That was from us, but was premature as the login was not working at that time. 

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

What are we about?  Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum BEHAVIOR Bunny chewing on carpet

Viewing 13 reply threads
  • Author
    Messages

    • Lindsay0208
      Participant
      24 posts Send Private Message

        Hello everyone,

          So as some of you know, I have 2 new bunnies named Elsa and Anna.  They are baby Holland lop sisters.  Well they are in our school room(I home school) and are allowed to be free roam bunnies in this room(except at night or if we are gone).  Well my husband was in here fixing something and he noticed them chewing on the carpet.  I have plenty of chew toys, and options all over the room.  I wasn’t too concerned until I was holding them while watching a movie last night and without me even noticing Anna chewed 4 holes in my sweatshirt.   So now I am realizing if she did that, that quickly she could do some major damage to this room.  We rent, so we can’t have holes in the carpet when we leave.  We are allowed to have the girls, but I am sure the property manager will be upset if the carpet is ruined.  Any solutions or things I can do to prevent this.  I was thinking of getting some cheap rugs to try to put down all over the room to help.  Any thoughts or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.  


      • LittleBunnyPaws
        Participant
        304 posts Send Private Message

          Definitely do not let her chew on the carpet! That could injure both of them.

          You should cover the carpet with fleece, or spray Apple scent onto the carpet.


        • {Alli}
          Participant
          187 posts Send Private Message

            I agree with LBP although by apple scent do you mean apple cider? I also heard lemon juice works.


          • LittleBunnyPaws
            Participant
            304 posts Send Private Message

              I think so.. I know that there is some apple spray you can buy.. But I don’t quite know what it is?? I don’t use it:


            • {Alli}
              Participant
              187 posts Send Private Message

                I don’t either and I’ve never had to look for it so I’m not sure if apple cider is correct either.

                After a bit of searching, I found a similar thread on the forum but it’s from 2007. The information is very handy though. I’ve copied and pasted the parts you might find useful:

                Taste Deterrents: Bitter fruit sprays normally do NOT work as a deterrent because most rabbits LOVE endive, which has a very similar bitter flavour. Bitter Orange (the actual name-brand) is the only commercially-produced taste deterrent that will work for some rabbits. (Orange peel and Lemon peel can also work for SOME bunnies, IF you rub the peel all over the places they are eating, every couple of days.) Obnoxious perfumes (we’ve used Armani Code) will only work for temporary measures and can give bunnies allergy / breathing problems. Vinegar, however, can also be used to deter bunnies by smell and taste, since they do not like the potent acid. White vinegar will not stain, but it may bleach walls/wallpapers/stains, so be careful (apple cider vinegar your bunny MAY actually LIKE!) Balsamic vinegars or Malt vinegars may also work, but they STAIN and can get STICKY! Hot pepper juice can actually also cause breathing/asthma issues in your rabbit and so I don’t recommend trying the pepper deterrents.
                Touch Deterrents: Double-sided sticky tape can be a deterrent for rabbits that do not have curly whiskers (mini-rex rabbits have curly whiskers, for example,) because bunnies do not like getting their whiskers caught in the tape. Bunnies will scratch off the tape after a few tries of biting it, however.
                Blocking Deterrents: Living in a flat, we don’t have the luxury of nailing or screwing in wood blocks in front of all of our skirting boards or walls, so we’ve attempted to use various methods to deter our exceptionally determined (and head-strong) little bun from eating us (literally) out of house and home. The BEST solution we have used (and we’ve used almost everything) are things called Ibex Cubes (in Australia) or Neat Idea Cubes or Great Cubes in the USA. They are exceptionally cheap (in Australia, a package of five grids is $8.50.) (Bunnings, Home Depot, Walmart, Big W, Target, K-Mart, Big K, Costco, Sam’s Club are all places to try in the US/Australia/UK)
                What we did: We used these cubes plus cable ties (zip ties) to create a movable ‘fence’ all the way around our bunny’s space (our entire flat, minus our bedroom!) As long as you do not put boxes or other boxy-items that a bunny can land on near the fence, they will not jump over the grid-fence! They are not like cats and can’t exactly land only on their front paws easily, and so will NOT try to jump the fence! To space the fence away from walls, we added a small bundle of rope between the skirting board and the fence (anything that is expendable, like a small brick or block of wood will work as well.) in a couple of places. We also made our bunny a small little cube to hold chew toys secured to the grid and her blankets. We drape the top of the cube with a towel (so that she can hide in it), and we’ve put towels on the chairs she’s allowed to jump on (so that she can dig without destroying furniture.)
                Add a couple of sea-grass doormats, a tube/tunnel, some sisal chewing toys or mats, and some toilet paper tubes and you’ll have a bunny that won’t be so house-wrecking to live with.
                You can also use these cubes to make exceptional bunny houses out of them. You can create a tall ‘bunny condo’ with various platforms for them to jump and run and play in. Use sea grass mats to cover the grids that they will be standing/jumping on and put their litter boxes / hay boxes in the bottom to catch any accidents. A tarp can be used as the backdrop behind the condo as well.
                *note: when people say that bunnies need a LOT of toys, they aren’t kidding! Toilet paper tubes, scrap paper, old phone books, cardboard boxes (no tape or staples!), sisal rope bundles, untreated wicker baskets, balls, untreated wood blocks/objects, treat balls, towels, and even some ferret toys are almost necessary in order to keep a bunny from going after the naughty things. When bunnies get bored or angry, they WILL go after the things you don’t want them to destroy! Give your bunny many things to interest them and they will be less interested in going after your home.


              • Flopsie
                Participant
                388 posts Send Private Message

                  Chewing on the carpet is bad for both of you. Obviously for you damage to property is not good. For rabbits, the fibers from the carpet or even the clothing can cause blockage which can be very bad as well. Given that, I wouldn’t put other carpeting or cloth material over it. Unfortunately this is typical rabbit behavior so your options are one of three things as others have said already.

                  1. Prevent chewing using anti chewing sprays such as the bitter apple or lemon juice

                  2. Cover the area with chewable materials such as grass mats or cardboard.

                  3. Cover the area with in chewable material such as ceramic tiles or block the area off with gates


                • Lindsay0208
                  Participant
                  24 posts Send Private Message

                    Thank you so much. They have been much better today and last night. I bought them a few seagrass mats yesterday and put them in the general area that they go to chew (under a couch in school room) and the seem to love it. Its not a typical couch. I got it from Ikea for very small spaces. Its only 2.5 feet wide and there it is a foot off the ground with NO couch skirt so I can see them all the time. I will keep a very close eye on them until, I know they haven’t done it for a while. I would never want them to get sick or hurt, so I will not add a rug. I think I will get quite a few of those seagrass mats and keep them scattered around the room. What other chew toys do your buns like?

                    I have been saving all paper towel and TP rolls, wooden chews , seagrass sticks and curls , a large cardboard tube, and some type of wrapped rope carrot from amazon. They really don’t care about any of them except the new mats. They do jump through the tube sometimes.
                    On a different note, they have started to get comfortable here. I love both so much. Elsa even comes to my legs asking for attention. I know the older they get the less they will want to sit in my lap to be petted, so I am taking full advantage of them loving it now! They will both sit for hours completely content, get down to go potty and then hop right back.


                  • Flopsie
                    Participant
                    388 posts Send Private Message

                      mine love cardboard so when i get packages, I strip them of any stickers or tape, and I create a little house for her to play in.

                      Also, I take large cardboard and create a tunnel so that she can run through and she likes to also destroy them by chewing them up, which i’m okay with.


                    • Lindsay0208
                      Participant
                      24 posts Send Private Message

                        Oh that’s a great idea.  We have tons of boxes (we just moved a few months ago.  I did make them a temporary house in their pen out  of a fruit crate (cardboard) and they do love to play with it, jump on top of it, and chew it.   

                        OT question:  They are getting much better about pooping in their litter box but still leave a lot of pellets in their cage.  Will they not become litter trained until they are spayed or will they be able to before spaying?  They do pretty good about pee.  We have only had like 3 pee accidents since they came home.  I have to change their litter box as i just started off with one of those biodegradable ones bc I wasn’t sure what was best to use.  So I have been looking over what all of you use and think I will try to get that switched this week?  Do you think they will need transitioning to a new litter box or will they be ok as long as I put it in same spot?  Thanks.


                      • Flopsie
                        Participant
                        388 posts Send Private Message

                          from my understanding and my own experience, they are not fully considered “litter trained” until spayed or neutered. Although i’m sure exceptions do occur. I should note that even though your bun is fully trained, you’ll still get some stray poop on the ground here and there. I get about 2 to 3 per day outside of the box.


                        • hashntweet
                          Participant
                          1 posts Send Private Message

                            I have two New Zealand whites. They chew on my carpet, foam and other upholstery. We don’t get anti chewing sprays etc in my country. I,m so worried that one day they might develop intestinal obstruction. I’ve tries to remove as many things as I can from their ‘territory’…. but there’s only so much that I can do considering the fact that I live in a small studio apartment. Is there a substitute / DIY substitute to anti-chew?


                          • Fiver's Mom
                            Participant
                            16 posts Send Private Message

                              There’s a product called “Time Out” training spray..we might give it a go. Also there’s a lot of excellent suggestions in this thread !


                            • Booplesnoot
                              Participant
                              50 posts Send Private Message

                                I sprinkle a bit of black pepper on the spots where Boople likes to chew and it seems to work even after vacuuming the next day. Just a pinch will do. 🙂


                              • Azerane
                                Moderator
                                4688 posts Send Private Message

                                  Posted By Lindsay0208 on 10/20/2014 2:31 PM

                                  Oh that’s a great idea.  We have tons of boxes (we just moved a few months ago.  I did make them a temporary house in their pen out  of a fruit crate (cardboard) and they do love to play with it, jump on top of it, and chew it.   

                                  OT question:  They are getting much better about pooping in their litter box but still leave a lot of pellets in their cage.  Will they not become litter trained until they are spayed or will they be able to before spaying?  They do pretty good about pee.  We have only had like 3 pee accidents since they came home.  I have to change their litter box as i just started off with one of those biodegradable ones bc I wasn’t sure what was best to use.  So I have been looking over what all of you use and think I will try to get that switched this week?  Do you think they will need transitioning to a new litter box or will they be ok as long as I put it in same spot?  Thanks.

                                  When making houses out of boxes, make sure you keep both the top and bottom flaps on the box, the bottom flaps will help to protect your flooring underneath Rather than just having an open bottom.

                                  Some rabbits can be almost fully litter trained without being desexed, however most will leave poops around until they are desexed. That being said, most rabbits even when spayed or neutered still aren’t 100% with poops. Most will go in the tray 90-99% of the time, but you will get a couple of stray poops every now and then. In terms of getting a new litter tray, you shouldn’t have too much trouble. When you bring it home, clean it with what you currently use to clean the tray, and then put the dirty litter in it from the old tray and put it in the same place that the old tray was. They should take to it pretty quick if not immediately because it smells like them and is in the same place.

                              Viewing 13 reply threads
                              • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

                              Forum BEHAVIOR Bunny chewing on carpet