Keeping Sammy out from under the couch...

FORUM

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

This topic has 13sd replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 5 months ago by nugget.

Viewing 13 reply threads

Author

Messages
- 10/23/2010 at 12:44 AM
  Otti
  Participant
  535 posts
  So, I have a normal sized couch, the bottom of which is about 2 or 3 inches from the floor. I had effectively kept Sammy from going under it for some time by stuffing rolled towels all around the bottom. He didn’t show interest in trying to get under there again until recently, but in the last week he’s learned to dig the carpets out from under and then try to squeeze under the couch himself once he’s pulled the towels out.
  
  Now the couch is slightly lower in the front than in the back. He can’t get under the couch in the front (he’s too big) but somehow he can still
  manage to squeeze under the back part of it. He must have more room under there once he gets past the wood edge. He still tries to also squeeze in from the front but only gets under up to his neck before he realizes he won’t fit.
  
  I guess I could just let him go under there. I mean, he’s 100% litter trained and so he wouldn’t really do damage that way. I’m just worried he’ll get hurt trying to squeeze under there and also when he realizes he can’t get under the front, he digs at the carpet so there’s a chance he could damage that.
  
  Any ideas of how to block him from going under the couch in a subtle way? Nic grids are not an option, since I don’t want to modify the look of my living space to that extent. I’m not very handy but can manage some
  small scale projects (maybe) even though I think I’d be hopelessly lost at any home depot lol
  
  also, does anyone think I should just let him go under and that he’ll know not
  to hurt himself to go under?
  
  Any suggestions are welcome. I think Sammy now sees me as the evil lady that keeps him away from his beloved couch cave lol
- 10/23/2010 at 3:53 AM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  Are wood 2x4s an option. 3 nailed together at the ends to the exact size of the couch and then you could just place it back there. And remember, whatever you do is only temporary. Sammy is still a baby right?
- 10/23/2010 at 4:22 AM
  Otti
  Participant
  535 posts
  I had to look up 2x4s …
  
  Do hardware stores sell them cut to size or can they size them for you? Could I maybe also just glue them together?
- 10/23/2010 at 4:22 AM
  Otti
  Participant
  535 posts
  Oh yeah he’s a baby, almost 6 months though and I think probably close to 4 pounds now
- 10/23/2010 at 6:25 AM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  You mentioned in another thread about possibly getting bricks to secure Sammy’s pen. What about sliding some extra bricks (or flat pavers) under the sofa? If you push them in a bit they probably won’t be visible.
  
  With the 2x4s (lol) you should be able to have them cut to size. Most stores do this for you. You could buy some right angle brackets and screw them together using them. To create a frame. It might be rickety but its not for supporting any weight so it might do the job.
- 10/23/2010 at 7:12 AM
  Elrohwen
  Participant
  7318 posts
  I found that putting up NIC grids for a while helped – eventually I was able to take them down and the rabbits didn’t try to go under there anymore. Hannah can squeeze her butt under our couch (even though it’s only a few inches high) but after deterring her for so long she lost interest. It she even sticks her head under now I tell her to stop and she leaves it alone.
  
  The same thing worked for the tv stand – they only wanted to go under there while it was new and interesting. Once I blocked it off for a few months, it wasn’t as interesting anymore and when I unblocked it they forgot all about it.
- 10/23/2010 at 10:59 AM
  Otti
  Participant
  535 posts
  It’s weird, he’s just been obssessed with it for a few weeks, it’s like he’s possessed. I’m going to look into both the wood and the tile route… What kind of wood would be safe to use?
  
  Now I’m thinking maybe if I get a piece of linoleum of the right size to lay over the carpet under there, he might not go anymore since he hates linoleum lol
- 10/23/2010 at 12:49 PM
  Otti
  Participant
  535 posts
  So, I’ve decided to test out my mom’s advice: just let him go under and he’ll get bored of it. He went under for a few seconds when I let him out this morning but hasn’t gone back since even though there’s nothing blocking it!
- 10/23/2010 at 10:33 PM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  lol. They will forever mystify us! Maybe there was a bit of food that rolled under there. That happened to me, some pellets went under some furniture when I fed the buns in the living room. Drove Jersey nuts!
  For future reference or bunnyproofing, you can use normal untreated lengths of pine wood. Pine is safe in this form.
- 10/25/2010 at 1:42 PM
  bunnnnnnie!
  Participant
  1491 posts
  I don’t like Zeus under my futon, so I occasionally spray a few spritzes of perfume/body spray under there. He avoids the smell, and I haven’t had to do that in over a month now, he seems to just know to avoid the “stinky place”.
- 10/25/2010 at 1:54 PM
  allegrabunny
  Participant
  116 posts
  Do hardware stores sell them cut to size or can they size them for you? Could I maybe also just glue them together?
  
  This made me laugh! So cute, most of the time hardward store will give you what is called a rough cut, so from a 12 foot long board to approximately 8ft or whatever length you need. with 2×4’s unless you have a super long couch one should do it. I won’t bother with gluing, ask the hardward clerk to get you some brackets. the bonus of having a wood plank is that they now have something safe to chew on.
- 10/25/2010 at 5:00 PM
  nugget
  Participant
  161 posts
  I actually ended up taking the legs off my couches to prevent Skittles from digging her way underneath. :0/
- 10/25/2010 at 5:18 PM
  Otti
  Participant
  535 posts
  Thanks everyone for the responses! Sammy is really weird, now that the couch is no longer blocked off, he couldn’t care less. He hasn’t tried going under there in a few days despite being left out for long periods of time…
  
  He’s still not allowed to move his pen around and ‘reshape’ it like he likes to do to show his frustration at being in there, so obviously he still does that with a passion :/ I’m trying to brainstorm the most effective and also decent-looking solution… He’s pretty strong so if I weighed it down it would have to be with something very heavy. I was thinking of lining it either with bricks (but I think I’d need to use too many to make it heavy enough and it would look weird) or maybe sets of ankle weights around the edges… but that could get expensive.
  
  I might just go ahead and buy a heavier pen (he has one meant for small pets which is rather light) but I kind of like how light his current one is, and in addition I’m wondering whether he still might be able to move a standard xpen one…
  
  His pen isn’t precisely square shaped… it has two straight sides and then two kind of angled ones… hard to explain. so building a frame around it might get tricky (especially for me lol).
  
  It might be quicker for me to just find a boyfriend adept at building things… LOL
- 10/26/2010 at 8:16 AM
  nugget
  Participant
  161 posts
  LOL….I have that problem too! Luckily, my sisters have boyfriends that I take total advantage of One of them is building me a frame this week.
Author

Messages