At times like these, it’s good to think of it from a rabbit’s perspective, as well as considering the best approach.

When a rabbit chews anything, it will never think to itself it’s destruction is a bad behavior. Chewing is wired to be a great activity for rabbits. It’s enjoyable and survival wise, it’s great to manage their teeth which become very irritating and literally grow and stab into their cheeks if they do not chew them down constantly. They’re like beavers in the sense.

From a training approach, this is a “put the trashcan in a closet” situation. Its a silly story, but bear with me.

Imagine a scenario where a dog always digs into the kitchen trashcan when you leave the house. When you return home, the trashcan is always on the ground and it’s a mess. If you go to scold the dog when you get home, it won’t learn anything because it’s been hours since he’s done it, so you’re scolding him for either whatever he’s doing the instant you get home, or he’ll just learn you’re going to spontaneously scold him. A better method would be to fake leaving your house, hide in the kitchen closet, and pop out right when your dog is eating from the trashcan, like a crazy person…. Now that just sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? The best approach is simply avoid the situation — put the trashcan in a closet before you leave, so he can’t get in there while you’re gone.

In terms of chewing up your carpet and wood, this is something you cannot program easily into a rabbit before a bond is established. I recommend setting up a large pen for him where the area is not touching anything he may be inclined to destroy. This way, it’s simply you and him time, minus the deterrent interactions.

Also, this in tandem with the no hay eating you’re mentioning in another post may be him taking out frustration of something healthwise, such as dental. Is he neutered?

I’ll just respond to this one. Rabbit teeth are constantly growing, so it’s not really “it developed over night”, but more so he has reached the point where he can’t handle it anymore. Rabbit molars (back teeth) grow outward towards their cheeks because of their slant, so if they do not have hay to shave them down, their teeth grow like tiny daggers into the side of their mouth, making it very uncomfortable and in severe cases painful with damage to the cheeks and tongue.

In terms of your parents, from personal experience I do recommend sticking to your guns for the sake of your pet. I had my first rabbit when I was very young and was very hesitant to ask my parents to change my rabbits habitat, what was bought to fed her, and when she could leave her hutch. She ended up living only two years, and having Wick now and doing research, I realize my hesitancy resulted in a terrible life for her, and she definitely suffering and I didn’t do anything to help. It’s a terrible feeling of guilt, so when it comes to rabbit and hay, I urge you to take the stance and tell your parents. If anything, perhaps get the vet to talk to them, or write them a small note stating it is required for rabbits.

It’s great he’s eating hay now!! If he keeps eating hay the chewing could be about youthful energy and not about dental problems.

At 4 months, a bunny is young but about to start puberty. Puberty in animals as well as humans is a difficult time. The bun is leaving babyhood and starting to become an adult. Some of the adverse behaviors you are seeing will get better with time. Some might get worse. Are you planning on getting him neutered?

You should wait 5-6 weeks after he’s been neutered before you get him a girlfriend. This is because a boy bun can have viable sperm for 5-6 weeks after the neuter.

Wick has covered most of it and giving really good advise, just wanted to add a few tips that can help with chewing. My girl is a love bug, but ALSO a chewer, so it’s not just one or the other . Sometimes the most trouble-maker pets are the most fun in the end…. My Bunston was very shy at first, but once we earned his trust he was so amazing. He never licked me or snuggled, but he would come up for pets, he would climb all over everything, run the most amazing bunny-500s, and would play catch with us with a ball! It’s all about learning what your bunny likes to do. He might not be the same as your friend’s, but he will have his own unique personality. Your friend’s bun might also still be a baby (guessing from it licking you)… so its personality will likely change when it hits puberty!

But anyway, you’ll need to do a combo of things: block access to problem spots (“trashcan in the closet”) first. For carpets, heavy ceramic tiles work best. They are about 80 cents each at the hardware store. For wiring, base boards, and other generally “no” areas, try getting a pack of storage grid cubes and some zip ties, and blocking access to those areas. You can also get this wrapping to wrap wires, but they can get through it if given enough time.

The other big thing to do is to provide good alternatives, otherwise you will just end up with a bored and frustrated bunny. My chewers really likes to chew cardboard cat scratchers. I think they satisfy that same urge as chewing carpet, but are safe and cheap. And they last much longer than hay mats.

The urge to dig is also tied to an instinct to tunnel, so getting some tunnels can help too. I like the concrete building forms from the hardware store, with the plastic lining removed. You can also cut some holes in a cardboard box and stuff it with brown butcher paper (I usually end up with some from packages from amazon…haha). Mine also have liked shredding phone books!

Once you’ve blocked the trouble areas and provided your alternatives, things should be much easier. I have a little water squirt bottle that I will use occasionally if someone is getting into trouble. I tend to aim it so it sprinkles water on their ears, rather than squirting them directly. That way the deterrent was the “mysterious water” and not me! The water is not really a training tool, but to be used in combo with the other things!

I do agree that restricting his space to a smaller area (that is very well bunny proofed) will make things much easier!

On the note of pellets and treats, how much are you feeding him? It is very possible he isn’t eating as much hay because he is full, but hay eating is really important for so many reasons, as you know! My 9 lb bunny only gets 1/4 cup of pellets per day, split into two portions.

At 4 months you should also start introducing greens. Try a small amount of one thing at a time. If he is doing well with that one thing after a week, you can add in a second thing, etc, until you work up to 3 -5 greens that you know agree with him. Anytime you add a new green, try a very small amount for a couple days until you know he does well on it.

You need to teach him healthy eating habits, so yes, limit treats. Only one per day if necessary. For pellets, maybe limit how often the dish it out so he’s forced to eat hay.

Rabbits go to:
1) treats
2) pellets
.
.
.
3) hay.

But hay is MOST IMPORTANT, so do your best to get hay being the number one consumed food!

Cardboard can be dyed so generally just watch to make sure he isn’t eating it. Most rabbits just chew it. I don’t have experience on that front unfortunately because Wick doesn’t chew on anything, so I haven’t done any reading on safe and unsafe chew surfaces.

Posted By Wick on 11/05/2017 6:10 PM

Cardboard can be dyed so generally just watch to make sure he isn’t eating it. Most rabbits just chew it. I don’t have experience on that front unfortunately because Wick doesn’t chew on anything, so I haven’t done any reading on safe and unsafe chew surfaces.

My own understanding is that glossy-print cardboard is what one needs to watch out for when giving cardboard to their bun for chewing or other purposes (such as hidey boxes). Matte printed cardboard is generally all right, though as you say, watch for dyed cardboard.

If your rabbit gets its hands on anything it shouldn’t have, the first step is to monitor while encouraging hay and water consumption. Ideally, it will be a harmless amount that just needs some water and hay so it can make it go out of his system.

If you notice lethargic behavior, pain cues, discomfort cues, no poops, etc., then visit an emergency vet.