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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 Very destructive rabbit

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    • LeilaBinkySunshine
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        I’ve had my bun sunshine for about a month now. She’s a rescue and got her at 7 months. She’s going to be spayed soon the vet hasn’t called us back as the clinic had to cancel the original surgery date (emergency surgery on another animal). I’ve had many rabbits and know that spaying/neutering a rabbit can stop some aggressive/destructive behavior. But as of right now I don’t know what to do. She’s a very sweet rabbit, however she’s been extremely destructive. She has an xl dog pen and a big rabbit cage at night/when I can’t watch her. I want to get rid of the cage as they’re very stressful for buns but I don’t have much of an option right now. She often jumps out of the 3.5/4 foot pen fence. She is resilient at being destructive as well. She commonly jumps out and escapes her cage, escapes and jumps up into the closet (about 4 feet high). She rips up the carpet she has in her pen, scratches and digs aggressively 24/7. She’ll bite on the bars and the door of the cage.  they’re warped now. She moves the dog pen with her teeth. I bought rabbit stairs which she loves to chew the foam out of it. Always trying to jump out, eat and rip at the rug, excessively scratching and digging. I under stand these are pretty normal rabbit behaviors, especially while bored but she’s doing them to the extreme. It’s 24/7 and I’ve lost so much sleep due to her biting/scratching at the cage. She also will throw her ceramic bowls around (ive been told to buy ceramic bowls because they’re too heavy to be picked up by rabbits) but not by her. I’ve tried my best to supply her with enrichments. I have a chewing bell toy, rabbit stairs, a box, toilet paper tubes in different shapes stuffed with hay or toys. I even gave her a shirt to chew on instead of chewing on my bed sheets. She has her litter box along with stick toys. I don’t know what more I can do to keep her stimulated. I’ve bought a cat tube before for my old bun, she absolutely loved it. However once she was done loving it she chewed most of it and it became a safety hazard due to the wires poking out (I took it out as soon as I saw the wire). I don’t have money for expensive toys so I’d rather go the diy route. If anyone has any idea of how to help me I’m desperate and really appreciate it. I’ve even started to sleep with ear plugs because she makes so much noise at night.


      • LBJ10
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        17023 posts Send Private Message

          Phone books and corrugated cardboard cat scratchers are big hits for bunnies that like to have deconstruction projects. Have you tried either of those?


          • LeilaBinkySunshine
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              Thank you for the idea. I’m definitely going to try that, but can the ink in the phone books be toxic to them? Also if I get one of those cardboard cat scratchers should I avoid cat nip or if it’s safe/enjoyable for buns ? I’ll have to do some more research. I was also thinking of providing her with a digging box with some eco earth/ clean top soil as well to help with her digging habits.


            • LBJ10
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                Phone books (at least where I live) have soy-based ink, so they are safe. I don’t know if this is true of all phone books, this is just my experience. One thing is for sure, they aren’t as easy to come by nowadays. As for the cat scratchers, catnip is perfectly safe.


            • DanaNM
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                I feel you! My newest bunny Cooper is a wild man, I had slightly forgotten what it was like to have a high-energy young bunny, it can be a LOT of energy!

                I agree with LBJ10’s suggestions, phone books and newspapers are safe, as long as they aren’t the glossy sheets.

                I also would for sure swap out the carpet flooring in her pen for something like a vinyl sheet, because if she ingests a lot of carpet it can be dangerous. You can get a sheet of vinyl cut to size from most hardware stores for pretty cheap, I was able to order some online and pick up curbside from Home Depot, I think it was about 50 cents per sq ft.

                My buns really like sea grass mats, paper mats, and cardboard cat scratchers. They also love palm plates (search for organic palm plates). You can make hides and tunnels out of cardboard and stuff them with paper for them to dig around in as well. I have also used concrete building forms with the plastic lining removed as tunnels, as they are just cardboard.

                Also,  is kind of a trash type toy… but there is this chew toy called the “snak shack”. It’s inexpensive and keeps Cooper busy for hours. I think it was $10 and he’s been working on it for months now. It’s kind of junk as it’s made from compressed wood bound together with molasses or something, but it’s really hard so he barely eats any of it.

                If you get a ceramic bowl meant for a dog, that should work, or you can get a crock that attaches to the pen wall.

                As for her jumping out of her pen, you could make a roof for her pen with NIC cube grids.  That would also help the pen keep its shape so she couldn’t move it around so much. You could also use grids to reinforce the other problem areas that she is getting into (the closet, etc).

                . . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  


              • LeilaBinkySunshine
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                  I’m going to try the nic grids. I was thinking of getting a kiddie pool and to add clean soil(nothing added) or to use eco earth. Does anyone know if it can be toxic/enjoyable to bunnies? I want to get her a stuffed animal too🥺 I was also thinking of getting a very light misting bottle for when she does something bad. (Like a light light mist, not enough to get her wet but enough to take her attention off the bad thing she’s doing) I removed her small cage (the one that was in the dog pen) and she’s been a lot more relaxed. She’s not as inclined to move the pen around or rip the rug up. Also if I get vinyl should I get a vinyl rug or just regular floor vinyl? She’s been entertaining her self by sticking her head in and out of my shorts 😂 she also seems a lot happier without the cage, but she’s jus more tired because she has a lot more room to run all the time. I haven’t gotten the toys yet bc I’m broke broke but I’m going to soon and I can’t wait. She’s gonna love the improvements I’m going to make . Thank you for all of your advice, I’ll definitely be putting them to use


                • bunnytowne
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                    A sheet clothes pinned to the top of the xpen may keep her from jumping out of it


                  • DanaNM
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                      Glad to hear things are improving!

                      I’m not sure about eco-earth safety for digging, but clean organic soil would be OK. Play sand is also safe to use, or just a bunch of shredded paper.

                      I have used a very light spritz of water as a deterrent or way to distract a bun when they are really obsessed with getting into something (like chewing the carpet). Then ideally you block that area and redirect them to the safe alternative. It can work better than physically stopping them, because this can feel like getting pets and then you unintentionally train your bun that getting into trouble gets them attention!

                      . . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

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                  Forum BEHAVIOR Very destructive rabbit