Bunny chews everything!!!

[MichiganRabbits]

My 5 mon old Netherlands dwarf named Baylor tries to chew everything. He’s gotten to a few of the baseboards, and I don’t own the house I’m staying in so I can’t afford for him to destroy the house. Plus it’s a new build, which makes it worse. I let him out for free roam time, but he has to be in a fence because he will chew all of the baseboards and I can’t block them all. I’ve been using nic grids. However, I have to keep them a good distance away from my door because it is one of those doors with the slats in it and if Baylor stands up, he can reach the door and chew on it. The problem is, he figured out that he can jump over the nic grids to chew on the door. I make sure to get him back in his pen as quick as possible, but sometimes he gets a nip at my cherry wood door. I really need help! If this keeps happening I don’t know what I’ll do. I never thought that rabbits were that inclined to chew on things. How do free roam bunnies not chew on everything?

[LBJ10]

It’s natural for bunnies to want to chew, especially when they are young. Is he neutered yet? Neutering can help with this type of behavior, but not completely. If he loves baseboards in particular, then I would recommend covering them with cardboard. As for the door, can you wrap the slats with cardboard as well?

You can, of course, always make taller fencing. But I would only use this if they are placed so you’re not having to constantly step over.

[MichiganRabbits]

Baylor is not neutered yet, but we have an appointment sometime next month. I like the idea of covering it with cardboard, however, it would be a pain to cover my door with cardboard. I do use that door often so I’m thinking that not making it higher than it needs to be is a good idea. Maybe a baby gate would work idk.

[MichiganRabbits]

Here is the door.

[Wick & Fable]

Can you put a second level of NIC grids in the area in front of the door? You can make one swing like a door so you can easily step to-and-fro. You can use a binder clip or something else to fasten it shut.

My Fable very much has chewed on baseboards, doors, wall corners, etc.. Unfortunately the damage is permanent, so I understand any frustration or stress you might be feeling. Figuring out how to redirect that energy/curiosity is important, in addition to putting better blocking-measures.

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.

[LBJ10]

Good idea Wick! Also, placing a baby gate in the doorway may not be a bad idea either.

It’s a pain to cover all of the baseboards with cardboard. The good news is that after he is neutered, he may “forget” about the baseboards. So the cardboard may not need to be permanent. This is especially true if you are able to work on redirecting him to more appropriate things. Rabbits like having something stationary to chew on, so providing wood chews that do not move and redirecting him to those may help.

[MichiganRabbits]

Thank you both sooo much. This has been a struggle and it’s been very frustrating. I might try to raise the nic grids, but I’m having a hard time trying to figure out how to get them to stand up when putting on a second layer. Something wooden and stationary is a great idea. Any ideas for something like that?

[Wick & Fable]

Do you have the connectors those grids typically come with? The way the grids are angled, you can probably put two connectors on the corners of the grid in the center and that will hold up a second grid.

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.

[LBJ10]

Or zip ties?

For something stationary to chew on you could try attaching pieces of wood to something heavy, like a piece of plywood. Or if you have a heavy enough piece of wood with nice edges on it, that might work too. Just make sure whatever you use is bunny-safe.

[DanaNM]

Some bunnies are just not great candidates for unsupervised free-roam due to chewing etc. My Bunston (who was also part dwarf!) was very destructive so we could only give him supervised roam time. I think the NIC cube grids are a good plan to block access, along with maybe using some safe lumber to give a better alternative. Hopefully he does settle down with neutering and growing up a little!

My super destructo-bunny Bunston did well with blocking access to problem areas, and giving safe alternatives that satisfied the same urge. Cardboard cat scratchers were an accidental discovery that have saved my flooring from many bunnies. Phone books are also really good for shredding. Cardboard boxes filled with some holes cut in the side and with paper are also really fun for bunnies with the urge to chew and tunnel. Bunston also really liked those cardboard concrete forms you can get at the hardware store. I just peeled away the wax lining so then it was basically a cardboard tube.

. . . 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.  

[MichiganRabbits]

Again thank you so much! I do have the connectors so maybe I’ll try those. I’ll have to go get some wood, but I’m sure I could build something for Baylor. Thanks for all of the destroying toy ideas! I’ll have to try some out!

[MichiganRabbits]

Oh also I have another question. Baylor has been chewing on the edges of his plastic litterbox. He tries to push it out from the corner. I’ll post some pics:

[MichiganRabbits]

[DanaNM]

Oooh yeah Bun Jovi does this too. A temporary solution was to take a piece of cardboard and then clamp it over the edge with those heavy duty plastic alligator clamps you can get at the hardware store. That way he would just chew the cardboard instead of the box (it was kind of loud though).

Then I got a heavy duty dish bussing tray to use for his box. He still chews it, but the plastic is so thick he really isn’t making progress on it, and it doesn’t leave sharp edges.

I had a thread on this and some people suggested attaching a piece of lumber to the front of the box, but I never got around to trying that.

. . . 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.  

[MichiganRabbits]

Thanks for the suggestions. I’m going to get a new litterbox soon and will look for something hard plastic or not chewable.  But for now I put a toilet paper roll over it and it seems to be working fine.

[prince dorian the bun]

Oh Baylor! What a cute little rascal though. I do feel your pain… Dorian recently decided the deck slats are super tasty. I am not sure what to do there, I have a rug, but I can’t get one big enough for the whole deck so it’s sadly now just deck time if heavily supervised, also rent so sort of not sure how to fix that (they are starting to decay in spots which is why I think he started as the wood is so soft, hoping I can pass it off as that! Or just replace a couple of the slats). I do find putting chew tows in areas he likes to chew seems to help. He loves to destroy a cardboard box or a wicker basket, so as long as he has that he seems to generally stay out of trouble. Maybe additional chew toys will help?

I have heard mixed success stories with the no chew sprays like bitter apple or such. Good luck! I hope the neuter helps too.

[LBJ10]

A lot of rabbits seems to like Bitter Apple spray…

[DanaNM]

Recent discovery, we started giving the buns palm plates to chew (they use them at the shelter and are very popular), and Bun Jovi has stopped chewing his litter box and digging in the floor!  It’s a miracle!

So you might check them out! If you search for “organic palm plate” you will find some safe options.

. . . 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.  

[MichiganRabbits]

Wow! Great idea! I’ll definitely have to purchase some of those for Baylor!

[DanaNM]

I hope he likes them! Buns can be so particular, it’s great when you find something they love!

. . . 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.  

[Author]

Messages