Carpet wrecker

[Stickerbunny]

I have a male bun and he’s a total sweetheart, perfectly well behaved, litter trained himself, will lay beside wires and not even touch them, etc. Then we adopted a female … she’s a crazy wild thing lol

She is currently at the vet to be spayed, so I am hoping that will calm her down. But, what are some tips on training bunnies to NOT destroy carpet? 

I gave her a dig box, she ignored it. I gave her phone books, rugs, towels, toys, etc not interesting. I put things all around the edge of the room with the carpet she’s destroying, so she just digs where the item ends. I gave her cardboard to destroy, doesn’t care about it. I gave her “den” like items to lay in, she doesn’t use them.

I’m hoping to bond her to the male (after she heals up) and let her be a free-run house bunny like he is, but first need to fix this issue because it’s a rental and recarpeting the entire house doesn’t sound like fun.

Think it’s possible to train destructo-bun out of her? If so, tips please! I read the sticky, but the putting items down thing isn’t working. And I would rather not restrict her to only the two hard wood floor rooms (though that is where they would go when we’re out) if she gets along with my other bunny.

She’s a rescue, still a bit skittish, was mistreated by her first family. No idea on age. Mini-rex breed (I think).

[Beka27]

Females can certainly be more destructive because of their strong nesting instinct. She’s digging and chewing at the carpet in an effort to make a safe den for her “babies”. After the spay, she should hopefully calm down over the next 1-2 months. Bonding to a mellow rabbit, can also help. You pretty much just have to wait and see how she does post-spay.

I laughed at your last sentence… mini rex.  They can be troublemakers, that’s for darn sure!  My femlae mini rex didn’t really outgrow the carpet chewing until she was over a year and a half, spayed for over 6 months, and bonded to our mellow lop.  Now she’s a hundred times better.

[RabbitPam]

It sounds like you’ve tried all the right things at the wrong time. She will need a month post-spay for her hormones to calm down completely, but then you can begin the bonding process. And I would suggest that you try everything you listed for us here again. Because she will be older, non-hormonal, and more in need of acceptable toys and a lifestyle. Think of her as returning to sanity. You’ll be able to reason with her again. I would only add that you can reward GOOD behavior, and just ignore the bad. Don’t punish, distract. If she goes into the dig box, give her a little treat, praise her, and hide some more treats in there for her to find. Do it randomly after a while so she will never know if she’ll find one there or not. And reward her when she stays in there a while with a treat out of the blue. She will make that her favorite place in no time. (If there’s a place you want her to hang out in more than the diggy box, do the same with that place instead. The point is to reward her away from the carpet until it has no temptation for her anymore.)

[Tate]

If you try everything again and she’s still excavating the carpet, you may want to give into her demands. You can go to a carpeting store and ask for any scrap pieces that have- look for ones that have the same feel as your carpet- and put them in her cage or where ever she hangs out the most. It seems like when they pick on something over and over again- could be carpet, cardboard, baseboards, cords- they like the feel of that thing and it can’t be replaced. This method is like giving a baby a pacifier- it ain’t gonna stop the cravings and you can only hope she grows out of it. Hehe.

[Stickerbunny]

Ok, thanks for the replies

I am hoping the spay will solve most of the problem… our male gets a “no” when he chews anything he isn’t supposed to and he never touches it again. Same with digging. He’s never been an issue at all. With her, she knows she isn’t supposed to do it and stops when asked (she gets a “Stickers, don’t do that” then when she walks away she gets pets), then I move something to block the area and then when I leave the room, she just picks a new one. If I am in there, she’ll look at the carpet, make a little grunt, shake her head and walk away like “I want to… but..but… fine i’ll wait”. I told my male that he’s going to have his hands full when they can finally be around each other lol

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Just a thought. Rabbits are thought to have a matriarch structure, where females are the prominent ones who defend territory (choose mates, have babies, defend territory, mark territory) while the boys lay back and meet the ladies.

So I’m thinking the destruction and wild might be due to a few factors
1) wanting to mate
2) having another bunny (even if he got their first) in her territory
3) being new (hey gotta chew so you know what it is)
4) maybe some frustration about him being out and her not?

Anyways-the spay will help tons, I’m also thinking that if you let her out to run, if you could let her in an area he hasn’t been recently that may make her feel more at ease (her territory as opposed to a territory war). Once they are bonded I bet that things will improve immeasurably. But in the mean time I wonder if letting her out in a room he never gets to go in might make her feel better?

[Stickerbunny]

She is in the laundry room, which he doesn’t have access to, not in a cage it’s just her own room. The kitchen is in between them, so her area should be pretty clear of his scent, except what is in the house just from him being in it. They are both scared of the kitchen because it’s tile and they slip and slide on it, plus a baby gate is kept in the kitchen door. Her cage is in there, but I leave it open and she uses it for a litter box. She sleeps in a paper tunnel I gave her which she loves. She’s destroyed the carpet in that room already, but I bunny-proofed it as much as I can so she doesn’t develop a habit while her hormones cool off.

She just got home from the vets a few hours ago, poor baby is so sore she just wants to sleep.

[Author]

Messages