chewing cage bars

[Mjacqu6]

I’ve provided my rabbits with a few safe wooden toys to chew on but one of them loves to chew on the cage bars. It started with her shaking the bars of the cage door when i put them away for the night but now she does it all over the cage. My other rabbit loves to gnaw on the wood toys but this one won’t. She likes to pick them up and move them around but won’t chew them.

Instead she bites on the cage bars and rattles them really hard. She even opened the door once doing this so i have to put a clasp on it when they are in there. In assuming that she thinks she can open the cage again if she does this, but I’m worried she will hurt herself.

I was thinking of putting lemon or something on the bars to discourage this behavior but she does it all around the cage so i would have to coat the whole thing (and i don’t know if its bad for her to ingest). I feel really bad when i have to lock them up because she obviously wants to get out but I can’t be sure that they will be safe running around my apartment while I’m asleep.

What should i do?

Thanks!

[RabbitPam]

It’s one of the most common things bunnies do, and I wouldn’t worry that she will hurt herself. I haven’t heard of that happening yet.
Yes, it is one way they get your attention, so the first thing to do is ignore her when she does it, ie. do not reward the behavior with attention, pets, treats or letting her out. She may do it less if she gets the message that you are NOT getting her message.

But they also do it because chewing is their way of grinding down their teeth. It’s much better to chew wood toys and particularly chew lots of hay each day, but some chew bars also and I suspect it just makes them feel good. It is also done when they are bored and have pent up energy. Not harmful, just annoying.
It’s the main reason I don’t sleep in the same room with my bunny.

There’s not much you can do other than give her something else to chew on, like a big willow ball that she can gnaw on and tear apart. It’s healthy and fun, and easier to control than a wood toy. She may lose the habit, or continue, but as she gets older it should taper off a lot.

As for making it taste lousy, the best thing to use is diluted white vinegar. It’s a great cleaning solution (no soap, just 50/50 vinegar and water) for cleaning the bars of the cage, and they don’t like the smell. Wipe down the bars and see if she avoids them a bit. But not too much vinegar because they have to live with the odor and normally you would rinse it with clear water after cleaning to remove most of it.

[tanlover14]

One of my buns is OBSESSED with doing this. He will literally gnaw on them for hours, I swear. It hasn’t hurt him yet at all so I wouldn’t be too worried. Haha. He’s definitely my most active and hyper bunny though and I agree completely with RabbitPam.

[Cutelittlebun]

Just saw this topic and I had to chime in. My bunny used to love to chew on the bars of her cage. Glad I’m not the only one! The nice thing is that I just brought her to the vet last week for a checkup (she is sick so she has lost interest on chewing her bars), and he said her teeth look good

I agree though, try giving your bun something else to play with/chew on. Maybe you’ll find the perfect distraction. Good luck!

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