chewing/digging carpet

[bumpybunny]

i have tried everything to get my rabbit to stop chewing and digging at the carpet but nothing works. i’ve tried putting ceramic tiles over it, then she just chews at the spot beside it. i have bought her so many toys to distract her but the only thing she’s interested in is the carpet. i watched a video on teaching them what no means, and she does know what it means now and will stop what she’s doing if i say it unless it’s when shes chewing carpet. ive tried everything i can think of, and nothing helps. i can’t leave the room with her out of her pen for even a few minutes because i know i’ll come back to a spot of the carpet ruined, and i dont have much time to watch her constantly so she doesn’t get that much time outside of her pen to play anymore.

today i’ve started saying no when she starts chewing, and then i put her back in her cage for around 5 minutes and then let her back out. the only problem is that she makes me basically chase her around the room for a very long time until she finally gives up and goes into her pen. i feel like after i finally get her to go in her pen she doesnt even remember why i put her back in it. when i let her back out she goes straight to the carpet.

i just wanted to ask if anyone has tried this with their rabbits and if it works at all? or if i could get any other suggestions to get her to stop chewing? i would really like to free roam her 24/7 but its to the point where she’s only getting a few hours out of her pen a day because she has completely destroyed my carpet.

[Wick & Fable]

You cannot “stop” chewing behavior (only the rabbit can, and at their own volition), so the best an owner can do is provide effective and enticing redirection. Your rabbit sounds very active, so she will need appropriate engagement activities to match it.

I find rabbits who enjoy carpets/baseboards are attracted to “anchored” engagement– in other words, not small fling toys, but larger things or things fastened down to give resistance (similar to the sensation of chewing up a carpet). Here are some examples with my lovely chew machine, Fable:

Fleece Digging Corner

Fleece Digging Corner
byu/WickandFable inRabbits

Behavior: Digging/Adjusting Fleece Blankets
byu/WickandFable inRabbits

Care: "Refilling" the Fleece Digging Corner
byu/WickandFable inRabbits

Cardboard Cat Scratcher

Cat Scratcher "Baseboard"
byu/WickandFable inRabbits

Behavior: Bun-struction (Chewing)
byu/WickandFable inRabbits

… You can also actively engage with your rabbit to help expend the energy so she is not spending it at the carpet: https://www.reddit.com/r/Rabbits/comments/sr694b/owner_bonding_10min_of_engagement/ , https://www.reddit.com/r/Rabbits/comments/pbsvjm/redirect_chewing_energy/

 

 

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.

[bumpybunny]

aww your rabbit is adorable!! thank you for the ideas, i will definitely try them!

[prince dorian the bun]

My bun Dorian is occasionally a digger, so I got the heavy plastic they use under office furniture and such an put it in the areas he likes to dig (big pieces of cardboard work too), it saves the rug. I  then put a shallow  box with some old towels in it and he will happily dig there instead. It saves him just moving to a different section of carpet. Oh and he definitely knows no, he just stops looks at you and if you’re too far away to do much keeps digging.  Bunnies are very much like cats in this regard!

[Vivicloud]

@Wick&Fable Where did you get the wooden bolt from? I think i’d like to try this out with my Bunny.

[Wick & Fable]

It is a screw that comes with some Oxbow toys, however, you can find them in craft stores/Etsy.

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]

You can redirect them, but it really depends on the bunny. I have had some luck with “timeouts” (essentially redirecting). Not because they understood they were being “punished” for something. They didn’t. But because the “timeout” would break the cycle of constantly circling back to the same spot to chew or whatever. You have to be firm though. Grab them with purpose and confidence. Then redirect them to the desired object/toy or put them in a pen for a few minutes or whatever. Again, it really depends on the bunny and what is motivating them. In my experience though, it can help them “forget” about the dig spot for awhile. I think the chasing around the room would be ineffective.

[DanaNM]

One thing to keep in mind is that with some rabbits this can turn into a bit of a game. If your bun really likes attention, the act of you coming over to redirect them actually rewards them for chewing on something they aren’t supposed to.

I’ve had some luck with distracting the bun with a light spritz of water, in combination with many of the techniques recommended above. I would aim the bottle so it was a sprinkle of water on the bun’s ears, and I would actually try to make it seem like it was just something happening, not something that I was causing. The idea is to be annoying enough that the bun moves on to something else (like a safe chew toy), but not actually to punish the bun or make them too wet!

The other thing you can try is to clicker train some behaviors you do want to see (such as targeting to something, chewing on a specific toy, or coming to you), and then when the bun is doing something negative, you can request they do the behavior you want, and reward that instead. This way you can redirect bun to her toys without unintentionally rewarding her getting into mischief.

. . . 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]

Yes, it can definitely become a game! That’s why the effectiveness really depends on what the underlying motivation is.

[DanaNM]

Also some toys that saved my carpets in the past were cardboard cat scratchers (esp the ones with different shapes), sea grass mats, newspaper paper mats, and recently water hyacinth mats! Phone books can also be really great at satisfying that urge to dig/shred.

. . . 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.  

[Vivicloud]

@Wick & Fable Picked up a chew toy that has the wooden bolts on them and she definitely enjoyed tugging at it. So when Luna is done destroying it I’ll try adding the cardboard and see if she goes for that.

[Roo and Doe]

With Roo and Dohwa, we have found that ‘No’ and chew toys work not much either. We have placed second-hand carpets that cover up entirely the original cream carpet of our living room : ). If you are in the UK, I recommend looking for free or very cheap second hand carpets on Freecycle, Gumtree, or on a neighbourhood forum. Then, cut them up to fit the room! For very destructive bunnies, I think it may be a good idea to give them free access of only one or two spacey rooms in which you can totally transform to fit their needs. For our two gremlins, giving them a cardboard corner in the room where they get to rip up cardboard boxes + apple branches and log bridges also seem greatly cure their urge to rip the floor up. Hope this helps!!!

 

[Plumped Cuddly Bunnies]

I tend not to give my bunnies cardboard or paper because they literally eat it and I don’t think it would do any favors on there digestive system. I could be wrong. I’d rather play it safe.

[Plumped Cuddly Bunnies]

What I find interesting is all these youtube bunny pen/free roam videos where they have a dog pillow and a material tunnel made from fabric as well as carpet on there pen floor or rug. In reality those sorts of setups would never work for 99% of bunnies because they chew everything and there is no stopping them because that is what rabbits naturally do. They have no idea what they can or can’t chew.

I gave up trying to teach my rabbits what they can and can’t chew because no matter what you try it wont work. My bunnies have lots of things they can chew on including lots of hay and willow bark and willow trunks but they prefer to chew the base boards and door frames and any type of painted wooden corner, chair legs etc. They chewed up the couch as well.

The only solution is to bunny proof literally everything and section off areas in your home. For example if you have any antique furniture that you don’t want chew marks on put it away or section it off. Get a good nail/staple gun and some wire mesh and put that on the things to keep your rabbits from chewing them like your door frames, corners of furniture etc etc. Some people might say that it may not look nice but it works very well if you don’t want chew marks all around your home. Another temporary solution is rubbing soap on things although you have to use a rabbit safe bar of soap but that is only temporary. Wire mesh is the best way to go.

For your flooring you really need tiled flooring or some wooden boards. There are often plenty of spare left over floor tiles and other things you could use on sites like Gumtree, Freecycle etc.

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