Chewing through everything!

[Dpham22]

I have a 9 month old male bunny. During this time he’s gone through 2 floor mats for his playpen. The fabric is similar to canvas and is coated on the inside, which is the side for the bunny cage.  He has tons of toys in the cage and has the bunny safe mat and tunnel.  I’ve put towels in there so he has something to push and play with, but he chews on those too.  It seems like he chews through everything I put in his cage. He has managed to chew the keys to the point where the plastic is so worn and coming off.  He also chews through his tunnel to where most of the bottom is gone now. I thought a dig box would help entertain him, but he chewed the cardboard box and ate some of the bedding in it; so i removed it. Whenever he chews through the mat I always put him back in the metal cage I originally got for him, then he goes nuts in there. 

My question: is this normal behavior? How can I stop or help this behavior? 

Someone please help me! I’m going crazy with him swallowing all this plastic. 

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Sorry I can’t recall-has he been neutered yet? Also what size is his cage and how much ‘out’ time does he get?
It sounds like he either needs more outlets for energy or he’s going through puberty.

[Dpham22]

He is neutered and the cage is about 24x18x14. He normally lives in the playpen, but since he started chewing through it he stays in the cage now. 

[mia]

That’s normal behavior for a chewer. Some just likes to chew whereas some barely chew. There’s no reason to put into such a TINY cage.

Just remove any plastic items and give him more chew toys – willow, phonebooks, cardboard boxes, wood chews, etc. Also make sure he has unlimited hay. One of mine is a chewer and chews a lot more when hay has run out / the prefered hay isn’t available (even though when there is hay, still chews through everything, just a little less).

[Snowytoshi]

That cage is much too small, does he come out of his cage when you’re home?

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

How much ‘out’ time does he get? Definitely too small to live in 24/7 so he may be frustrated and just full of energy.

With bad behaviour you want to block/interupt and redirect to appropriate behaviour-so adding exercise (I’d at least double his out time) and give him lots to chew! Think phone books, cardboard, willow wreaths, hay mats etc.

[Bunslave54]

A lot of pet stores have great wooden toys made for chewers. I suggest toys like the wooden balls that are commonly found.

Also sometimes at craft stores you can find untreated willow baskets which can be great for a chewing bunny. I use to use one as a hay/chew basket when had a larger rabbit. They can also be a great for digging if you put some torn newspaper in there, its all rabbit safe and can even fit in a kennel/pen.

[jerseygirl]

Does your bunny get hay in his diet? Perhaps he would like a coarser cut hay or oat or wheat hay.

I agree with the others suggestions. Give him lots of safe things to chew. It’s a normal behaviour and important for their teeth that they be able to chew. Some rabbits like to chew more then others.

[Author]

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