Chewing xpen bars

[Louiethebunny]

lately, my bun has been chewing and pushing his xpen bars out of place. Is this a boredom behavior? does he need new chews? i give him chew sticks and toss toys and he has lots to play and chew. Does he need more free roam time?

[Enzo the bunny]

my rabbit has the same problem and I play with him and give him plenty of toys but he still shakes the bars of his ex-pen when he is in it. maybe try giving him more play time? I’m not sure why they do that though

[Hazel]

Sounds like he wants more play time. How much time does he get out of the pen?

[Louiethebunny]

I let him out whenever I’m in the room, he gets around 4 hours of playtime.

[Louiethebunny]

I also noticed him doing it mostly hen I’m out of the room. He could also be being a little naughty, and he’s very sassy. I offered him several other chews and placed them where he’s been chewing, and they distracted him a bit and he continues to push around the xpen and chew it.

[Wick & Fable]

It’s a common phenomena for a rabbit to chew the bars once they know there is land beyond it they can access. There are actually many instances where, even if the pen door is open, a rabbit will chew on the bars, haha. Try to put yourself in your rabbit’s shoes — why on earth am I being arbitrarily kept from the rest of my territory? Ugh! One of my rabbits is very much likes the idea of being able to access things, but when when he gains access  he doesn’t actually want to go inside. Bonkers.

Bar chewing can be boredom, frustration, and what I mention above. Above all else, giving a rabbit as much free roam as possible is always great, but if you are doing it so often and you still find this behavior happening, in conjunction with adding toys and keeping the rabbit active, it may have more to do with the idea of being confined.

The solution can be putting toys or other things on the pen bars. One of my rabbits is very visual, so if I just clip a sheet to the other side of the pen wall so he cannot see, he stops. Just be warned that some adventurous rabbits may chew and try and climb fabric.

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.

[Louiethebunny]

I am going to try to free roam him part-time, as long as I’m home, and hopefully, that will help cease the chewing. I may try the sheet thing, I have many old sheets I wouldn’t mind a few chew holes in.

[Louiethebunny]

Hi, it has been about a week, and the behavior ceased for a few days but starting yesterday he took up the habit again, and it’s worse than before. I’ve let him free roam all day, and when I put him back inside his xpen for “bedtime” he chewing the bars and pushes them around A LOT, and it’s very very loud and annoying. Is there a way to train him out of this behavior?

[Author]

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