Destructive Behaviors in New Bunny

[Azo_Skips]

Hello, I’m looking for some help and advice for my new bunny, Butters. She is a 1 year old standard rabbit. She’s been with us for a little over a month.

When we aren’t home or can’t watch her, Butters stays in her cage which is 5 ft by 6 ft and is 2 ft in height. First we had some of those foam puzzle mats on the floors but she ended up ripping those up and eating them. We decided to switch to carpet which we cut out to the shape of the cage. We thought we were good but she has been ripping up the back strip and chewing on it.

She has plenty of toys. We have given her paper cups and straws, wooden chews, loofahs, woven chain rings, a bunch of apple sticks, two balls ( one being a street hockey ball and another being a bell ball ).

The carpet she’s chewing is only at the back of the cage.

She enjoys cardboard but I worry she likes it too much. At this point I’m wondering if it’s worth it to let her chew as much cardboard as she likes vs her continuing to chew the carpet. At least it’s more digestible.

Other notes:

– She freeroams whenever we’re home and can watch her

– She has a hide out with a blanket

– We give her fresh hay and water every morning

– She gets about a 1/2 cup pelleted food with forage mix and one small timothy hay cake every morning

– She gets a salad with a mix of romaine lettuce and other veggies and sometimes grated frozen fruit on top. Usually around 5 – 6 pm.

– We tried bitter spray, it doesn’t deter her as much as we’d like.

– When we adopted her she was by herself in her own pen.

– We think she’s a girl… about 80% sure. We’re scheduling a vet appointment soon.

– Her favorite person is my fiancé ( her bun dad ) but he works fulltime.

I am really looking for any and all suggestions or information as to why she’s pulling up the carpet. She did it with the previous flooring too. The flooring underneath the carpet is solid polished wood which doesn’t have any grip and is too cold for her. I can’t take the carpet out because my fiancé’s parents ( whose house it is ) has insisted something needs to cover the floor.

** The last photo was BEHIND her hideout. I didn’t know until I saw the carpet completely torn up. This photo was taken to show my fiancé halfway as I was cleaning up. There are now 10 lb weights on top of her hideout ( she can’t reach them ) to avoid it moving.

 

Thank you to anyone who is willing to take the time to help me out.

[GlennTheLionhead]

Hello!

She is a beautiful bunny. Bunnys can be very destructive my nature. Is she spayed? Intact buns can be more destructive, sometime this sorts the issue

You mentioned she gets hay in the morning, is this topped up throughout that day so it is unlimited? She could be chewing if she’s looking for extra hay maybe.

Many buns enjoy a dig box and can get frustration out here. Big reconstituted wood mesh toys made for buns have been a hit with our destructo buns. Some people also manage to train out chewing behaviour by redirecting the buns to a toy every time they try to chew something they shouldn’t. I would not let her ingest too much cardboard either as this can lead to GI issues.

I also have an avid carpet chewer, one thing I have found that has helped is to simply make sure no edges of carpets are accessible, we have a carpet larger than the pen size that slips under the gates so they cannot be reached.

You have just adopted her so this last point is just something to think about but if it’s possible a second rabbit could help, many bunnies benefit immensely from a friend. Our boy was an avid chewer, like yours he had loaaaads of toys, room and proper care, after we got him another friend these behaviours simply vanished – in our case it seemed that his destruction was from loneliness, despite human companionship, he even shared our bed but it just wasn’t enough for him. Every bun is different so it’s just something to think on – there is lots of information here about proper companion introductions if this is something you do end up considering.

[Azo_Skips]

Thank you for all that information!

It there any chance you can share examples of the big reconstituted wood mesh toys you have?

I also moved to and she was a gift from my fiancé. I have another bun named Cas who was denied boarding when I flew to where I am now. We’re in the process of having him come up here. So she should have a bun friend soon.

She’s still intact currently but we’re working on finding a vet that we trust and are comfortable with spaying her.

This was all really good information and I’m so thankful for all of it, truly.

[DanaNM]

Flooring is really tricky for buns! I have a few “diggers”. What I ended up with is foam mats covered by a sheet of vinyl flooring, and then fleece blankets on top. They do still dig and chew at the fleece, but it is safer than carpet. Ingesting either carpet or fabric would not be good, but if a bit is ingested the fleece is less likely to cause an issue.

In the past I had a bun that would eat all fabric, so I had to have just a bare floor for her (I had peel and stick tiles on top of plywood for her condo). I would put down lots of grass and paper mats and pieces of cardboard to give some traction and cushion for her feet.

Since it’s just one spot, you can also try covering that area with heavy ceramic tiles. Buns often get obsessed with one spot and if you block it they will move on. I usually block the trouble area with a tile and then provide an alternative nearby. Cardboard cat scratchers, seagrass mats, and phone books (for shredding) are all very popular with my carpet diggers.

I’ll just add that my girls that do this are all spayed and bonded. So of course having a companion helps but it won’t necessarily remove the urge. Females especially like to dig!

. . . 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.  

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