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Hi all! I’ve never joined a forum before so if I do this wrong, please forgive me!
My family brought home our new member, Dobby a Netherland Dwarf a year ago. We absolutely ADORE him and want him to have the best life possible. He currently is in a the largest cage we could find and we let him out to run and play twice a day for a couple hours. We would love to give him a larger area to play and roam free in. Here is the problem: He refuses to step foot on any type of flooring that isn’t carpet. (I think he hates sliding around on the wood or tile) So our only option is to give him the basement bedroom that is carpeted. Does anyone have advice on how to get him to stop digging and occasionally eating the carpet? I would feel terrible if he ate too much carpet and got sick or died. He has lots of cardboard and grass mats to chew on but we still catch him going for the carpet. Thoughts? Advice? Thanks so much!!! -
You could cover the carpet with fleece blankets and anchor the corners down with heavy tiles. You could also try a dig box to hopefully encourage him to dig there rather than the carpet. All you need is a box full of sand/soil /shredded paper.
Dobby – such a cute name
I’m not a fan of Harry Potter but Dobby is cute 
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I never thought of that. I’m curious if he’d just eat the fleece blanket though? My concern isn’t about the carpet staying nice but for him not to eat too much “bad” stuff and die. I’m guessing he’d dig/chew that less though so I think it’s a really great idea to try-thanks!!!
Thanks for the compliment on his name. My kids named him in the car as we took him home for the first time. They are both big Harry Potter fans, but I agree-its cute even if you aren’t a fan.
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I’m not worried about the carpet. He could dig it up and destroy it if he wanted to-I’m just super concerned that he’ll eat too much stuff that isn’t good for him and get sick and/or die. I wish there was a way to do a flooring for him that he likes but he also wouldn’t chew. ha ha! He’s a rabbit so I think I”m asking too much!
I’ll try the blankets idea…I am guessing he would try to eat that less. Fingers crossed. Thanks for the help.
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If he were to ingest a lot of fleece it wouldn’t be good, but little bits here and there aren’t as dangerous because there’s no threads that can tangle in their tummies. That’s the main danger of carpet ingestion. Of course it might also not taste as good as carpet and that’d be even better for him!
Dobby looks adorable in your avatar
(I assume that’s him?) -
Posted By sarahthegemini on 3/01/2018 5:02 AM
Dobby – such a cute name
I’m not a fan of Harry Potter but Dobby is cute
Ok, I’m going to pretend Sarahthegemini didn’t say that horrible statement about not liking Harry Potter!
I was actually going to name my boy bunny “Harry Hopper” hahaha. And I’m sure Sirius & Luna has my back based on her bunny’s names LOL I loved Dobby the house elf!
But, bugging Sarahthegemini aside LOL, I just wanted to say that my senior rabbit hated non-carpeted flooring (and from what I was told from her previous owners she always did!) She never grew out of digging at the carpet, but I was lucky that she I never saw her eat any of it – she just used it to help making soft bedding spots. I just covered up the corners with heavy tile (You can buy the 12″x12″ squares at the hardware store) which helped.
And I used plain, unscented DOVE bar baby soap (safe if they ingest a tiny bit of it), to rub along the edge of the carpet (where it met the walls) and that put her off too.And reward her with her favourite treat when she digs where you want her too.
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Great suggestions-thanks! I see strands of carpet in his poop every couple of days so I know he’s eating some of it. That’s why I worry if I let him out on the carpet all day/night unsupervised he’ll eat too much. I like the soap on the corner ideas and we’re going to go buy some fleece and tiles tomorrow. Hopefully our sweet “Dobs” will have more room to run, binky, and play very soon.
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Thank you ALL for your help and suggestions. We found a GREAT solution that is working wonderfully! We bought 2 large pieces of fleece and sewed them together. Then laid it out tight across the entire room to cover the carpet. We then laid tile squares (upside down for more traction) around the edges of the room to hold the fleece in place. He LOVES his room and the freedom to be out and about all the time now. We’re going on day 5 and he hasn’t chewed or dug on anything yet. Fingers crossed that continues. We gave him a box of hay, a cardboard castle, a box of cardboard, and some real grass squares for him to chew on and keep him busy. Hopefully that will keep him away from the fleece. Thanks again for everyone’s help and suggestions! It makes my heart so happy that he’s no longer stuck in his cage. Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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