Ideas on carpet chewing?

[xnovalentine]

Lullabelle still is quite young so I understand that she has a lot to learn in regards to what is okay to chew and what is not okay to chew. However, she seems to be REALLY interested in chewing through my carpet which I know this is a natural instinct but do any of you have and ideas on how to encourage her to dig and chew at something else?

I purchased one of those diggy mat things – she still seems more interested in the carpet than anything else. She has a billion toys stranded throughout the house but no – the carpet is still MUCH more fun than any of those.

Whenever I see her digging at the carpet I sternly say NO and she looks at me like "what? i wasnt doing that it was my invisible twin!" I will warn her three times before i make her go back to her cage for a time out. Then i let her out , and back to the exact same spot. If she does stop, i reward her with a raisin and cuddles.

I am really anxious to find a way for her to get the idea sooner, as I feel absolutely TERRIBLE leaving her locked in her cage all day. You should see how pathetic I am, I come home 2-3 times a day to check on her and let her out for 15 minutes and drive 10 miles back to school. LOL. I would have no problem even setting up a pinned area she can hop about in all day- but the problem is theres carpet everywhere in the house.

I also want her to get the idea so i can I get another rabbit (a friend for lonely days you know?), as I don’t want the other rabbit to fall into these habits either.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions?

[babybunsmum]

i have never had any success is training a bun out of a bad habit (deary me) BUT i do have some experience in prevention.  since you are considering setting up an area i wonder if you could cover the floor with a piece of vinyl flooring (or anything with a smooth non-diggable surface)?  you can get remenant pieces for good deals and as long as the edges are out-of-bounds while you’re away (or finished off if you’re handier than i am) i think it might work.  you could put the mat in there to give a dig option. 

good luck!

[Scarlet_Rose]

Oh dear, how frustrating! That is actually very cute that you come home to check on her not pathetic! There might be a certain scent in the carpet in that spot that is getting her attention.  Have you tried cleaning just that spot with a bunny safe product like Nature’s Miracle? That just might help.  Some deterrents you can try are spraying perfume on the spot or try some lemon oil.  You just might want to check out the bunny-proofing section here: https://binkybunny.com/Default.aspx?tabid=61 for more ideas.  You can try and cover the spot with a safe-chew but if you have a persistent digger, they just push whatever it is out of the way and they can become even more determined. The thing with the penned area is cover the spot with a wet barrier like plastic, a tarp or linoleum then cover with an old sheet (easy to pick up, shake out outside and wash).  Then you’re assured she is safe and still has run space.

[Spacehopper]

Driving back to check is not pathetic at all!!!! You’re in “normal” company on here i assure you. I used to go home every lunchtime to make sure The Bumstar was ok, the boyfriend did too – but he wouldn’t let on that’s why he went home, – he’d always “forgotten” something!! That’s why we got Bettie as a friend for The Bum.

I can’t find anything to deter mine from digging up the carpet, luckily we’re laminated throughout, and so have a big carpet cut off running the length of the bedroom. Doesn’t matter how many mats, and carpet tiles i put out for them to ruin, they still home in on the carpet. Cannot deter them from chomping on the skirting either, but it’s either put up with the chomp marks and slow disappearance of the skirting boards, and little bald patches that appear in the carpet under the bed, …… or keep them locked away. The latter is not an option. 🙂 I wish you luck!!!

[Gravehearted]

our bunnies like to pull at the rug too – both digging and chomping. i think a helpful idea iis to cover up that area since she keeps going for it. we bought cheapy rag rugs from target and put them on top of the regular carpet. We also used seagrass mats to cover up spots they really like to chew, which is good because chewing the mats gives them another activity.

[xnovalentine]

well – i’ve tried spraying the areas. it works for about 15 minutes then she figrues out that no one around but me is going to defend the territory and shes so spoiled she knows she can do whatever she wants and ill yell then feel bad and she’ll get a raisen (she has me bunny wipped).

i think ill just have to invest in more matts and wall liners to cover up her favorite spots. What a brat she is!

[Erbear]

I just solved this problem today!  

Radar has a NIC cage (with the apartment carpet as the bottom) and she has been trying to dig up patches when she’s alone in there at night.  I went to Home Depot and bought some linoleum tiles, the cheapo ones with the sticky bottoms, and taped them together into a fun and fashionable cage flooring. The tiles were 1ft x 1ft and they were only $0.69 each.  That would solve the digging problem in the ex pen.

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[Scarlet_Rose]

That’s a great idea and thrifty too Erbear!  Not to mention stylish too!

[Gravehearted]

Erbear2200 – ooo i concur with ScarletRose, very effective, cheap and snazzy looking too! is Radar slipping around on them or is her footing ok?

[babybunsmum]

footing is an issue at my place.  Baby’s room has an old hardwood floor which is great as far as keeping clean & bunny-proofed but she can’t really romp because of the footing.  i’ve tried putting carpet patches down but she doesn’t frollick on them so much as she eats them   so… seagrass mats & it is!  

[Spacehopper]

i know i’ve posted the pic before, but this thread is calling out for it.  I’ve found a remedy for carpet chewing, digging, scraping, ripping out thread by thread, and thank my lucky stars I did hoard the "a load of crap we’ll never use, just dump it for f*** sakes woman" manky old cushions from the manky old sofa bed that the girl who’s flat we bought had left in the living room because it was too big & horrible to take with her…CUSHIONS!!  CUSHIONS are definitely the way forward, and so versatile  

"With Christmas fast approaching, Bettie reluctantly collects the facial hair for her Santa outfit"

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[dmh426]

ok, Rabbits for Dummies gave me the best training idea ever for my little carpet chewer. Rabbits are alot like cats, they really don’t like water. I had a water bottle and when Sophie would go to dig at my carpet I would say “Sophie no no no” and spray her body with the water a few times. She would run away quickly. When she would do it again, I would again say “Sophie no no no”. 2 years later, she shows no interest in chewing my furniture, pulling at my carpet or chewing my wires (ok the wires still tempt her). It’s like training Pavlov’s dog. Now all I have to say is “Sophie no no no” and because she associates that phrase with water hitting her body I normally just say “Sophie no” and off she’s running in the opposite direction of whatever she was doing. Definitely the best thing I ever did for her training!

Also, specifically for my furniture and carpet, spray perfume in the “hot spots” where your bunny particularly likes to chew on the carpet. It’s too strong for them to smell it so they won’t chew there.

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