just a quick question about chewing

[vaderslave]

So far, Vader has not chewed anything except his designated chew toys and whatnot. And his cage bars, but that’s because boyfriend and I had joint custody, and Vader went to daddy’s while daddy was too busy for him and he learned to chew on the bars for attention instead of his previously usual patient waiting *facepalm* So I was taking my time bunny proofing cause he’s just such a good boy. But then my mom said something that scared me, she said that it could kill him if he chewed a wire?! Is this true? What exactly happens when a rabbit chews a wire? I’m so paranoid now, and he’s so bad and hates boundaries and breaks no matter what. Even if I cover wires, what if he chews them anyways? It’s freaking me out. I don’t want to lose him to something stupid like electricity. Well, I just don’t want to lose him, period.

[Elrohwen]

Yes, if a rabbit chews on a plugged in electrical wire, the electricity could flow through the rabbit and electrocute them. Wires definitely need to be covered or kept out of the way and behind a barrier.

Good wire covers can be found in a hardware store – look for flexible plastic piping in the plumbing section, then cut it open on one side and put the wire in it. You can also use NIC grids to make a fence around the areas where you might have lots of wires (like by a tv or computer) where it would be hard to cover all wires. Personally, I feel better having them all behind NIC fencing so Otto can’t get to them at all – but my house is also laid out to make this easy.

Some bunnies are avid wire chewers and will go after them cover or not. Some aren’t that interested. Since it sounds like your bun isn’t a big chewer, covering them with cord covers should probably do the trick. Remember, even if he’s not a chewer, just one curious chop can cut through a wire. If you cover them, it would take at least a minute or two to get through the cover and hopefully he’d either give up or you would notice and stop him.

[angelicvampyre]

my guys chewed through the wire covers that I had on my computer wires after they broke down the barrier of NIC that I put up, lets just says someone is in the bad bunny books!

[jerseygirl]

Definately cord covers – even if you don’t think your bunny is a chewer. They chew some cords and no harm done (head phones, sometimes mouse cord) but they can’t differientiate which ones are “safer” over others. Other things you can do is only let him out when you can supervise, and switch of appliances at the wall if able. We can do this in Aust but unsure about elsewhere. Have you taken a look at Bunny proofing your home under BUNNY INFO tab top of page?
Another proofing thing I don’t think get’s mentioned enough is recliner chairs! Jersey sneaks in under it when its in reclin position so we have to be really careful checking where she is before shutting it.

[vaderslave]

Yeah, I went to Lowe’s today to get some of that tubing, but they didn’t have what I was lookin for so I got some really heavy duty electrical tape for the time being… I have to sleep with an electric blanket cause im always cold and it’s pretty chilly, and Vader refuses to be good in his cage at night, chewin the bars, driving me craazzyy. So I’m gonna tape up the blanket cord real good tonight. I keep everything else in the room unplugged, except my phone and a heater but they are up and away where he can’t get ’em.

Thanks for your input and concern I’m kind of a research-a-holic when it comes to my pets, I love being the best possible pet owner I can (how my mom raised me to be). So I’ll prob keep asking annoying questions for a long long time til I know eveerrryyything lol

[jerseygirl]

Not annoying questions! And it may help answer other peoples questions too. Just a caution, even unplugged cords may get sampled do be careful. It could put you at risk too if you then plug in a damaged cord. The hard corrugated plastic hose is popular. Even tough garden hose or irrigation pipe might work. You kind of have to get creative with bunny proofing.

[vaderslave]

yeah I check all my cords before plugging them in just in case he gets curious, I don’t want to burn the place down lol. is tape even enough of a deterrent?

My boyfriend had him for part of last week, and learned first hand all the effort that goes into having a happy semi-well behaved bunny and decided that he doesn’t like Vader anymore and he’s annoying and too time-consuming It’s good because now I don’t have to share him anymore but it makes me sad because he’s against anything pro-Vader now, like getting him fixed (it’s a waste of money to him now), getting an extra bedroom when we move in together (also a waste for a “stupid annoying rabbit”). How can I bring him back from the dark side?

[jerseygirl]

Ditch the boyfriend and keep the rabbit. No – just kidding! lol
That’s sad though. So Vader is chiefly your pet then? I guess if your boyfriend sees the difference with Vaders behaviour at your place, you may be able to explain why. It’s important you can have some things confirmed about Vader though before you move in together. I’ve heard stories of BF’s/OH’s losing it because bunny did this or that (that could have been avoided if said BF’s/OH’s put things out of bunnies reach.) You don’t want it to cause a rift.

[Monkeybun]

As tot he neutering: Ask your BF what he would prefer, spending hte money to get Vader fixed, or having Vader spraying, morking his territory all day, humping you/him, being cranky… personally, neutering sounds like a much better option to me

[vaderslave]

Jerseygirl, yeah Vader is basically my pet, but since he’s going to live so long, boyfriend wanted to be a part of everything (in the beginning anyways lol). Vader is much more well behaved with me though, mostly because I’m not too lazy to bunny proof so Vader gets more exercise. If that rabbit can’t run off his energy 24/7, he turns into a little demon. I think he’s even starting to get jealous cause I talk about the bunny so much and say how much I love Vader lol.

and Monkeybun, no worries, since the bun lives with me and I still have 9 months on my lease, he’s getting fixed no matter what, with or without his help lol. Just might take an extra month or so for me to save up the extra money. Tho I’ve been going to my vet for years, so I’m sure I could set up a payment plan with them too. He’s getting fixed no matter what

Will a thickish layer of electrical tape be a chewing deterrent?

[Elrohwen]

Aww, I’m sorry your boyfriend doesn’t like the bun anymore! He might come around a bit if he can play with the bun at your place and not have to do any of the work.

I honestly don’t think electrical tape is strong enough – I’ve used it for various things and it’s pretty soft and easy to tear. I think bunny teeth would go right through it. I would definitely keep him in his cage until you’re able to get cord protectors for your blanket.

[Balefulregards]

As the Mom to a Grade A+++ chewer, I can not support the tubing enough.

In the plumbing Department of Lowes, they should have giant tubes of flexible (but very thick) plastic tubing. You can get it in a variety of sizes from fairly thin, like 5/8ths to super big jumbo. Buy a good Boxcutter and split the tubing in half.  I then secure the tubing with electrical tape, but duct tape should work fine too.

Duct tape alone will not deter a chewer. Nothing really will deter a chewer, as my house can attest! I have spent a lot of time and money rabbit proffing AFTER Jackson ( the non-chewer) found the unprotected computer/internet/phone cords behind the NIC Cube gate and killed the whole system in under a minute. I thought the gate would keep him out. I was wrong to the tune of about 100 bucks in replacement cables. Everything back there is now covered AND behind the NIC cube.

Coco is my serious chewer. For her nature – and perhaps for Vader – she feels she is doing a good thing by keeping the environment clear of roots and hazards to escape. In rabbit eyes, she is helping to keep us all alive.  In human eyes, she is killing my digital cable cord…or my camera transfer cord, or my ipod transfer cord., countless cell phone chargers..or the computer cords, oh the list can go on.

But 20 bucks and time ahead can save so much trouble. I also stock up on extra tubing (and the flexible black tubing when I can find it) because bringing anything new into the environment, like our humidifier for the winter, means new cord protection before it can come in the room.

My husband lost his cell phone charger a week ago when he left it laying near the ground in the living room. He was upset, but knows that if She can reach it then it was his fault for leaving it down too low. She took it out in seconds. One curious nibble and bam, cord was in two.

As for his other behaviors, he sounds like a fiesty teen boy. He may like one of those timothy hay bungalows to shred to pieces. Coco always enjoys ripping the heck out of those.  Or a small cardboard box with an opening cut into the side where he can go and shred and rip and bite. Phonebooks, grass mats, pine cones – what ever appeals to him. A bored rabbit is a naughty rabbit!

I think I have some photos of the type of cord I used….

OK – so this took her over a year AND the addition of her buddy in crime Jackson. The cord she is so hell bent on killing ( digital cable) is inside the Black flexible tubing, which is then wrapped in electrical tape and THEN sealed inside the Clear plastic tubing. This tubing was the biggest I could buy. For more normal cords, I use the smaller tubing ( which made the guys at the Apple store Stare when I had to bring in my computer, with the hugely protected cord…)

I ended up cutting the chewed part off, re-attaching a new section, sealing it with tape and it is holding well. I did place the cut section Away from the top for the repair. They clearly used it as a starting place for their chewing on version 1.

[vaderslave]

o wow baleful. you make me feel lucky he’s not a chewer lol. But then again, he’s only 5 months old so that leaves many many years to develop bad habits lol.

I would leave him in his cage but he looks so unhappy and he chews the bars frantically and he’s so bad when he does get out because I honestly think he gets frustrated in there. Although I think it only happens when his cage is on the ground. When its up on my dresser, he doesn’t mind being in his cage. Maybe it’s because he can see all the fun he’s missing out on when it’s on the ground or something. I even sprayed the bars with bitter stuff, and all his did was sniff them to see which ones weren’t fully covered and chewed them instead. He’s too clever Soooo I slept with everything unplugged lol.

I also had to block access to under the bed. So the little monster figured out how to jump on the bed (he’s a good jumper for how little he is!) and woke me up many times by licking my forehead and eyelids and grooming my hair and eyebrows. I know he’s just being sweet but at 3 in the morning…… and 3:30… and 4:00… and pretty much whenever he’s bored. Tho I did wake up with him sleeping on my feet He’s my new BFF lol

[Elrohwen]

That so cute that he jumps up into bed with you! My bun won’t even jump on the couch 🙁 He’s just not a jumper and I’m sure would never even realize that he *could* jump on the bed.

[vaderslave]

Yeah he’s definitely a jumper lol. I saw your pen set-up from your post — That would never contain Vader lol. He’d jump on top of that cage and be right over. He hates any sort of boundaries. That’s his favorite game, breaking out. It’s either the whole room or nothing at all for him lol. I had it so he only had half the room, and I was using his cage as part of the wall, but then he just jumped on the cage, then on the bed, and then around the boundaries. So I took away the cage and just used the bed. Nope. Jumped on the bed too and around too lol. He can do a good 3′ easily.

[NickiM]

For the cords can it still electricute them even if there not live?

[Elrohwen]

I use 1 grid high NIC cubes as fences to keep him away from cords or to block him in a room. He can easily see over the top when he stands on his hind legs, but has never once tried to jump them. Silly bun.

I’m thinking of teaching him to jump as a trick, but I’m worried he’ll realize that he’s actually a bunny and can jump things! lol

[vaderslave]

Yeah, it’s really not worth teaching him how to jump lol just think of all the complications.. like his pen for instance, he’d break out in a heartbeat if he could jump lol

[vaderslave]

Oh, and I tried NIC cubes… he can fit through the squares somehow. I had to make them 2 grids high and i was so proud of myself because it took a little figuring out how to anchor and whatnot. So I finally put them in, as a gate to keep him in his room and still allow air flow, and he walked up to it, looked at me, and then squeezed right through and ran like a crazybun lol. I think I actually cried a little.

[Elrohwen]

Yeah, the NIC cubes are tricky because they come in two different sizes now (sometimes both sizes come in the same box). Small bunnies can fit through the grids on the larger size, but cannot on the smaller size. I found boxes of just the smaller sized grids at Bed Bath & Beyond for about $14 a box. Otto can’t even fit his nose through the smaller grids, so they would keep anything but a hamster contained 😉

[vaderslave]

I’ll have to look there then. Yeah, the ones I got from Target had both sizes. Unfortunately, I used the larger ones for the gate. It made me sad so I haven’t touched them since. I’ve been using a 3-fold poster display board thingy I made for my bio class as a gate.. yay for recycling lol.

[vaderslave]

HA he binky’d so hard on the bed he fell off! He also binky’d on the floor and ran into his cage.. and box.. and play cube… and wall… and he’ll binky during his superman leap off the bed. When that rabbit binkies, he means business. A half hearted binky just will not do.

[Monkeybun]

Monkey has done that. Binkies into the carrier, the wall, the window, and she just stops and glares at me like its my fault, and then does it again. Silly baby

[Author]

Messages