Lilo the destructor

[Jenny_Bunny]

Hi guys, I have a 12 month old male house Rabbit named Lilo (we thought it was a female when we first got him) We have a hutch for him although nowadays he spends most of his time in the kitchen when we’re not in and he has the full run of the living room etc when we are in. Anyway his behavior was getting more and more destructive, chewing corners of the wallpaper and carpet etc so we decided to have him neutured. He had his operation on 21st May, 2 and a half weeks ago and since then his behavior seems to have got a lot worse not better, when I got home from work the other night he had even put a hole in the lino in the kitchen.

Whenever he chews anything he shouldn’t we always say no and he stops for a minute but then carries on again or just waits until we’re not looking, we’ve also tried giving him little ‘time outs’ in his hutch when he does something wrong but that doesn’t seem to work either! I read somewhere that you should get a water spray and spray them when they are naughty but isn’t that a bit cruel?

I was just wondering if maybe he was lonely and we should maybe think about getting him a companion? He has more toys then we know what to do with and he also gets lots of attention so it’s not that x

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[Sarita]

Oh he’s cute. Alot of it is age and boredom.

Does he have any toys to occupy him when he’s out.

You may have to just keep him contained when you are not home and let him out when you are home to supervise him.

[Liza]

Hello and WELCOME!!!
What a handsome boy you have there!!! I am not a bunny expert but given the fact that rabbits are very social animals, yes, I would vote for a companion. Of course, that’s no guarantee his destructive behavior will change, but he must be lonely… His people are not home during the day so what else is there to do than to destroy the place? He might be frustrated. Have you thought about confining him to an x pen while you are gone? You could get him a rug, put the x pen on top and his toys in there. Of course though, it sounds like he is used to having a lot of freedom, which I think is great! If you get him a companion, make sure the girl is already spayed or you need to wait since Lilo can still be a daddy as of now.
By the way, if you double the ‘l’ and make Lillo out of his name, it’s a perfect male name in Italian. Suits him well, too!

[Jenny_Bunny]

He is isn’t he, he’s huge as well, when we first got him they said he was a dwarf cross but he’s really not, he is about the same size as a fully grown giant house rabbit, his head is just slightly smaller!! He has bags of personality and I just love him to death!! Yes he has loads of toys, in fact he has more toys then I had when I was a child and we do limit him to the kitchen when we’re out but even when we are in we can’t supervise him all of the time. One of his favourite places is behind the sofa and often we can’t hear what he’s doing behind there, he loves to gnaw on the skirting board, rip the wallpaper off and even chew the back of the sofa even though he has a willow matt, chew sticks and about 3 cardboard boxes behind there, he seems to almost completely ignore the things he is allowed to chew and only go for the things he isn’t.

Do you really think it’s just age then or do you think we should consider getting him a companion? x

[Jenny_Bunny]

Aw thanks Liza, I really think he is the cutest Rabbit I have ever seen but don’t most bunny parents!?! lol!! It is good that he has all this freedom and I knew right from the start that he was going to be a house Rabbit, I can’t stand the thought of him being cooped up in his hutch, even when he is on a time out, he just looks at me with those big eyes and I crumble (it’s lucky my other half is stronger then me otherwise he would rule the whole house). He loves to be picked up upside down like a baby and be stroked between his eyes, it always makes him fall asleep within about 3 seconds ha ha!!

I think we’ll maybe give it a few weeks and see if he calms down anymore from the operation and then maybe think about getting a companion, I have spoken to the rspca about it and they will let me take him in and meet some potentional companions and see how they get on on mutual terratory.

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[Beka27]

it can take about 1-2 months for the hormones to decrease. there is a chance he will always have a destructive side to him, some buns are like that. what kind of bunny-proofing do you have in place? i agree that limiting his freedom when you’re gone is a good idea. it doesn’t make him any less of a “house rabbit” if he has a home base where you know he (and your stuff) is safe. i agree, in a couple of months, once his bahavior settles down, you might consider adopting a spayed adult female as a companion for him.

[Jenny_Bunny]

We have all the corners of our wallpaper blocked off, even though we intend to strip it and paint eventually I still don’t want him to get into the habit of chewing it, we also have all wires and electricial equipment blocked off x

[JK]

I think two things.  First you have to bunny proof big time! It’s a pain but in your case you must do it.  I have never had to bunny proof because my guy doesn’t chew but if he did I would spend a lot of time bunny proofing.  That way you can relax.  Secondly, I think a companion is a great idea.  that way hopefully he will focus on his friend more than the couch!  I do think once his hormones have calmed down things may improve. Good luck!!! He is gorgeous!!!!

[Jenny_Bunny]

Thank you, i’ll let you know how I get on x

[Beka27]

i would go ahead and block the back of the couch and all the furniture he is chewing underneath. if he’s sitting under the couch and chewing the stuffing, that can pose a serious health risk for him. you might want to babygate some area off-limits until his behavior gets under control. check out the BB bunny-proofing section for more tips… https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/BunnyProofing/tabid/61/Default.aspx

it’s not so much about stopping him from doing it, but providing better alternatives, making sure he’s safe, and protecting the stuff that can’t be moved. what kind of toys does he have? the most important thing you can give him are chew toys, things that he is allowed to destroy. you might consider lining your walls and baseboards with NIC grids. covering carpet chew spots with tile, or cardboard that cannot be lifted, or carpet squares that are acceptable to chew, as long as he does not eat the fibers.

[Jenny_Bunny]

Thanks i’ll check that out. 99% of his toys are destructable apart from the chew and roll ones that we put little treats in. Just one more thing I wanted to ask, he does little hops / jumps in the air quite a lot, I read somewhere that this means he is happy, is that correct? x

[Beka27]

yup. that’s a binky!

[LittlePuffyTail]

This is a good time to bring up this question: Are there any chewing deterrents that are safe for rabbits? Like Bitter Apple? That would maybe be handy with a chronic chewy destructor.

[Hedi]

Your bun needs a QuickTube from Home Depot to go behind your couch! We have two rows of them behind our couch so they can tunnel thru the top and then hop down to the next one. It is their favorite place to play and chew. Sometimes I stuff one end w/ newspaper and then they have to dig it out to get back out. So cute.

We bought apple spray and it didnt work. The only thing that has worked in our house is a Binky Bunny suggestion of spraying the area w/ perfume. I have used a strong body spray from Bath & Body and they wont touch the area they are chewing after its sprayed.

Keep in mind if you dont have an Xpen and dont want to spend the $ you can make one out of “Organize It” cubes that you can buy for $13 from Target if you have one near you. All my buns homes are made out of these cubes.

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[BinkyBunny]

Welcome!  You’ve gotten some great advice.  Yes, it will take another  2 – 6 weeks for the hormones to die down.  Also, your bunny is young still and some youngins can be destructive. Until Jack was three, he was a handful. I had to get creative. He used to go into our closet and chew on carpet, and either me or my husband would always forget to shut it, so i just piled in paper and phone books.  I knew he would chew them up, but I never imagined how much of a mess – here’s video of it.    But better the paper than the carpet!

 

Check out our Toy Test Section too – good homemade ideas for toys!

[babybunsmum]

i do the ‘fake out’ method of bunny proofing too!  pinky loooooves to get behind the couch in her room dispite my attempts to block it off.   i have it blocked on one end with a nighttable and nic grids on the other end but she manages to move the nic grids.  i keep trying different things to hold the nic grids in place but in the meantime i put a bunch of big pieces of cardboard behind the couch to give her lots to chew on.  so far it’s workedlike a charm!  no damage to the couch.

also, in my livingroom i have lots of open shelves with books and some wood crates for storage.  pinky will climb on the arm rest or back of the couch and try to ‘select’ a reference book to chew so instead i dedicated a wood crate and the whole shelf underneath my huge footstool to newspaper & cardboard & flyers that are shreddable.  the buns can then ‘select’ their reading material from those spots (which are all low to the ground & easy to get to) instead.  i’m forever picking up shredded paper but it’s better than having a $90+ reference book shredded!  i think the key to this was that the stuff thats meant for them to chew is put away slightly so they think they’re being ‘bad’ when they pull it out. 

[Ali]

in what section of store did you buy QuickTube from Home Depot? thank you for your suggestion.

[Author]

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