Ohh No!!

[kimberleyanddarren]

Hopscotch has started in his teenage phase, he is using his litterbox about 80% of the time now, however he has started chewing everything up  He has taken a massive chunk of my wall paper, chewed up one of my skirting boards, eaten through my old laptops charger, chewed through my scanner lead and this is all in the last week at the most.. i know this is a teenage thing but will it stop after i get him neutered? or is he always going to chew things up now? He still has another few weeks to go before his spay, and to be honest he is being so naughty that i am letting him out less because now i have to have my 100% attention on him and cant do other things at the same time, i have my exams next month and i need to study for them but i cant when he is out because he keeps destroying everything, i have a huge scratch from my wrist to my elbow where he scratched me when i went to put him away he bit my hand.. where has my well behaved little darling gone? will i ever get hime back?  I know its just him going through his teenage phase, but what can i do to make it easier? I have everything bunny proofed, wires and everything, but there isnt anything i can do about my skirting boards and the living room looks a right mess now the chunk out of the walpaper is about 4 inches long

Any Ideas?

Also hopscotch has now started jumping out of his xpen whenever i put him in there, i am really sad he has started behaving this way, even though i know its because of his age.

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[Sarita]

It’s nice of you to give him all that stuff to chew on :~)

[babybunsmum]

lol sarita.  funny.

i know… it sucks when they find new hobbies that aren’t on the ‘approved’ list.  you could try distracting him with new stuff to shred & tear.  scatter old sections of newspaper on the floor in spots where he has chewed on things he’s not supposed to.  if it’s in his way or easier to access he may just shift attention to shredding the newspaper instead.  when baby starts digging at the area rug or ottoman i toss a fleece ‘bunny blankie’ over her head (she’s not scared by this so its not mean to do to her but of course don’t do this if your bun startles easy).  works like a charm.

[rabbitsmba]

He should be a bit better after a neuter but in all honesty, this is what bunnies do! I think you might have to take your bunny-proofing up to the next level. Are you sure you have all cords wrapped with cord protector and lifted off the ground? Have you put up a barricade where you don’t want him to go? I find that the NIC grids, tied together and lining the bottom of a wall is a good way to get them to leave things like corners, baseboards and walls alone. It may look strange, but it works!

Sorry about the wallpaper – perhaps a nice little bookcase can hide that….

[Beka27]

oh Hopscotch! your mama was thinking you were a perfect bun! now look what you done! lol.

the neuter should help with the destructive behavior. but it may not completely go away. things should also get better with age as well. as he gets older he should mellow out a bit.

now may be a good time to re-evaluate your bun-proofing. you may need to proof things that you didn’t before, or move stuff that he never chewed but now he’s noticing. as far as the xpen… you can try putting a sheet over the top and clipping it down, or you may want to get a higher one if you did not get the highest. they come in 24, 36, and 48 inches.

it usually goes that way with young buns. one day they are angels, the next they turn into little spawns of… well, they get bad. ;o) unfortunately, that’s usually the time the uninformed rabbit owner dumps them off.

[Beka27]

i like what rabbitsmba said about NIC grids! i have a continuous strip of ziptied grids going along my wall. it looks like my whole house is caged, but it works. i said before and i’ll say it again… having a house rabbit is about keeping them safe and happy, and not at all about interior design.

[kimberleyanddarren]

i dont mind him being a little destructive, i have had pets all my life and i accept that they can cause some damage, we had a dog who chewed table legs so we smeered curry and mustard and all stuff in the world, and he just ate them more!!
i have all the leads covered now, before i only had most of the cords covered, now i have them all done believe me lol
i have been using an old curtain over the xpen but he can just jump straight under and come out the other end.. i dont get it!

[babybunsmum]

yeah… i have 2-2×2 nic grid panel to move around & block things off randomly that are really conveniant to have.  when i start bonding the girls i’m going to join a bunch together like yours beka, except i’ll also add an L-shaped part to mimic what save-a-bunny used for bonding markus’ buns.  i like the fact that you can join them together & then fold them up accordian style when the buns aren’t out / when comany comes.  plus then i’ll be able to block off my kitchen furniture just incase.  my late father made it & i’d really hate for one of the buns to start noshing on any part of the set.

[Sarita]

Well, I can tell you I have 3 female rabbits at least over 5 years old that love to destroy carpet. They are all spayed and have been at least for 5 years. They are not allowed out of their puppy pen especially Giselle because I would have no carpet left in the house. It’s really sad because she is absolutely the sweetest rabbit I have but her mission is to destroy anything with fiber in the house. Emmy is now intent on destroying the carpet in her condo, it’s so much fun. Maxine is not as destructive but she gets on a roll sometimes to destroy her carpet as well.

Even Mango who is over 5 years old like to destroy the corners of the carpets. Not as much as the 3 females but he has him moments.

[kimberleyanddarren]

wow sarita sounds like u have your hands full, i dont think i will be getting anymore buns at the minute lol the only problem is my living room is downstairs and the rest is upstairs, so moving the xpen around is difficult takes me ages to get it up and down the stairs, and i feel really guilty confing him in such a little space.

[RabbitPam]

This may be a crummy idea, but I was wondering if you could entice him into something, since he is exploring more now?

I’m thinking of a fairly deep wicker basket or a cardboard box, filled with shredded newspaper, hay, and hidden treats. Way down. He can smell them but will really have to hunt for them. If it gets him to jump in, he’ll be more confined for at least 30 seconds, during which you can study chapters 7, 8 & 9. (Speed read). Maybe make a cardboard tunnel to a different box on another level, so he can be busy crawling around inside it.

Picture caption: “You think I’m cute? Think again.”

[rabbitsmba]

Posted By Beka27 on 04/10/2008 11:33 AM
having a house rabbit is about keeping them safe and happy, and not at all about interior design.

Oh I think it’s ALL about interior design.  You see, all of us are ahead of the times right now – give it a few years and chewed corners and baseboards will be all the rage.  Heck, we could rent out our bunns to overpaying decor-elitists who will allow them to run around, chew things here, nibble things there, create decorative carpets holes at random and shred wallpaper “just the right way” to look stylish.

I see $$$$$$$$$$…………………….

[babybunsmum]

so instead of shabby-chic we have rabby-chic? 

[Beka27]

^^^^^LOL!!!

wel, the new thing is the “green home”… what’s more green than hay all over your renewable bamboo hardwood floors?  or bunny pee on your synthetic leather couch?

sorry kimberleyanddarren!  i know you’re dealing with a serious thing and we’re making light of it.  it’s just that we’ve all been there, so we tend not to stress on it too much.  try to get some things to deter the bad behavior, willow, paper to shred, anything that will keep him occupied.  maybe some carpet squares if he’s a carpet puller but not a carpet eater.  i would try and line the walls with NIC cubes to keep him away from the baseboards and wallpaper.

[kimberleyanddarren]

i totally agree beka.. but when you live in somewhere which is rented it cant really work that way i wouldnt mind him ripping up my own carpets and skirting boards, but if the does to much damage it could cause me to be evicted!
i will defo try the digging box and i have cornered in the section of the room which is fully bunny proofed for him until his spay, i understand how you feel about not being stressed now, but i bet you were then! haha

[Beka27]

i rent as well. i’ve never gotten a deposit back.

i wonder why… lol.

[kimberleyanddarren]

lol beka, naught buns u should see my last post in the lounge then you will think im really crazy lol!

[RabbitPam]

BTW, I really love the pix of Hopscotch that you posted here. Any chance of switching your avatar to it? It shows his true colors. (pardon the pun)

[kimberleyanddarren]

i switched!

[RabbitPam]

K&D,
I’m not seeing it as your avatar yet. I looked in your bio and it’s there, but it didn’t switch out the avatar.

I had a terrible time getting mine to change. It took me about 3 or 4 tries. I always seem to email BinkyBunny to get help with it. Being short staffed she might not be available to do it. Keep trying!

[BUNNYMAN]

Posted By kimberleyanddarren on 04/10/2008 11:15 AM

Hopscotch has started in his teenage phase, he is using his litterbox about 80% of the time now, however he has started chewing everything up  He has taken a massive chunk of my wall paper, chewed up one of my skirting boards, eaten through my old laptops charger, chewed through my scanner lead and this is all in the last week at the most.. i know this is a teenage thing but will it stop after i get him neutered? or is he always going to chew things up now? He still has another few weeks to go before his spay, and to be honest he is being so naughty that i am letting him out less because now i have to have my 100% attention on him and cant do other things at the same time, i have my exams next month and i need to study for them but i cant when he is out because he keeps destroying everything, i have a huge scratch from my wrist to my elbow where he scratched me when i went to put him away he bit my hand.. where has my well behaved little darling gone? will i ever get hime back?  I know its just him going through his teenage phase, but what can i do to make it easier? I have everything bunny proofed, wires and everything, but there isnt anything i can do about my skirting boards and the living room looks a right mess now the chunk out of the walpaper is about 4 inches long

Any Ideas?

Also hopscotch has now started jumping out of his xpen whenever i put him in there, i am really sad he has started behaving this way, even though i know its because of his age.

Try olbas oil where he is chewing.

[RabbitPam]

Yea! It’s there!
Sooooooooo adorable.

[Gravehearted]

bunnies love to chew stuff they’re not supposed to. I would never trade my bunnies in for anything – but we do teasingly threaten them that we’ll sell them on ebay when they’re being especially destructive.

I’ve tried to come up with crafty ways to block off stuff from our bunnies chewing it. Also, you might thinking about making a boredom buster box (see toys section) to place in front of something he’s especially interested in chomping and shouldn’t. We have part of the house entirely blocked off with a baby gate and have certain things like bookcases and our tv / vcr/ game systems protected by x-pens. you can also use the NIC grates to make some small gates to protect stuffs.

[Author]

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