Seek and Destroy

[ilovemylittleman]

Hello all

Little Man is always into things. In fact, when I sit him on the floor I tell him to seek and destroy… he will anyway. So, my question is “how do I get him to stop doing naughty things without yelling all the time?”

It is exhausting for me and when people come over or I’m on the phone they think he’s a nightmare. I have tried spraying him with water and he just stands there until he is soaked and then shivers and looks at me all pitiful…. so that doesn’t work. He has lots of toys, but would rather eat mommys things. I have done some bunny proofing, but the house is big and there is alot of mischief for him to get into. I don’t want to yell anymore… people think he’s a terror and I’m mean.

[Beka27]

can you decrease his run area and make sure that space is thoroughly bunny-proofed. you can block off naughty areas with an xpen, or NIC grids. bunny destruction is a lot of trial and error. first of all, if he is not already, he needs to be neutered. there is not a lot you can do for destructive behavior until the hormones are out of the equation.

after that, he will need distraction from common chew spots. offer him chew toys (petstore toys don’t usually work for this, mine love the willow… you can get it on this site or other online bunny stores.) close supervision is also important. there is no real magic cure for it (beside neutering sometimes) b/c it is a natural bunny behavior. some are more destructive than others…

some links:

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/chewing.html

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-6/chew-stick.html

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Great advice Beka.

I’d definitely second cutting down the area he’s allowed in. Use baby gates if you don’t have doors in doorways and just give him one area that you can bunny proof. Throw out the spray bottle it’s not working and he’s probably getting more determined!! Try putting things he can chew/wreck where he is doing damage. A phone book or cardboard box may keep him busy if it’s in the spot he likes to go to to destroy things

[MooBunnay]

For my bunnies, I block off the kitchen with baby gates, and then I have a blanket that I put down on the floor since it is tile. When I was living in an apartment and didn’t want the bunnies chewing – I made them a large pen and put a blanket down in the bottom of the pen. You don’t have to feel bad about cutting down a bit on your bunnies play space – the water probably isn’t working because he probably doesn’t know what he is doing to get himself all wet!

[Scarlet_Rose]

I second Beka’s advice, so I would definaltely check out Binky Bunny’s Bunny-Proofing section:

https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/BunnyProofingYourHome/tabid/61/Default.aspx

If it doesn’t seem possible to bunny-proof the hot spots of bunny no-no’s it would probably be best to block off access to that area or room with a baby gate, some NIC panels or an x-pen.  Rabbits explore by chewing and if they find something with a darned interesting texture (usually electrical cords or wires), no amount of saying no will cure them of the habit.  You can also try a squirt bottle and sometimes it can be relatively effective but it does not always work.  Beka is spot-on with distracting him with an O.K. chew as well and try that first to see if it helps.  A sure-fire chew attractant for my two is a nautal willow laundry basket turned up-side down and a bunny-sized hole cut where the handhold on one side is.  I like to affectionately call it “Bonsai’s demolition project.”  He goes to town on it and man I would love to get a picture of him with a little vest and hardhat on.   

 

[Beka27]

you know what i just did? i have an xpen in the bunny room and there’s about 8 inches on one side that i had gridded off to prevent them from going behind the pen. i found an awesome box at my job that is the exact dimensions of this empty space (about 8 inches wide, 18 inches high, and 3 feet long). i shoved it inside this space (fixed the nic grids to block off the top so they can’t jump over) and i FILLED it with a phone book, and newspapers, and binkybunny packing paper. it’s stuffed about halfway full. the bunnies immediately burrowed into it. they had a great time digging in it, shredding the papers, chewing the cardboard. it’s similar to the BinkyBunny “diggy box” but rather than having shredded paper, they have to shred their own… now they go inside and then push the papers towards the front so they are fully submerged in their box.

look around your house (or your work) and use your imagination to “think like a bunny”! it’s actually a lot of fun to try different things with them, and you can do this stuff for free, or relatively cheap.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Beka that’s a great bunny toy box! You’re a genius!

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