What else can I do to stop carpet eating??

[Alicia Conklin]

I’m getting really frustrated and I don’t know what to do anymore!  So first it was just Tucker ..ok fine so I only let her into the kitchen and the area by the cages now, she’s not allowed by the couches.  That then leaves Drue by the couches and in the hallways and stuff.  Well…ok first issue…Drue has now decided he likes eating carpet too.  He digs at it and bites at it to try to dig a hole underneath the couches.  I yell, I “thump” and I push him away and nothing works!  He fights back when I push him away, he like braces himself so that I can’t just swoop him out of the way, I almost have to lift him up and move him.  He doesn’t care if I yell and thumping doesn’t really do anything either.  And he’s relentless!! He just comes back over and over and over again..he’s a man obsessed!!  Is there ANYTHING that I can put on the carpet that will make him not want to eat there??  I’ve tried blocking the area..but I mean it’s the couch so he’ll go allll around it and if there is something blocking it he’ll go to the next area and if I block the whole bottom he’ll just start at the spot closest to the couch..like he’ll do it at the blockade then.  I need a way to make him not interested in getting under the couch at all   Right now he’s only allowed out from 7pm-10pm because Mike won’t let him out during the day because he can’t be in there constantly watching him to push him away from digging and biting.

Then Tucker..oh Tucker..she’s GOT to get spayed ASAP..those hormones are FLARING!  She’s now decided that she wants to bite the carpet in the area where their pens start.  She goes to chew on the wood and then goes “ooh carpet!” and chews that too.  Last night I swear it was like having two toddlers around.  I was constantly going back and forth and saying “no!” and removing them from the areas.   She’s been very growly lately too though..so I REALLY think hers is just hormones.  We’re looking at Friday for her spay though..I’ll know for sure on Wed.

 

So basically…the issue is Drue.  Because he’s already neutered..his issue isn’t hormones and so there is no hope in sight for him.  I’m getting really  frustrated because I don’t know what to do, I want them to be able to come out more but as it stands right now they’re only getting three hours a day because of behavior issues and I know they’re unhappy.  I don’t know if there is something I can spray…I don’t know..I don’t know if I can get a clicker..maybe the sound of that will help? 

[BunnyMuffin]

Have you tried using a spray bottle with water? Maybe you could get some of that vinyl/plastic carpet runner stuff to put under the couch. Perhaps if Drue could get under the couch but had no carpet to dig he’d still be content to hang out under there? He might just dig at the edge of the runner instead, but it might be worth trying.

[Alicia Conklin]

I haven’t tried a spray bottle with water..I’ll definitely try that. 

The issue is that Drue’s butt is too big to fit under the couch.  But he wants to get under there.  He can get under there only from the back but then he gets stuck.  We’ve blocked off the back so he can’t get under so now he digs at the front hoping he can dig a hole to allow him to fit under the couch :-/ 

Tonight I think I’m going to try bringing his hidey box into the living room and putting it by the couch..maybe if he has a spot in the living room to hide under he won’t be so insistent on getting under the couch???  Right now it’s in the hallway but maybe he wants to be close to where I am but still in his little cubby space?  I dunno..I guess it’s worth a shot. 

[Balefulregards]

I can TOTALLY empathize with the obsessive Bunny behavior.

When Coco was bound and determined to chew the satellite cable I spent a month trying to out think her. She chewed or jumped over barriers, and continued to get to the cord. I wrapped it in a cord protector….she chewed through the black cord protector…

I finally had to buy the thickest plumbing plastic tube I could find, triple wrap the cord and simply let her Try to chew it. Once she figured she couldn’t, the obsessive need stopped.

I REALLY like the plastic carpet protector idea – Like the kind they put under desks to help the chairs roll – Once they figure out that their preferred spot is no longer enjoyable, they may be ready to be re-directed.

For instance, I found with Coco that it is NOT all cords that she is obsessed with – I have a whole electrical strip with regular covered cords ( the black flexible stuff)out in the open and she doesn’t even look twice as she hops over it. No interest. But the one I didn’t want her at? A Rabbit possessed!

And it is very stressful – I know.

[Beka27]

i know, it’s really hard sometimes…  i like the idea of making him a space that is just his next to the couch that you can maybe direct him to…

i have flattened cardboard on the floor on either side of our couch, in the corners…  the walls are barricaded by NIC grids, speaker wires are safely covered.  this gives them a chewing/digging surface that is completely theirs.

we’ve got boxes on the other side with phone books inside for another diggy/hidey spot…

it’s not foolproof, and it’s certainly not attractive, but it works most of the time.  try different things and see what you come up with…  or you will need to have a smaller area that is just strictly dedicated to them, where it’s totally safe, unless you can provide constant supervision…

the water bottle is def worth a try.  the key is to spray right as the behavior is starting… but then again, you might need the water bottle as a bonding tool, so maybe it’s not a good idea to try it right now…? 

hmmm.  anyone have thoughts on this, can the water bottle lose effectiveness if it’s overused before bonding even starts?

[Alicia Conklin]

Hmm that is true..if it might lose effectiveness I should probably save that for the bonding process.

  I’m going to go get some cardboard later tonight.  I know Mike won’t go for it always being there but I could have it put down in those spots for when Drue is out.  It wouldn’t be that hard to just lift up the leg and tuck the cardboard under there to keep it in place.  And since cardboard is chewable I doubt they’d dig AROUND it..they’d just dig on it and think they’re getting the same affect.  With the platic carpet protector stuff I think once they see it as a blockade they’ll just start chewing at the end of that.  That’s what they do with all other “blockades” I’ve made. 

I’d just like him to be able to come out for a few hours in the morning, then Mike can put him back in the condo for a few hours and then I’ll take them out again after the kids go to sleep.  That would cover both of their crazy active times of the day.  And it’d increase their out time from like 3 hours a day to like 5-6 hours if he could just allow Drue to be out like 2-3 hours each day.   Tucker’s not as big of an issue because she can just get put in kitchen only while he’s down there and then there’s no carpet to even worry about.   I also might start taking Drue back upstairs with me and let him have out time up here during the day while I am working.  Then Mike won’t have to worry about him.  I wouldn’t want him to be out all day with the kids anyway..my kids are going through this hyper active crazy thinking they’re hilarious to misbehave stage….ahh the joys of preschoolers..and so I’m sure Drue enjoys his out time to be when they’re either sleeping or at least somewhat mellow anyway lol..

But still, itd be more relaxing for me at night if I didn’t have to chase Drue around every time he went over there which is like every 2 minutes.  Which just made me think of something..think he thinks it’s a game??  He like bounces away seemingly happy sometimes when I push him away.  I hope he doesn’t think this is a fun new game to play…..

[Scarlet_Rose]

I use a combination of lemon oil and willow baskets to attract their attention as my two will pee all over the cardboard and become more dertermined to get at the carpet and rip and tear at it even more, but not every rabbit does that as you can see by Beka’s pictures.

[Lightchick]

I don’t know much about the carpet issue, but as far as the spray bottle goes…

I think the reaction to the spray bottle varies with the bun. Lizzy hates to be sprayed, and will now immediately stop doing anything I yell at her about, because she knows the next step is the water bottle.

Robbie, being a tough park-bunny, can totally take on the water bottle. He played chicken with me once…sat there and ignored the fact that I was yelling and spraying…so I kept spraying and spraying and spraying until I had a very sodden bun. And he finally stopped, and hunkered down, looking miserable. And I toweled him off, and pet him, and told him what a good bun he was. Now he stops at the first spray (or even just when I reach for the bottle!), because he knows I mean business!

I think if I’d given up on the water bottle after one spray with him, I wouldn’t have that as a disciplinary tactic anymore, which would be bad, because, again, hardened park-bunny he is, he’s oblivious to thumps, shouts, claps, anything loud and startling, because he’s been there, done that in the park!

I’d say give the water-bottle a try…Obviously, everybody else’s diversionary and bunny-proofing tactics are great too! But it’s good to have a way to say “stop!” to them if they won’t listen to anything else.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Hey Tuckerbunz

I think Beka’s suggestion to block off the couch with NIC cubes is perfect. You can also rub garlic or perfume on the carpet as well.

Most rabbits like to hide under something so they feel secure, can you give him something else to hide under/in like a box? Put a phone book or shredded paper in their for him to dig and chew and I bet he’ll forget all about going under the couch!

[Sarita]

Honestly there are some rabbits who will always chew carpet and even after they are altered. These type of rabbits are just very active and must keep busy.

If you have them out and about you MUST watch them or else your whole house will be destroyed.

I have one lovely rabbit named Giselle who has the sweetest and the nicest personality but is a fiber chewing and digging maniac and she must be contained which makes me very sad because she’s such a sweetie.

Now that is not to say that you cannot find another distraction for your rabbits and they may not grow out of it but not all rabbits will. She has been the only one out of all my rabbits that has a continuous need to do this.

The spray bottle may or may not work or it may work for a little bit and then not – I really hate the spray bottle method because sometimes you just get a drippy rabbit rather any results.

[Alicia Conklin]

Well we seemed to have found out it’s MAINLY an aggression thing.  If the two are out and not able to see each other there is must less of an “obsession” to dig at the carpet.  So, we’ve just been doing that and I put a blanket down on the area where the two dividers meet.  That way if they decide they want to dig to get to each other they’re digging at blanket and not carpet. 

There has also recently been a semi truce made between the two of them.  They moved the boxes in their condos so that they can lay down next to each other and there hasn’t been any nipping lately.  Maybe they heard me make the call for Tucker’s spay appt and figured that since she’s getting spayed they should get ready for the bonding?  Whatever it is their aggression towards each other and the house has died down considerably lately! Woohooo!!

[Author]

Messages