Will he grow out of it???

[Ellen Holland]

We have a 6 month old house bunny Called Dudley who is into everything… His latest craze is chewing… everything…. in an effort to be understanding we got him loads of toys to play with and lovely things to chew, but he ignores them in favour of moving the hutch away from the wall to gnaw on the skirting board… and last night he managed to get behind the fridge, and well you can imagine the mess he created there!

We have tried the ‘stop bite’ sprays for small animals but with little effect, and we have even wondered about smearing chilli juice over the areas we want him to ignore but we were worried about upsetting his tummy. At the moment we have had to resort to spraying him with water and saying ‘NO’, and although that seems to be having some affect what do you do when he does this stuff overnight?

I know that sometime in the future if this ‘phase’ passes we will see the funny side about all this, but this morning while having warm milk on my cereal, and trying to find a repair man to come out before everything in the freezer defrosts i must admit it was hard to find.

One obvious way round it is to lock them in the cage all day, but this will affect Gertie too. She’s so well behaved and gentle that it would be a shame to have to resort to this. Is there anyone out there who can offer advice? Is this something he’s going to grow out of or do we need to look at a larger indoor hutch?

[jerseygirl]

Hi Henrymouse, I like the names Dudley and Gertie for the buns! (Dudders! -lol – I read your profile  )

Sounds like he’s a very active boy! This may reduce as he gets older but that probably doesn’t help you right now! Are your buns pretty much free range in the home? I wondered if you have a room you can completlely bunny proof (skirting boards incl) that bun can have when your not home. Are you able to prevent the chewing when you are at home?
I think they like to get their teeth into something that is fixed. Gives them more purchase to really rip into it. Like a barrier they have to get thru. A chew toy is too easy to toss aside so the challenge is less. (Just trying to think like a bun here!)

Have you got something like the Maze Haven? Would Dudley hang out in something like this? Gives lots of exercise and safe chewable material. Even a series of cardboard boxes.

I would avoid the chilli juice too – tempting thou it may be! There maybe something safer to use.

Hopefully some other members who have notorious chewers will be able to give you some pointers. 

Just had a thought – have you tried apple sticks for him to chew?  Maybe a bigger, heavier branch.

[Ellen Holland]

The Buns are confined to the kitchen, we live in a very small house so there isn’t really a room we can completely dedicate to them unfortunately. thanks for the suggestion of why he isnt’ really into his chew toys, i have asked my partner to design something Dudders might like to get his teeth into. we don’t really have enough space for the Maze but have tried various cardboard boxes for him to play in without much success.

we are currently controlling his chewing when we are at home by spraying him with water when we catch him at it. it does seem to be working which is something, and now he looks shifty when he to knows he’s about to do something wrong.

thank you for your suggestions, and for the hope that his chewing will die down as  he grows up…

[Beka27]

welcome here!

like Jerseygirl said, this might be something that lessens as he gets older… but… it might not. some rabbits are chewers, and they are always chewers. some reasons why they chew are boredom (if they’re confined to one room, he might be looking for a way “out”) and some of it is natural instinct. this is where you would give appropriate things to chew.

what kind of bunny-proofing do you have in the kitchen? i’d suggest you either construct barriers or line the walls with NIC cube grids so he cannot get in contact with the baseboards. or, when you’re not home, can they be kept in an exercise pen attached to their hutch to allow some room to play safely…?

a great article…

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

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Welcome to Binkybunny!

Two questions: Is your bunny neutered? Is he a dutch rabbit?

Neutering decreases alot of the frantic behaviors like chewing like a mad man. Also younger buns are more prone to be destructive (although from their point of view whats the difference between the wood chew toys you give them and the wood on the side of the wall ? ). He may grow out of it, but he will always be a chewer (in terms of what kind of play he likes )

And I had to ask if he’s dutch (if you don’t know here’s what they look like, it’s very distinctive http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_rabbit) because they are very intelligent, which makes bunny proofing a bit harder-you have to stay one step ahead of them.

The sprays don’t really work but another thing you could try is perfume and/or vinegar. There is an excellent list of ideas on bunny proofing on this site under rabbit info. I’d done very well but reading through that changed my world!! (and protected alot of things from being destroyed!)

NIC cubes as barriers as Beka suggested are fantastic!! They are versatile and perfect and come in three main colors (grey/white/black) to match your decor! You can also bend them to make them fit in a small area (like try bending one in a c shape and stick that on any side of your fridge so he can’t get back there!)

[Balefulregards]

I have a chewer – a hard core chewer. She has specific areas she likes best, s o I have had to find ways to either out think her, bar her from the area…or give her other things.

Of course, Coco was not interested in all the appropriate toys she had to chew. To this day, she doesn’t hold much with the willow balls, the throw toys etc. ( although I have seen her chew on the Binky bunny floppers garden)

For Coco I had to do two things

1. Out think her. And I mean SERIOUSLY out think her. Because she is smart. Super smart. I tried blocking her off from her favorite chew spot ( the satellite cable cord) – She looked and looked until she found a way around it. I re-built – she re-thought the problem and found a new way around my new solution.

I tried covering the cable with the black cord protector. She chewed through that. I finally wandered the home improvement store until I found thick, flexible plumbing tube that has proved too big for her to get her mouth around and not attractive to her for chewing. It also had to be heat resistant, as it sits near our heating element.

2. Divert. Once I figured out Coco’s rabbit “job” I had to find ways to engage her in work ( which is what she is doing when she chews…). If I was head rabbit in a warren, Coco would be my number one root clearer. So I had to simulate roots for her to chew…and made a weird looking toy that I posted in the Toy Forum.

I keep re-tying the knots so it changes every day or so. She doesn’t love that I mess with her work ( I get nipped in the bum) but she re-tackles the roots. She also has really enjoyed the Oxbow root bunglaow and I have used that as part of her “job”. She chews on that.

Again, I view it like I did with the kids I taught. They know the fake stuff ( which is why baby “keys” and fake “phones” are NEVER as appealing as the real stuff). They want real work.

At least Coco does. When she doesn’t have a problem to solve, she makes one to solve.

[Ellen Holland]

Thank you so much for these suggestions, they will really help.

Like Coco, Dudley has loads of toys (which he ignores), and instead prefers to think his way around anything we are trying to block off. We have seen him sitting on his haunches for ages looking at our ‘barriers’ and trying to see if he can get around them… unfortunately he usually can. it is very cute to watch… but tiring having to always watch him. He is always into everything and it’s funny when you try to stroke him because he wants to see what you are doing, i have tried to do some bunny massage on him, but it’s difficult when he won’t sit still for even a min. We have also tried walking him, and it kind of worked until the local cats started watching us and it made me too nervous to continue to do it every day.

instead we let both him and Gertie into the living room with us in the evenings where they can be supervised and when he starts chewing he gets to go back out into the kitchen.

We had hoped when we had him Neutered it would calm him down a bit… well it stoped him redecorating our new kitchen several times a day, but its since then that the teeth have really made an appearance.

We will certainly look into all the great suggestions. thank you again. 

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[jerseygirl]

Oh! NOW I see the problem. I mean how can you discipline a bun with a face like that! He’s awesome! He and Frankie should hook up!! Have you see Frankie bun? Similar colouring and ambiguous ears.

[Ellen Holland]

wow, Dudley does look like Frankie doesn’t he?

we do love his ears, they are good indicators of what he is thinking…. the lopsided look tends to mean he’s plotting (discovered from experience), and then theres down and forward which i think means he’s chilled and then theres down and back which he does when he sulks. Then to add extra cuteness he has learned to position himself where he can be seen and ’point’ himself at whatever it is he’s unhappy with, and look like he’s about to cry. the other week he ‘pointed’ at me after i’d told him off for chewing something…

it’s amazing how much emotion a shift in ear position can convey isn’t it?

here’s a pic of him and Gert in their basket which i bought because i know how he likes to climb.

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[Beka27]

he is precious! uncanny resemblance to Frankie!

[jerseygirl]

Whoa! Hang on, you NEED to post another pic of Gertie because from what I’m seeing, there is one big bunny in the bottom of that basket!

[Beka27]

WHOA!!!! good eye! i dind’t see the bunny on the bottom, i was too overcome by Dudley’s cuteness! pics of Gertie please…

[Ellen Holland]

Yes she is very big… and ooooh so cuddley, i’ll have to get pics of her begging for a fuss because its one of cutest things i’ve ever seen. before we got Duddley she used to follow us around the house.

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[Beka27]

she is beautiful! her fur looks so soft. i love the last pic, i’m just itching to give her forehead a rub! too cute!

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