Wire chewer…eep!

[MissPinUp]

I know someone had a similar thread, but Lucy’s got this obsession with wires!  I’m scared one of these days she’ll chew a live one   We keep wires up as much as possible, but even then she’ll try to pull them down.  The apartment is pretty much 90% bunny proof, which is AS bunny proof as we can at this point.  I’ve done things like thrown my coat or a blanket over the wires she goes for, but she’s also a digger (And super smart!) so she’ll dig away the blankets and bam, there’s the wire.  I haven’t tried sprays or anything yet because I doubt their effectiveness, but what have you guys tried?  I’ve also tried yelling “LAVA” and it doesn’t work.  Hardwood floors are no no spots because she slides like a fool, so when she was a baby I called them “LAVA” and she would avoid them.  

Anyway, ideas?

[Monkeybun]

I went to Home Depot and got some thick plumbing tubing, which I sliced down the side and wrapped the cords in. The knife had a heck of a time cutting it, so i figured bunny teeth would have issues too. I can get a couple regular cords into one tube, a single thicker cord into another. Not the prettiest, but what bunnyproofing is?

[longhairmike]

Last year Usako chewed thru the main cord going from our home theater to the powered subwoofer (lucikily not the power cord for the subwoofer that goes directly into the wall). anyway were heard a loud POP and the music went out, and usako dashing back to her cage. sure enough the thick cord was severed cleanly.
we use smaller sections of the same “organize it” shelving that their cages are made of. an L-shaped section 2 panels high is enough to blocks off most small areas, but they are going to stay in place better on a carpet floor.

[Elrohwen]

I’m with MB on the thick tubing from Home Depot. It’s kind of a pain to cut the slit in it (because it’s thick) but it works. I also bought something similar online that was scented with lime to deter bunnies. That works really well too, though I would say it’s a bit thinner than the hardware store stuff so for a determined chewer it might be better to go with the thick stuff.

You an also get cord hiders that push the cord against the baseboard and then cover it to hide it from view. This could be really good for tvs and other electronics like that, then you can put the tubing around the parts that don’t rest against the wall instead of putting tubing on foot after foot of wire.

We also just keep the majority of our wires behind barriers. I use NIC grids to block off the areas around the tv so Hannah can’t get back there. I also have a lot of computer wires in the corner of the living room (between two couches) so I block that entire corner off so I don’t have to worry about it. Hannah can jump the barriers, but she rarely does it and she’s not free roam so we can catch her quickly and get her out of there before she does any damage.

[Balefulregards]

Monkey – I have three layers of protective tubing – the black tubing, a second clear tube and the thick plumbing tubing around all of it.

I also encase my computer cord in the smaller version of the clear plumbing tubing. When you have dedicated chewers, I think this is the best way to go.

[Balefulregards]

Miss Pinup – https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/107978/Default.aspx

This is where I have pictures of my cord configuration. I do an eyeball of it every couple of weeks, as my chewers never quite give up

[Monkeybun]

I used the clear tubing with the mesh of string in it for extra strength It’s been working so far

[Cheyann]

I got critter cord maybe about a year ago and it works great. There are small bits of the critter cord chewed off but no wires have been chewed.
http://www.willasark.com/crittercords.cfm

[MarkBun]

There are two main reasons that rabbits chew wiring. The first is to keep the area safe from hanging things that could tie them up if they had to make a quick escape. The second is that some rabbits are more sensitive to the electromagnetic field that is created within wires when electricity flows through them. They go at it to stop it. Even if you unplug it, they know that it was once putting out this field and want to kill it.

It is also why rats are such large fans of chewing wires.

[RabbitPam]

Mark, are you serious?
I would have thought it was just because it’s long and thin and low to the ground, like hay, grasses or roots.

[hooty22]

I do the same thing as monkeybun. You can get yards and yards of the stuff for dollars. So much cheaper than the pet cord covers (which are essentially the same thing, but sold for like $2 a foot).

[MarkBun]

Posted By RabbitPam on 01/27/2011 05:33 PM
Mark, are you serious?
I would have thought it was just because it’s long and thin and low to the ground, like hay, grasses or roots.

 

Yes, I am.  Although not rodents, lapines do share a lot of characteristics of them.  The ‘hum’ of electricity can be heard going through wires or in light bulbs and it can attract their attention.  Although the hay/roots aspect is probably the primary factor.

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