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My bunny is a hellion! Would neutering help?

stassy

New Kit
We have had our new bunny Lukas for about a month. He is adorable, but he is causing a lot of trouble. Our bathroom is on the other side of the bedroom. From our bedroom there is a big hole where the bathtub underside is. There are all kinds of pipes and wires under there, as well as the wood structure around the bottom of the tub. Anyway even though we try everything to keep him out, somehow Lukas got in our room in the middle of the night when I got up to go pee. He got in there and chewed wood and I don't know what else, but it sounds bad.

I kept telling him no in a loud voice, but he would look up at me and keep doing it. He knows I can't get him in there. Then I got in the tub and banged on the sides to scare him out. He stayed in and didn't leave until we got up and left the room. Now he is terrified of me!!! Usually when he is in his cage he is pretty social, this morning I went towards the cage and he ran under the couch. He was eating and kept looking up at us to make sure we aren't coming at him. I feel really sad that he is scared. I was finally starting to bond with him and now I have to start at square one again.

He has chewed through my cell phone wire, digital cable wire, and landline phone wire. He has also chewed on the cable wire but not through yet. Yesterday I went and bought him all kinds of stuff to chew on. He has salt treats for chewing, sea sponges, fruit flavored wood, and all the veggies he wants. Will neutering curb that behavior? Would it make it easier to bond with him? He is a really cool bunny and gets along with our cat and dog and we love him. We just wish he was less destructive.
Any suggestions welcomed.
 
To a certain extent I think he's being destructive just because he's a bunny...and that's what bunnies do! The trick is to do some serious DIY to make sure he really can't get to anything that he isn't allowed to chew, and to try and divert him to things that it is ok for him to chew. Wires can be covered with heavy plastic conduit or similar...don't ever have wires around and expect him not to chew them - it's just nature, like rabbits in the wild snip off roots and thin bits of plant as they get in their way.

Does he have lots of hay? Hay should be 90% of his diet and it takes a long time to munch on, so if you can make lots of hay toys that should keep him busy. Bunnies are designed by nature to chew most of the time, and hay is something good for him to chew on :)

I would suggest neutering him too. It probably won't stop his destructive behaviour although it may help to some degree, as neutered bunnies are often calmer. It will also stop him from getting very frustrated and spraying if he does this too. If he is still a youngster and doesn't spray yet...watch out, because he will probably start!

I'm sure others will have some creative ways to keep him occupied :) Try doing a search on here for Scamp - Tamsin has a little wild bunny called Scamp who is a little horror; Tamsin has come up with all sorts of creative ways to keep him occupied and away from trouble (ish!)
 
thanks

He does love his hay.:D He always has tons of it but still he wants to chew on other stuff too. We are trying to cover wires and I was thinking of using electric tape on some so they are plush with the wall. I am also thinking of putting him in his cage at night. It is at night that he is the most destructive.

Our last bunnies were in their cage or let out in only one room so we didn't have that problem. However he is used to being out and I like him to have the freedom.

Another thing I am curious about, most people say not to pick your rabbit up until he is more comfortable with you. We will catch Lukas and pick him up once in a while and he is more social and seems less afraid of us. It is like he realises that we aren't going to hurt him. :rabbit2:Anyone else experience that?
Stacey
 
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He is doing better

We blocked up our bedroom hole and have been successful (so far) keeping him out of our bedroom. Today he is acting so into me! He was laying beside me having a nap while I was on the computer, and then later he was playing with me!:love: He was playing with a chew toy taking it away from me and then giving it back. I am so excited and in love with him. He is so sweet and cute!:bunny::D:rabbit2::angel:
 
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