• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

House bunnies & destructive behaviour

shelley

Mama Doe
Hi All,

Ive had my house bunny Buster for about 2 months now. Overall he is a pretty good house bun. He's very affectionate and good with his litter tray and is a lovely bun in general. However for the past week he has been on a ramage of destruction :shock: he's chewed most of my dining room chairs, the skirting boards, the door frames, the teats of my sons baby bottles and cups, the buttons off the tv remote, his cage, my handbag, my sons toys, towls, plaster off the walls, carpets and unfortunatly the list goes on :roll: Im really not sure whats triggered it as he hasnt touched anything for the past 2 months that he's been here.

He is neutered and has loads and loads of toys including 3 cat balls, 2 small wicker balls, 1 large football size wicker ball, a tunnel, a box of hay, 5 different fruit shaped wooden blocks, a wooden log, a large wooden carrot, a treat dispence ball, loads of willow sticks, a fruity treat stick and a few other bits, all of these toys are scattered around the kitchen which he lives in for the majority of the day. From 6pm onwards he has access to the whole flat and gets a good run about with hundreds of binkies so he gets alot of exercise and things to do!

The only thing i can really put it down to is bordem :? his teeth were checked recently so it isnt that and he is a single bun so im wondering if its the lack of company thats getting to him? My concern is that my OH is already a bit annoyed about the amount of things Buster has destroyed (he didnt really want a bunny in the first place either so im in the dog house over it a bit ) and i dont want to get a second bun if its going to just mean twice the amount of destruction? Buster is never unsupervised but he's very sneaky in the way that he chews things, like he'll do it when i go to get a drink or get up to the baby if he is crying but he rarely does it blatantly in front of me so its difficult to stop. Also alot of the chewing takes place at night, he knaws on the door frame trying to get out.

Can anyone help with a solution as i really dont want to have to confine him to a crate but at this rate im going to have to because he just cant be trusted to be free range in the kitchen alone anymore :(
 
Last edited:
My housebuns do the same - I think that is part and parcel of having indoor bunnies:lol::lol: Have you considered getting him a wifey bun? He may be bored and a companion might calm him down a bit
 
i am afraid that as a general rule...ALL housebunnies have a chew on something at least once.....:lol:

boredom...maybe..bluebells terrible...even worse than merlin who isnt as bad as our bridge bun woozle..he was a furry termite..even ate plaster off the wall!!

the only thing i have ever used thats truly bunny proofed..is plastic plumbing pipes:lol:
 
Is he neutered? It could be that his hormones have started to kick in

Yes he is

My housebuns do the same - I think that is part and parcel of having indoor bunnies Have you considered getting him a wifey bun? He may be bored and a companion might calm him down a bit

mmm this is what i was thinking but i dont want 2 destructive bunnies lol the OH will kill me! the odd thing was he wasnt destructive until last week, not sure whats changed

Muffin used to do this, it didn't stop until I got Poppy

Im hoping this is the case with Buster!
 
Hopefully a rescue could pair you with a bunny who is used to being indoors and hopfully won't be too destructive?

I have it the other way around... Charlie was an angel, Milly isn't... She's teaching him to be a git too :lol:
 
In that case, it's just bun proof anything. We have nothing in our living room really that we would be bothered about if it gets chewed, though we have had a few accidents with phone cables/laptop chargers/christmas tree lights/folders/books/cushions... Part of the deal with house buns!

Best thing is just to have lots of things to distract him, toys, cardboard boxes, etc...
 
Hopefully a rescue could pair you with a bunny who is used to being indoors and hopfully won't be too destructive?

I have it the other way around... Charlie was an angel, Milly isn't... She's teaching him to be a git too :lol:

Yes ive been looking for weeks but there arent many she buns around at the moment unfortunatly, ive been talking with p@h about a special needs bun they have in their adoption area but im waiting for a reply on some questions i had so we aren't sure if she is suitable yet

In that case, it's just bun proof anything. We have nothing in our living room really that we would be bothered about if it gets chewed, though we have had a few accidents with phone cables/laptop chargers/christmas tree lights/folders/books/cushions... Part of the deal with house buns!

Best thing is just to have lots of things to distract him, toys, cardboard boxes, etc...

Definatly, ive tried to keep everything out of his way but as above, there have still been a few things that have been forgotten about and have ended up being 'bustered' as we say :roll: i think the worst thing was my RO filter tubing for my reef tank, he chewed through the water pipe that was filling up a barrel and caused a mini flood in my kitchen!

Are there any sprays that deter chewing? Or something that doesnt taste very nice? My friend suggested lemons... he spent about 2 days liking lemon juice off of everything, he loved it :roll::lol:
 
my buns "live" in an unused bathroom that i usually leave the door open to so they can come and go as they please on the second floor..and have a smaller cage in the bathroom that is their "bedroom". they get put in the bedroom at night, and anytime im not home or cant "hear" what they are doing..
the bathroom door frame and the corners of the walls are all gnawed free of paint for about 2 feet off the ground,, there are several spots on the walls where the buns have peeled the paint off the walls, chewed the linoleum, chewed the grout at the base of the bathtub.. and there is even a spot behind the toilet where the plumbing goes into the wall that they have helped me by "fixing" aka chewing a 4 inch x 4 inch hole through the plaster and dry wall.. luckily for me, i can quick paint over the door frames and wall, and blame the chew hole and most of the floor nibblings on a squirrel problem we had last summer..
i find that they do most of their destructive chewing when i am not in the room, so if im going to be busy downstairs, i make sure to leave a few fruit branches for them to eat.. that seems to help..
i tried everything as a repellant to try to stop them from making the chew spots worse,, vinegar, soap, bitter apple, tape, tin foil.. nothing worked for me except blocking off the spots with a board of wood.
luckily its nice outside now, and our new rental will have a huuugeee fenced in back yard that i can build them a run in, so they will be spending most of their day outside, and come in for play time when it gets dark or too hot before retiring to their bedroom for the night.
 
Are there any sprays that deter chewing? Or something that doesnt taste very nice? My friend suggested lemons... he spent about 2 days liking lemon juice off of everything, he loved it :roll::lol:

I used to use a mix of white wine vinegar and lemon juice, I sprayed it on areas that somebun had started chewing and top it up every couple days. After about 3 months all chewing stopped (well if we leave a cable in reach it will get nommed lol)
 
my buns "live" in an unused bathroom that i usually leave the door open to so they can come and go as they please on the second floor..and have a smaller cage in the bathroom that is their "bedroom". they get put in the bedroom at night, and anytime im not home or cant "hear" what they are doing..
the bathroom door frame and the corners of the walls are all gnawed free of paint for about 2 feet off the ground,, there are several spots on the walls where the buns have peeled the paint off the walls, chewed the linoleum, chewed the grout at the base of the bathtub.. and there is even a spot behind the toilet where the plumbing goes into the wall that they have helped me by "fixing" aka chewing a 4 inch x 4 inch hole through the plaster and dry wall.. luckily for me, i can quick paint over the door frames and wall, and blame the chew hole and most of the floor nibblings on a squirrel problem we had last summer..
i find that they do most of their destructive chewing when i am not in the room, so if im going to be busy downstairs, i make sure to leave a few fruit branches for them to eat.. that seems to help..
i tried everything as a repellant to try to stop them from making the chew spots worse,, vinegar, soap, bitter apple, tape, tin foil.. nothing worked for me except blocking off the spots with a board of wood.
luckily its nice outside now, and our new rental will have a huuugeee fenced in back yard that i can build them a run in, so they will be spending most of their day outside, and come in for play time when it gets dark or too hot before retiring to their bedroom for the night.

ooo naughty buns :lol: i dont actually really mind, Buster is too cute to be mad at :roll: it the OH who gets annoyed even though secretly he likes Buster in his own way, men! :) I dont have a garden as i live in a flat :( although i do have a communal bit, i was thinking of getting Buster used to a lead and harness so when im playing out there with my little boy he could come too (im not allowed a run) but im not sure if he would totally freak out or not. I dont want to upset him or give him a bad experiance that will frighten him :?
 
I used to use a mix of white wine vinegar and lemon juice, I sprayed it on areas that somebun had started chewing and top it up every couple days. After about 3 months all chewing stopped (well if we leave a cable in reach it will get nommed lol)

im thinking of trying apple cider vinegar,, that stuff can peel paint off the walls its so strong

Thanks for the ideas! I will add these to my shopping list and see if it works, fingers crossed
 
I have this problem with Maisey i have had her for 6 months nd she has chewed sooo much i have never had aa bunny so naughty, she lives with Alan my nethie and they are both neutered Alan has never done any damage i think some bunnys are worse thn others and like me and you by the sounds of things prevention is the only thing for it if you dont wnt something chewed dont leave them by it Maisey is only alowed in the one room now and everthing in there is covered but even now she has just turned 1 yr old if i slip up and leave somthing open or a wire hanging she has it and destroys it so good luck but remember cover it or move it xxx
 
Back
Top