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Locking up a free-ranger!

sun_city_girl

sun_city_girl

Warren Veteran
Soooo Hitley is used to having the whole lounge/kitchen to himself 24 hours a day; he is destructive to the max and its come to point where I think boyf may divorce me!!!boyf is here all day and plus its all his stuff Hitley chews, he has been very stressed about the matter today and before. We have caged off everything but Hitley always seems to find something of the boyfs to destroy. Would it be reasonable for me to erect his large metal trixie run in the living room to keep him in overnight?or would that be mean?It means he would be in it for about 8-10 hours, im not sure how big it is exactly but probably about 2 metres x 1.5 metres and more than tall enough for him to stand up in.
 
The only time I tried to contain Louie was after his neuter. I made him a lovely post op pad from a metal run, put in lots of lovely soft towels, put his hay in a rack, gave him a snugglesafe.

He lasted all of 10 minutes, was lifting the run up with his teeth to try and get under it :roll:

Good luck! :lol::lol::lol:
 
I imagine Hitley will do the same tbh!he got out of it when it was pegged down in the garden haha!Maybe its worth a go anyway. I would say it seems big enough but I still feel mean haha!
 
*lily* said:
The only time I tried to contain Louie was after his neuter. I made him a lovely post op pad from a metal run, put in lots of lovely soft towels, put his hay in a rack, gave him a snugglesafe.

He lasted all of 10 minutes, was lifting the run up with his teeth to try and get under it :roll:

Good luck! :lol::lol::lol:
Click to expand...

My hamster does the same thing when I put him in his playpen :lol:
 
I found when they weren't shut up at night they got less destructive so i would imagine it may make it worse.
 
Elena said:
I found when they weren't shut up at night they got less destructive so i would imagine it may make it worse.
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This. Catch 22! I'm trying to find a way to sort out this issue with mine at the moment.

Can you not just remove the stuff Hitley is chewing? Or could you use the pen stretched out to block off access to the part of the room with all the breakable stuff in?
 
nessar said:
This. Catch 22! I'm trying to find a way to sort out this issue with mine at the moment.

Can you not just remove the stuff Hitley is chewing? Or could you use the pen stretched out to block off access to the part of the room with all the breakable stuff in?
Click to expand...

I've noticed teeth marks in the window sill rubber bit :roll: but that's the only thing really that they've gnawed on (excluding the ottoman cos that's just a big chew toy for them really, always has been) since I dismantled the NIC cage and made them free range, prior to that they ate wires, various furniture, the door, the door frame, the carpet...
 
Elena said:
I've noticed teeth marks in the window sill rubber bit :roll: but that's the only thing really that they've gnawed on (excluding the ottoman cos that's just a big chew toy for them really, always has been) since I dismantled the NIC cage and made them free range, prior to that they ate wires, various furniture, the door, the door frame, the carpet...
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I've made some progress, re-did their cage and moved it so it actually blocks where Annabelle was digging the carpet. It has 2 levels now and with some help from the forum worked out its 38sqft. It seems to have helped a little and the levels give them some enrichment/extra space when they are free-range too, but have had to keep them in it when I'm not in this last week, so they havent been great when they are out. Going away for 3 days later this week so hoping to have them free-range then without any destruction, they cant stay in that pen 24/7.
 
I do put Twinkie in his pen when we go to bed because we have a large dog as well and I wouldn't dream of leaving them unattended all night even though they love each other to bits. I am lucky because Twinkie does sleep at night and is very quiet, but as soon as we are up, he comes out for the rest of the day unless we are going out.
There have been many casualties including my laptop charger, mobile charger, dyson charger, the table lamp, various extension cables, the set top box cable, my handbag and I could go on, but we are gradually rabbit proofing and after all it's OUR fault :roll: He's just doing rabbity things.
Maybe you could confine him for a short time if he gets 'over excited' and then let him out again as soon as he calms down. Sometimes we erect a play pen in the lounge during the evening if Twinkie is being particularly mischievious, but usually, he free ranges in the kitchen, lounge and conservatory.
 
nessar said:
This. Catch 22! I'm trying to find a way to sort out this issue with mine at the moment.

Can you not just remove the stuff Hitley is chewing? Or could you use the pen stretched out to block off access to the part of the room with all the breakable stuff in?
Click to expand...

We use the pen stretched out to block the tv, we use a panel from the other pen to block to sofa where hes chewed a hole in the side of it, we use two panels to block down the side of the chair where the extension cable is and a panel to block under the tv where the dvd player and xbox is. We cover the stereo with a sheet and stuff cushions everywhere, however he still manages to get to our extension lead we cant work out how and I know its OUR fault but that doesnt mean i can afford to replace the extension lead twice a week for the rest of Hitleys life!!

I just wanted to know about penning him in the pen all night, and whether it was large enough but im going to try it anyhow, if i thought it was too small i wouldnt do it. Also he may want to be destructive when we let him out but my boyf is home all day so can keep an eye on him!
 
sun_city_girl said:
We use the pen stretched out to block the tv, we use a panel from the other pen to block to sofa where hes chewed a hole in the side of it, we use two panels to block down the side of the chair where the extension cable is and a panel to block under the tv where the dvd player and xbox is. We cover the stereo with a sheet and stuff cushions everywhere, however he still manages to get to our extension lead we cant work out how and I know its OUR fault but that doesnt mean i can afford to replace the extension lead twice a week for the rest of Hitleys life!!

I just wanted to know about penning him in the pen all night, and whether it was large enough but im going to try it anyhow, if i thought it was too small i wouldnt do it. Also he may want to be destructive when we let him out but my boyf is home all day so can keep an eye on him!
Click to expand...

I'd get one of those electric surge/electric cut out plugs that they sell for lawn mowers and similar, to plug the extension into, as you dont want him electrocuting himself, or the lead sparking and becoming a fire hazard. Can you run the cable underneath the carpet? That would be safest. Or you could use cable protector sheathing on it as well as block it off.

The pen is big enough for the night yes, so by all means try it, but when buns are used to a certain amount of space they are often not happy when confined to less.
 
ive caged him tonight and hes been okay soo far, just went to check on him. we have cable protectors but he still manages to chew through!also apart from the obvious risk, is it bad for him to chew wires?

im hoping to move soon and eventually when its warmers am going to convert the brand new shed that comes with the house into a bun palace, so this is only temporary. poor bun. i could move him into the spare room but dont reaally want him to start destroying that room either!
 
sun_city_girl said:
ive caged him tonight and hes been okay soo far, just went to check on him. we have cable protectors but he still manages to chew through!also apart from the obvious risk, is it bad for him to chew wires?

im hoping to move soon and eventually when its warmers am going to convert the brand new shed that comes with the house into a bun palace, so this is only temporary. poor bun. i could move him into the spare room but dont reaally want him to start destroying that room either!
Click to expand...

Obviously electrucution, but my friend was told by her vet about her dog (but I'm sure the same principle applies) that the shock can crack the teeth, so to check front teeth after.
 
reehsetin said:
Clever idea! I got this and they chewed through it
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We've had a spirally one that look similar to those - we use it for the laptop cable as that's the only thing that doesn't stay in one place. You're right though they can chew through it - we see it as something to give us enough time to stop them, rather than something to protect the cable!
 
I use the cabled stuff but I usually put it behind some mesh panels as well. That white trunking we used on the internet cable which runs under the floor boards.
 
Locking up a free-ranger - Hes un-caged!!!!

Okay so he spent the night in the run and was very good. However boyf who was the one who complained about him originally felt soo bad he dismantled the cage..hahah
 
esupi said:
We've had a spirally one that look similar to those - we use it for the laptop cable as that's the only thing that doesn't stay in one place. You're right though they can chew through it - we see it as something to give us enough time to stop them, rather than something to protect the cable!
Click to expand...

you're right, luckily we spotted before they'd gone right through it
 
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