chewing driving me mad

Well I never argue with my husband but last night we had a heated debate over the rabbits.

We have Vince and Meg who are less than a year old and live indoors. These last few weeks Vince has become very destructive. We thought the arrival of a friend ( meg last month) would help with his bordom. It has not changed anything and now it's like there's double trouble when their both out. She has shown no tendencies to chew. Until last night. While he was ripping at the carpet and I was distracting him, she ripped one of my cushions. It wasn't a big deal as such, but I flipped. We have bunny proofed EVERYTHING possible and the only things we can't is the carpet and our brand new sofa and they STILL manage to bite things within the blink of an eye. I said ' do we wait unti the sofa is wrecked. Maybe they should go outside. ' He was not happy with me suggesting this, saying ' their rabbits' and I said ' exactly. Maybe we shouldn't have them inside if we don't want things to get trashed. Chewing is what they do. Would you not be gutted if the sofa gets chewed?' He said ' no , I would just say it was my fault for not watching them.' :roll: I understand it's not them being ' naughty' just being rabbits but I just felt so fustrated. Fed up of my nice things getting wrecked
The other 5 live outside happily enough. But my husband is major, major attached to these two, staying. They were suppose to be living in the kitchen. They were there an hour before he said ' I can't stand to not have them in the living room' and this massive dog crate is now in my living room:roll::lol:. He's asked me to try it for a week, or they can go back in the kitchen haha yea right. No his game

Well tonight I get in and there is a note from Vince and Meg, apologising for the ripped cushion and a lindt bunny on the sofa. I had to laugh, despite myself... :lol::lol::lol:

Anyone else, have to deal with this ???

Oh dear :lol: I'm afraid I'm with your hubby on this one! my bunnies are my babies and I don't care what they trash! I would suggest only buying things that you want to keep nice for rooms where the buns don't go! :wave:

Oh bless him how cute is your hubby! but i do agree its so annoying when u give them animal things to chew and they still nbble all the wrong stuff! Im lucky with Smudge except cables which i learnt pretty quick hes not a chewer oh except my slippers and matts just said what about the corner on my handbag! so mayb he is a bit naughty after all but he is very cute!

awwwww.

Must say, hope theyre neuterede or youre gonna have a whole load more little Chewers!"!!:lol::lol::lol::lol:

Hehe, I'd be on your husband's side. All I can suggest is get lots of toys to chew, not pet shop ones but make lots of cardboard boxes with holes cut in them filled with hay or newspaper. Apple twigs if you know anyone with a tree. Make hidey holes, give them their own carpet. Make it much more interesting not to chew your stuff. :thumb:

(And neutering if they're not already)

Awww haha :lol:
I was meant to rehome one of my baby thriantas but after being messed around twice she stayed with us (at my grandmas) for much longer than imagined, we grew attached but she couldn't stay at my house so I stuck a letter to Baby, written by Baby of course Asking grandma to 'adopt' her :lol:

ripminnie said:

Oh dear :lol: I'm afraid I'm with your hubby on this one! my bunnies are my babies and I don't care what they trash! I would suggest only buying things that you want to keep nice for rooms where the buns don't go! :wave:

Click to expand...

Trust me I'm trying - before they come out EVERYTHING gets evacuated:lol:. I should of guessed writing this on a rabbit forum your all going to be on the side of the rabbits but it is fustrating.. Just ranting :thumb:

kat031181 said:

Oh bless him how cute is your hubby! but i do agree its so annoying when u give them animal things to chew and they still nbble all the wrong stuff! Im lucky with Smudge except cables which i learnt pretty quick hes not a chewer oh except my slippers and matts just said what about the corner on my handbag! so mayb he is a bit naughty after all but he is very cute!

Click to expand...

He is adorable and I love him for it but last night I could've cried I was just like ' arrrrrh!.' I felt like screaming! I LOVE having them inside, I don't want them to go outside BUT I also feel gutted I can't seem to keep them entertained

We have all the cables covered by two coatings of cable ties so I don't worry about that but yea it's exactly the fact we spend time with them, make them lots of toys and they still wreck things

I wouldn't be able to put up with all that chewing either.

But thankfully there is just me here to make the decisions!

Jenova said:

Hehe, I'd be on your husband's side. All I can suggest is get lots of toys to chew, not pet shop ones but make lots of cardboard boxes with holes cut in them filled with hay or newspaper. Apple twigs if you know anyone with a tree. Make hidey holes, give them their own carpet. Make it much more interesting not to chew your stuff. :thumb:

(And neutering if they're not already)

Click to expand...

Haha knew you would be :roll::lol::lol::lol:

We have!!! This is the thing! They have a wonderful massive crate with shelf, a shoe box, and hay in a Terry's orange box ( my husband's idea :thumb::lol: ) and toilet rolls and an egg box and those sticks you get from P@h. They do play with all their toys too.

DemiS said:

Awww haha :lol:
I was meant to rehome one of my baby thriantas but after being messed around twice she stayed with us (at my grandmas) for much longer than imagined, we grew attached but she couldn't stay at my house so I stuck a letter to Baby, written by Baby of course Asking grandma to 'adopt' her :lol:

Click to expand...

That's the best :lol: Maybe if we had more rabbits who could write more people would rehome :lol::lol::lol:

We have the same argument, but I'm on the buns' side! Ours went nuts before they were spayed and chewed everything. Now they're nothing like as bad. They're mostly shut out of the lounge except when we're in it, and then we can stop them if they decide to have a go at anything.

We did use a spray for a while (can't remember which but it was a cheapie from Wilkos) - just sprayed it on anywhere they started chewing - it put them off for a little while and sooner or later they seemed to mostly get the message.

Can you put some serious chunks of wood down? It's easy for me because I keep our prunings, some of which are 2 or 3 inches in diameter but I do find that keeps them occupied for a surprising length of time. They strip the bark (this is applewood) and then get stuck into gnawing the wood itself.

esupi said:

We have the same argument, but I'm on the buns' side! Ours went nuts before they were spayed and chewed everything. Now they're nothing like as bad. They're mostly shut out of the lounge except when we're in it, and then we can stop them if they decide to have a go at anything.

We did use a spray for a while (can't remember which but it was a cheapie from Wilkos) - just sprayed it on anywhere they started chewing - it put them off for a little while and sooner or later they seemed to mostly get the message.

Click to expand...

Vince got neutered a couple of months ago. Meg was done before I got her by her previous owner. Both of them are under a year so I wonder if their just young and mischievous

I've told husband their not allowed out unless we BOTH can supervise haha - mark one each :lol:*jk*

Tatihou said:

Can you put some serious chunks of wood down? It's easy for me because I keep our prunings, some of which are 2 or 3 inches in diameter but I do find that keeps them occupied for a surprising length of time. They strip the bark (this is applewood) and then get stuck into gnawing the wood itself.

Click to expand...

Husband is on to it :thumb::thumb:

I'll add my vote to the apple wood - it seems to be the yummiest to my buns. And if they have the option of stuff they prefer they are less likely to nibble the furniture.

You have to allow them to express their natural behaviour, but in acceptable ways. Do they have a digging box?

Also, how big is the crate? Would it be possible to attach a pen or give them another whole room so they have more permenant space? I have found that my two are only destructive when I am not fulfilling their needs in some way, usually space - if they have a smaller permenant space then they are frustrated and so go nuts when thye come out of it, if they always have a big space they arent so much. By the way when I say small space I mean an acceptable size, it was 20sqft with 12 hours a day freerange, but my buns need more, after all they dont read the rwa guidlines to know what they should be happy with. Would it be possible to have them free-range for a couple of weeks, maybe in a different room? I found free-range 24/7 was the only way to stop my two when they became destructive recently. IMO locking them away more can make it worse.

Also, I found putting something heavy in all accessible corners of the carpet helps, as they tend to dig in corners or dark private spaces.

nessar said:

I'll add my vote to the apple wood - it seems to be the yummiest to my buns. And if they have the option of stuff they prefer they are less likely to nibble the furniture.

You have to allow them to express their natural behaviour, but in acceptable ways. Do they have a digging box?

Also, how big is the crate? Would it be possible to attach a pen or give them another whole room so they have more permenant space? I have found that my two are only destructive when I am not fulfilling their needs in some way, usually space - if they have a smaller permenant space then they are frustrated and so go nuts when thye come out of it, if they always have a big space they arent so much. By the way when I say small space I mean an acceptable size, it was 20sqft with 12 hours a day freerange, but my buns need more, after all they dont read the rwa guidlines to know what they should be happy with. Would it be possible to have them free-range for a couple of weeks, maybe in a different room? I found free-range 24/7 was the only way to stop my two when they became destructive recently. IMO locking them away more can make it worse.

Also, I found putting something heavy in all accessible corners of the carpet helps, as they tend to dig in corners or dark private spaces.

Click to expand...

Thankyou Nessar. I hate to say it but your post makes a lot of sence:thumb:. I think you're right. Unfortunately they can't be free range - our house in newly moved in to and we have a lot of stuff everywhere and it's not safe for them too. Spare bedroom is not even built yet. BUT We will try and give them even more space and exercise and I'm going to have a think of some more adventerous toys, boxes and tunnels. Anything to save my couch :lol: Thanks for all the advice x

Lea-Anne said:

Thankyou Nessar. I hate to say it but your post makes a lot of sence:thumb:. I think you're right. Unfortunately they can't be free range - our house in newly moved in to and we have a lot of stuff everywhere and it's not safe for them too. Spare bedroom is not even built yet. BUT We will try and give them even more space and exercise and I'm going to have a think of some more adventerous toys, boxes and tunnels. Anything to save my couch :lol: Thanks for all the advice x

Click to expand...

I know its awkward to provide so much space for them, I tell mine how lucky they are to have a big pen, after all just their base is bigger than a lot of rabbits whole setup - not that they understand that of course. I just keep the pen open 24/7 now for them and they're back to being fine. Elena on here had the same result when she made hers fully free-range, it was partly on her advice that I took the plunge again this time. I did have an improvement when I increased their base in size first, (its around 38sqft now as I added shelves) so if you cant have them free-range maybe a bigger base might work.

I know your partner isnt keen, but if its safer for them and they can have more room in there (and save the couch!), maybe it would be best if they did move back to the kitchen, at least for now. They could always come in the lounge when you two are in there to supervise.

As for the sofa, its not the prettiest thing in the world but could you put pen/NIC panels all around it, hugging it so they cant chew the bottom or get under/behind it and damage it there, and then cover in it a sofa protector or throws so they wont hurt it by digging it? That should mean that they cant cause any damage in a short amount of time anyway, whilst you're out of the room for example, although if they are bent on destroying it I wouldnt leave them alone for hours with it. Its a shame as it wont look quite as nice, but I guess its better than it being damaged.