May be the end of free ranging :(

Bear has become increasingly naughty and destructive the last few weeks to the point where in wondering if he can be left on his own anymore
He's chewing the carpet more and actually eating some of it and he's taken some parts down to the grip so worried about him cutting his paws if he digs at it.

Just wondered if anyone had any suggestions before I have to restrict his free range time to when we're at home?
He has loads of toys and tunnels etc but doesn't seem interested in anything but the carpet at the moment

We have a puppy pen so he would NEVER just be restricted to his dog crate, but I feel so cruel as would be cutting down the area he has now drastically

could you build him an outdoor run?

could you find a friend with a garden and put a run there and drop him off each day sort of like rabbit day care?

x

He has an outdoor run, would never leave him all day unattended though and he really doesn't like being outside usually sits in the corner and sulks!

Is he neutered and does he have a friend?

Has he had his teeth checked in the last week?

Has your routine changed?

He was neutered about 7/8 weeks ago.
We have a lady rabbit Alice too were going to bond them in September.
He had his teeth checked about 3 weeks ago.
Only thing I can think is me and OH had a week off last week so were around a lot more...
He has always chewed the carpet but never to make a hole in it and we have always found the bits he's pulled up so no he's wasn't ingesting it before.

Im going to spend some time making home made bunny toys, try and keep him entertained, I really don't wanna have to restrict him

Can you put carpet tile down where he has been scratching, it will help save it from anymore damage

You gave me a really good idea!
He always seems to scratch in the same place behind the sofa so had some left over self adhesive laminat tiles have stuck them where he chews!!

Thanks

No problem, I got some carpet tiles a few weeks back from The Range I think they were about £2.99 each.

The idea just popped in my head when I walked past and saw them, it's saved so much damage to the carpet.

It sounds like upset/frustration or boredom behaviour to me. Is Alice fairly new? It may get better when he is bonded. It could be as a result of having more company last week then suddenly this week its gone.

I get these behaviours from Annabella if she is bored, especially if she is in accommodation not big enough for her. I dont mean big enough from a welfare point of view, I mean a roughly 10x15 room (with a fair amount of space taken up by furniture to be fair) wasnt big enough. She wasnt as stimulated as she had been in the old house, where she had much more space and lots of obstacles and things to go under, behind and on top of. Changing her setup and providing loads of enrichment helped a lot, as did making her free-range 24/7 as opposed to the former 12-18 hours a day.

Can you confine him to a bunny proof room?

Have you tried daily apple sticks, to help channel his chewing behaviour into something okay? And a digging box for the same reason?

It could be that he can smell Alice but cant get to her. This would /could frustrate him

tonibun
It could be that he can smell Alice but cant get to her. This would /could frustrate him

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Think this may be it!

nessar
It sounds like upset/frustration or boredom behaviour to me. Is Alice fairly new? It may get better when he is bonded. It could be as a result of having more company last week then suddenly this week its gone.

I get these behaviours from Annabella if she is bored, especially if she is in accommodation not big enough for her. I dont mean big enough from a welfare point of view, I mean a roughly 10x15 room (with a fair amount of space taken up by furniture to be fair) wasnt big enough. She wasnt as stimulated as she had been in the old house, where she had much more space and lots of obstacles and things to go under, behind and on top of. Changing her setup and providing loads of enrichment helped a lot, as did making her free-range 24/7 as opposed to the former 12-18 hours a day.

Can you confine him to a bunny proof room?

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At the moment he has free range of a 14' x 12' room 24 hours a day, were renovating our house at the moment so weren't really bothered if he was a little destructive. But now where its lots more carpet and he seems to be eating it I'm worried about him health wise.
He has lots of toys all over the room, think I'm going to make him some new ones in case he's tired of the 1s he has.

HoneyBear said:

At the moment he has free range of a 14' x 12' room 24 hours a day, were renovating our house at the moment so weren't really bothered if he was a little destructive. But now where its lots more carpet and he seems to be eating it I'm worried about him health wise.
He has lots of toys all over the room, think I'm going to make him some new ones in case he's tired of the 1s he has.

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I would take some away when you get the new ones, and rotate them. Good things to have are a digging box, platforms to hide under and jump on, and tunnels.

I also find treat balls really useful, I used to give their pellets in these, it makes them work for a while to get them so relieves boredom.

Does he eat a pile of hay the size of himself everyday?

I had a bunny that attacked some carpet once. I ended up having to cover the vulnerable bits of carpet with tiles. It looked really odd, but it did the trick.

SarahP
I had bunny that attacked some carpet once. I ended up having to cover the vulnerable bits of carpet with tiles. It looked really odd, but it did the trick.

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We have cut up some vinyl tiles and stuck them over where he is chewing, all good at the moment, dont think it will be long before he chooses somewhere else to chew though!

I would take some away when you get the new ones, and rotate them. Good things to have are a digging box, platforms to hide under and jump on, and tunnels.

I also find treat balls really useful, I used to give their pellets in these, it makes them work for a while to get them so relieves boredom.

Does he eat a pile of hay the size of himself everyday?

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He already has his pellets in a treat ball and all of his fresh I scatter around for him to find to make it more fun for him.

He has a cat litter tray full of hay next to his food he sits in it and eats it. We also have an old plastic dog bed full of hay and torn up newspaper in as we thought he might dig in there instead of the carpet! I also break up carrot crunchies occasionally and hide them in there for him to find thats his favourite! So difficult to tell exactly how much he eats, he does like his food though :lol:

I'm going to try swapping and moving his toys though, and making some more as maybe he's tired of them!

HoneyBear said:

We have cut up some vinyl tiles and stuck them over where he is chewing, all good at the moment, dont think it will be long before he chooses somewhere else to chew though!



He already has his pellets in a treat ball and all of his fresh I scatter around for him to find to make it more fun for him.

He has a cat litter tray full of hay next to his food he sits in it and eats it. We also have an old plastic dog bed full of hay and torn up newspaper in as we thought he might dig in there instead of the carpet! I also break up carrot crunchies occasionally and hide them in there for him to find thats his favourite! So difficult to tell exactly how much he eats, he does like his food though :lol:

I'm going to try swapping and moving his toys though, and making some more as maybe he's tired of them!

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You could tell from his poops, are they golden coloured, crumbly when pressed, and large? If so he's probably getting enough hay, if not if you could encourage more hay eating that would be good, as behavioural issues/boredom can be influenced by the amount of hay/forage they eat, as in the wild they would spend most of their awake-time eating, and if they dont have that to occupy their time they quickly get bored.