Destructive behavior?

Hello everyone,

I have a rabbit, Stella, who is about 1-2 years old (she was adopted and so not sure of exact age). Within the last week I have noticed her behavior becoming a bit more destructive. She now tries to chew the carpet up all the time (not just around the edges, but pulls pieces out, and its not a fluffy carpet), and its constant. Additionally, she has started chewing the wires on her cage, even when her cage is open. The cage wires especially are new behavior for her (and I have had her for about 5 months now). She has also taking to chewing some furniture which she never had chewed before, but the carpets and the cage wires are CONSTANT. I thought perhaps this was boredom, but if it is I am failing at countering it -- she has 6 or 7 major toys around the room, all different, has places to hide and jump on to, and spends approx. 10-15 hours per day out of her cage.

This is my first time owning a rabbit, so I am hoping that perhaps some of you with more experience might have light to shed on this situation and offer possible solutions.

Thank you.

Could you attach a puppy pen to her cage so that she has more space all the time? I am guessing she is shut up at night for 9-14 hours...which is a long time to be shut in a cage for a bun, especially at night when they are most active. What size is her cage? Unfortunately it is a buns natural behaviour to dig and chew...especially carpet, furniture and wires. She needs an area that is totally bunny proof (I've learnt the hard way after mine chewed the wall paper and leather settee...and not out of boredom..just natural behaviour).

Is she neutered? Maybe a bunny husband would help ( though mine have bunny friends and still chew everything!)

fruitandnutcake said:

Could you attach a puppy pen to her cage so that she has more space all the time? I am guessing she is shut up at night for 9-14 hours...which is a long time to be shut in a cage for a bun, especially at night when they are most active. What size is her cage? Unfortunately it is a buns natural behaviour to dig and chew...especially carpet, furniture and wires. She needs an area that is totally bunny proof (I've learnt the hard way after mine chewed the wall paper and leather settee...and not out of boredom..just natural behaviour).

Is she neutered? Maybe a bunny husband would help ( though mine have bunny friends and still chew everything!)

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Hi. Thanks for the advice. Stella is spayed. And as far as a bunny pen she stays in my bedroom ( I have a house with roommates, so its the only room she is in) and its too small to attach a pen. However, she is out of her cage anytime I am home and I leave her cage open at night, so she has free reign of the whole bedroom for about 8-10 hours at night and then usually for about 2-3 hours during other times of the day.

All I can think of at the moment, is to bunny proof your carpet the best you can..may not look great, but maybe cover the carpet with fleeces, blankets (although she will probably chew these). Maybe even offcuts of non-slip lino or mats . Bunnies will chew, and if you are renting, can be a problem if she continues to chew everything. Also it isn't good for buns to swallow carpet as it can cause gut blockages.

If you have wallpaper, then you will probably need to protect that. I've seen pictures of cardboard being used, but most buns chew & eat cardboard too. I use puppy panels & metal outdoor run panels around walls that need protection. And now I have mini panels (sold as small pet play pen :lol around the base of my settee! C&C cubes can be used around furniture, but these can be expensive & hard to find the right type.

Buns will also chew through wires in a split second...so make sure any wires are well protected!

Does she have willow balls to chew? Apple branches or hawthorn branches can be a tasty distraction, but may be difficult to get hold of.

Why dont you try the old faithful used toilet roll tube with a tasty treat inside it, wrapped in hay and shoved in the toilet roll.. mine play with a toilet roll for hours.. You can even buy a small rabbit toy ball and shove treats or pellets inide.?

Good luck!!!

Fee xxx