Bar chewing HELP

I am completely at my wit's end with princess Priscilla she continues to do well in most respects we have the sore hock issue under control and she's now mostly free range in the house however nighttime proves to be a nightmare literally I allowed her free range and she kept waking me up in the middle of the night by jumping on my head (how she gets on the bed with 3 legs is beyond me) so she got shut out but she chews the carpet in hallway so I then made up a dog crate by the bed but she wasn't happy with that either so I confined her to the spare room in a enclosure type set up as she can't be left unsupervised in there as she climbs up on to the boxes I have nowhere else for and has had a couple of falls however BAR CHEWING constantly she is affecting my sanity how to o stop it she has hay cubes hay stuffed tubes I provide forage before bed etc but I can't get her to stop

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willowflower27 said:

I am completely at my wit's end with princess Priscilla she continues to do well in most respects we have the sore hock issue under control and she's now mostly free range in the house however nighttime proves to be a nightmare literally I allowed her free range and she kept waking me up in the middle of the night by jumping on my head (how she gets on the bed with 3 legs is beyond me) so she got shut out but she chews the carpet in hallway so I then made up a dog crate by the bed but she wasn't happy with that either so I confined her to the spare room in a enclosure type set up as she can't be left unsupervised in there as she climbs up on to the boxes I have nowhere else for and has had a couple of falls however BAR CHEWING constantly she is affecting my sanity how to o stop it she has hay cubes hay stuffed tubes I provide forage before bed etc but I can't get her to stop

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Awh I really don't have any advice... Hopefully someone will...


But I just wanted to say.. What is it with girl buns [emoji38] ime they're such a PITA [emoji38][emoji38][emoji38] Well some can be.. Penelope is such a diva if I confine her at all, she bar chews and shakes the bars so hard til I return.. There's this ungodly amount of determination that she has [emoji38] if she wasn't so damn cute I think I'd lose it.

Could a pen in the spare room, with the door shut maybe work? They really are a pain sometimes..

Sending lots of hugs xx

dear willowflower27,-i love your setup!-rabbits are consummate chewers,-the only way they grind down their teeth,--therefore,try different grasses,ie timothy/orchard,some branches of fruit trees ie pear,apple..that given there may be a need of a couple mirrors-for companionship..my cottontail chewed on the side of his cage until I cut out a big hole,which he used to gain access to a dresser drawer for sleeping..his cage had no front door-ever..sincerely james waller from the other kent,wa.st usa

I have to say, I had this issue and we ended up moving house to resolve it! :lol:

I think I would go with having her back free range in your room. Her jumping up on the bed possibly will affect your sleep less than the constant bar chewing.

Sorry to hear you’re having issues. I almost lost the plot when it was me!

Archie used to chew the bars constantly and then Pip would join in the fun. It was because he didn't like being penned in. We gave them more freedom, but he still did it when locked away.

We finally broke the habit by ignoring the chewing. I think he'd learnt that chewing the bars drove us insane and we let him out. So we were reinforcing the behaviour.

So by not giving in and only letting him out when he was good he gave up.

So don't give madam any attention when she's chewing. Not even saying NO. Just ignore it...worth a go.

Give her something else like a cardboard box to chew, or line the bars with card so she chews that instead - although the sound of ripping card is quite loud in the middle of the night. Another option could be to line the bars with a very small weldmesh that she can't get her teeth round.

?Lonely and bored?

Isn't she just so pretty!

Babsie said:

?Lonely and bored?

Isn't she just so pretty!

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Forgot she was by herself. She could be bored. You could get her a friend?

Mervinius said:

Forgot she was by herself. She could be bored. You could get her a friend?

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Yes this could definitely help

Atticus was always trying to escape anywhere he was until he was bonded with Clementine, now he won't climb over puppy panels [emoji38]

Shimmer said:

Give her something else like a cardboard box to chew, or line the bars with card so she chews that instead - although the sound of ripping card is quite loud in the middle of the night. Another option could be to line the bars with a very small weldmesh that she can't get her teeth round.

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Ha yes, the sound of cardboard being chewed is really something, not to mention the hay tunnel ours have :lol:

Blossom is a bar chewer (even with a partner). We recently started putting them in a large pen at night as Jester was jumping on me in the middle the night. Thankfully Blossom has got used to it and instead of chewing all night, now only starts on the bars in the morning, when she wants out

Mervinius said:

Forgot she was by herself. She could be bored. You could get her a friend?

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Getting her a friend is not an option really she's a full time job and she has a few health issues that mean she isn't being spayed for a few months so she might not bond well and if I'm honest I'm not sure she's bored she has tunnels and hay cubes and forage some warm cuddly toys to snuggle with and honestly she will literally sit next to me and chew the bars even when I'm grooming her or she's grooming me she will suddenly have to bar chew it's like a compulsion if that makes sense she can be perfectly flopped on her side one second and the next it's like a switch flips and bar chewing commences and letting her free range at night is out unless I want to sport a haircut by bunny as she jumps on my head and starts nibbling my hair

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I would suggest a neutered boy even if she isnt spayed herself

once with a companion, her energies will be diverted to him

reminds me of when I introduced stropsey (neutered boy) to itsey and bitsey (unspayed sisters)...they chased him around the garden for a bit of "loving", continually nudging him with their noses...so funny to watch his face as he was pursued by a couple of eligible ladies