Spikethebunny
Well-Known Member
I'm not sure what to do about Spike. He has always been a very chewy bunny. As in, he chews EVERYTHING. We even sometimes find holes in our shirts and pants after he pays us a visit. The problem is, he generally also swallows what he chews, instead of spitting it out. This limits us in a lot of ways. He is neutered and lives in a large dog pen. When we are home, that is open and he is free range (though he mostly chooses to stay in his pen all day - even when the door is open). But due to the excessive chewing and his ability to get out of the bunny-proofed areas no matter what we do, we do close his pen when we are out or sleeping. We have a very small apartment, so are pretty much always in the same room as him, even at night when the pen is closed. He has a gazillion toys, hay mats, tunnels, and absolutely loves chowing down on his never-ending Tim hay. There is almost always someone home with him, and we play with him daily as he is very social. Hubby is usually even up playing with him till at least 2am since that is when he goes to bed. There is no lack of attention or playthings. Literally the only time this little dude does not get attention is from 2am-6am when I get up. But the last couple weeks, Spike has taken to obsessively rattling and chewing the bars of his pen at night, to the point where it wakes us up (the other night, I got four hours of sleep because of him). I don't know what to do. His teeth look fine (not long) and he still eats hay constantly. I've tried changing up his toys, giving him more hay...We've tried ignoring him when he does it, giving him attention, giving him food...anything to try to get him to stop, but he isn't. Short from sleeping in the pen with him, he honestly can't get anymore attention from us. I'm getting so tired and frustrated with him because I'm not sleeping. Leaving the pen open overnight is not an option with him. We tried once, and it did not go well. Does anyone have any suggestions to get him to stop rattling the bars?
The other thing I need suggestions for is the bottom of his pen. Originally, he was on carpet, but he kept eating that so we took it away and replaced it with those styrofoam playmats for kids. He ate those, too. Now, he has towels strewn about the pen, which he loves sleeping and running on, but also loves eating. We keep finding giant holes in them. Does anyone have any flooring suggestions for a pen for a bunny that chews everything?
The other thing I need suggestions for is the bottom of his pen. Originally, he was on carpet, but he kept eating that so we took it away and replaced it with those styrofoam playmats for kids. He ate those, too. Now, he has towels strewn about the pen, which he loves sleeping and running on, but also loves eating. We keep finding giant holes in them. Does anyone have any flooring suggestions for a pen for a bunny that chews everything?