I could use some help with my naughty bunny!

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Plex

Plex

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Joined
Jul 7, 2012
Messages
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Location
Perth, , Australia
Hi all,

About a month ago I added a new bunny to my family, and she and my other rabbit were bonded within four days, lucky me! My first bunny is an angel, he's perfectly litter trained, never chews anything or goes places he shouldn't...the new bun is a furry little demon!

Her previous owner kept her in a little hutch for days on end, didn't feed her right, and I can imagine that chewing was probably the only way she had to entertain herself. I thought that with some freedom she would settle down.

My buns free-range 24/7, we don't put them in hutches. Nana (the new rabbit) chews EVERYTHING. And she doesn't just chew, she eats things. I'm worried she'll end up with a bowel obstruction, because I've caught her eating rubber flip-flops, and my coffee table...anything she can reach. She can reach everything too, because she's a climber, and I've found her in places that she shouldn't have been able to get to.

She is not allowed on the couch, but persistently jumps on it. I have tried clapping, and shouting "No!", then pushing her off...but it is a game to her. She has actually looked at me, THUMPED, and then jumped straight back up. While this impertinence is quite cute, it has made training and dicipline impossible. I've tried the same thing when she starts chewing, removing the object and handing her an actual chew toy...but chewing just seems to be her way of investigating things.

Can anyone offer any advice, please?
 
We had to block off a lot of our stuff to keep it pristine from some. We finally gave them run of the bathroom,kitchen, and family room and considered everything to be sacrificial. only let them have stuff that wouldn't hurt them. Good luck, you'll need it.
 
I completely understand. Twigs has eaten huge holes in the couch and has not started jumping on the dinning room chairs and eating those. My husband even found him on the table the other night with his head in the kids Halloween candy (don't worry he didn't eat any). We quickly learned to keep the chairs pushed in. I wish I could offer advice, but I'm just here to say your not alone.

Someone did suggest rubbing Ivory soap on what ever it is you don't want eaten. But the idea of sitting on a soap couch has kept us from trying it yet.
 
Have you tried a spray bottle? I've had it work with some bunnies; however, Q-tip likes the spritz...I guess she finds it refreshing. There's also the bitter spray for stuff you don't want her to chew (of course, this little creature likes the taste of it...).
 
You could always confine her to one room and take anything you don't want her getting to out of it. Or you could build a play pen out of storage cubes. That's what I did for my bun CoCoa and she loves it.
 
I'm glad I'm not the only one! I will definitely try a spray bottle. No she is not spayed, but she will be in the next couple of months and I'm hoping that will help. I read that spraying vinegar on things can help repel naughty bunnies, would that help?

The problem with confining her is that she and Nibbler are great chums, and are glued to each other...I'd hate to separate them at any time, but I don't want to punish my well-behaved boy by confining him too.
 
I have a naughty one too, thank goodness he's so cute or he would be in real trouble. Panda is so food motivated he can get to things I never thought possible.

Last night I was getting ready for bed and it was partially my fault because his dinner was late. He would run across the bed, over me, to the trashcan, and pull out used klenex, sit on the bed to nibble them, which I ofcourse take away. He then jumps down, does a lap around the room, and starts the process all over again.

I can just hear him in my head "Oh look at your poor starving rabbit, forced to eat klenex from the trash to keep from wasting away to nothing!"

Did I mention that Panda is a chubby little guy? :p

Got any nomms for me?

IMG_1156.jpg

 
My Pip decided he wanted to eat ALL my baseboards in the bunny room. SO I had to cover them with cardboard. My whole room is literally like living in a cardboard box :D I hope you have luck with the spray bottle. I did it to Big Bunny once and he just shook it off and continued the bad behavior. Plus I felt so bad for spraying him in the face, I ran over immediately and wiped him down and apologized profusely...
 
cwolfec wrote:
My Pip decided he wanted to eat ALL my baseboards in the bunny room. SO I had to cover them with cardboard. My whole room is literally like living in a cardboard box :D I hope you have luck with the spray bottle. I did it to Big Bunny once and he just shook it off and continued the bad behavior. Plus I felt so bad for spraying him in the face, I ran over immediately and wiped him down and apologized profusely...
Click to expand...

Have you tried the Ivory soap. It seems to work well for several other bunny owners.
 
Plex wrote:
No she is not spayed, but she will be in the next couple of months and I'm hoping that will help.

The problem with confining her is that she and Nibbler are great chums, and are glued to each other...I'd hate to separate them at any time, but I don't want to punish my well-behaved boy by confining him too.
Click to expand...
If your two bunnies are bonded, separating them can break the bond. You might want to read up on the idea of bringing both to the vet when you have to spay her. Otherwise, she can return with unusual smells that will cause Nibbler to not recognize or accept her. I've heard others have difficulty with this... so just some food for thought. :wink
 
Panda is gorgeous :D!

Thanks so much for the info folks, very helpful! I have a spray bottle and it seems to be helping get the message through regarding the couch but I think I'll definitely have to review my bynny-proofing to stop the chewing. I can confine them to the larger room in the house together and remove pretty much everything from it.

Nana and Nibbler were best buddies after four days, I felt so lucky it happened so fast! I'll try the ivory soap too, and I'll definitely bring Nibbler along to the vet when Nana is spayed :)
 
I am exactly in the same boat as you. Mischa is the naughtiest bandit I have had out of all of my animals. She constantly jumps and wiggles into places that are forbidden, chewed through several headphones and microphones. She never chews things she's supposed to, like toys. She is a hazard to herself. She'll jump on my computer case (which I had to grid off, because she will have a hayday with my cords back there).

She's only 5 months (around there), so I imagine that having to be young has something to do with that, although she is spayed. My sanity is fraying just like my cords! haha
 
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