I have been having a lot of problems with Erik and Sofie's behavior lately. They have become utterly obsessed with going behind my new sofa and chewing the baseboards, as well as being unfriendly/borderline aggressive....
I know the typical culprit is boredom, but I'm to the point where I have no idea...I rotate their toys regularly and have bought them new ones. They are always fed and the majority of days get 4-5 hours of run-around time. Occasionally they are cooped up for a day but that isn't often. They always have fresh hay and water, and get fed their pellets 3x a week, etc....they get romaine lettuce/bell peppers/broccoli/whatever vegetable is in the fridge. Their diet isn't boring, I buy veggies and herbs just for them.
Eating, drinking, pooping, and activity are fine....but they are obsessed with the new sofa. Well, it isn't new, it's from my parent's house and it has a new slipcover on it, but they've smelled it before when I lived down there.
I'm really at a loss. I have no idea what to do to distract them from the sofa. It's become a contest. They know d*** good and well that they are not supposed to be going behind the sofa and chewing the baseboards. They know it very well, but they won't stop. I *know* that they know, because they're creeping up to it quietly while I'm sitting on it....they aren't stupid, and the yelling of "NO!" isn't doing very much anymore. I pretty much have to shake the (very heavy) sofa to get them from behind it/out of it. And it's constant...I can't sit there without (at the very least) Sofie trying to get behind it.
As a matter of fact, they've been extraordinarily destructive lately, chewing up the side of my ottoman and ripping up 3 corners of carpet in my apartment. They used to nibble on the baseboards occasionally but bitter spray would keep them off.....not so much anymore. They chew through the danged bitter spray.
I'm really at my wit's end right now, nothing I can do seems to stop them from chewing things. I've bought them new toys and rotated out their old ones, they're fed regularly, they have a hidey hole and a cat condo to play in. But they've completely revoked their toys and they're ripping up everything that's mine.
In terms of unfriendliness, Sofie has been worse than Erik but neither of them have come to me for petting. Erik used to hop up on my lap and even snuggle with me sometimes. Sofie used to chill out on the ottoman by my feet. But they have not wanted attention or anything but treats...and to chew on the frelling sofa/baseboards. She has bitten me HARD twice over the last 2-3 weeks.
This is a very big problem. I can't constantly be yelling/chasing them away from the bottom of the sofa. I could deal with them nibbling on the cover, but there are wires behind the sofa that they can get to, and I really don't want a couple of dead bunnies. I taped some of them to the wall, but the outlet is near the floor so there's nothing I can do for that.
This used to never really be a huge problem. I mean, they were bunnies and would sometimes chew on something they weren't supposed to. But never, ever, ever like this.
All of this aggression/anger has come out since I clipped their freaking nails. Really, I think that they're on a revenge path or something. Goodness I'm sorry for allowing you to walk properly, bunnies....
So yeah, I'm completely at a loss. They are ripping everything to shreds, have never done this before (even after nail clippings) and I'm going out of my mind. All I can do is put them in their cage, because I am constantly chasing them off. Yes I realize I'm not supposed to chase them off, but nothing else is stopping them from gnawing on a wire....I'm going crazy and I'm to the point where I want to cry. I know owning rabbits is occasionally difficult but it's never been like this, and I've had them for 4/5 years.
....help?
I know the typical culprit is boredom, but I'm to the point where I have no idea...I rotate their toys regularly and have bought them new ones. They are always fed and the majority of days get 4-5 hours of run-around time. Occasionally they are cooped up for a day but that isn't often. They always have fresh hay and water, and get fed their pellets 3x a week, etc....they get romaine lettuce/bell peppers/broccoli/whatever vegetable is in the fridge. Their diet isn't boring, I buy veggies and herbs just for them.
Eating, drinking, pooping, and activity are fine....but they are obsessed with the new sofa. Well, it isn't new, it's from my parent's house and it has a new slipcover on it, but they've smelled it before when I lived down there.
I'm really at a loss. I have no idea what to do to distract them from the sofa. It's become a contest. They know d*** good and well that they are not supposed to be going behind the sofa and chewing the baseboards. They know it very well, but they won't stop. I *know* that they know, because they're creeping up to it quietly while I'm sitting on it....they aren't stupid, and the yelling of "NO!" isn't doing very much anymore. I pretty much have to shake the (very heavy) sofa to get them from behind it/out of it. And it's constant...I can't sit there without (at the very least) Sofie trying to get behind it.
As a matter of fact, they've been extraordinarily destructive lately, chewing up the side of my ottoman and ripping up 3 corners of carpet in my apartment. They used to nibble on the baseboards occasionally but bitter spray would keep them off.....not so much anymore. They chew through the danged bitter spray.
I'm really at my wit's end right now, nothing I can do seems to stop them from chewing things. I've bought them new toys and rotated out their old ones, they're fed regularly, they have a hidey hole and a cat condo to play in. But they've completely revoked their toys and they're ripping up everything that's mine.
In terms of unfriendliness, Sofie has been worse than Erik but neither of them have come to me for petting. Erik used to hop up on my lap and even snuggle with me sometimes. Sofie used to chill out on the ottoman by my feet. But they have not wanted attention or anything but treats...and to chew on the frelling sofa/baseboards. She has bitten me HARD twice over the last 2-3 weeks.
This is a very big problem. I can't constantly be yelling/chasing them away from the bottom of the sofa. I could deal with them nibbling on the cover, but there are wires behind the sofa that they can get to, and I really don't want a couple of dead bunnies. I taped some of them to the wall, but the outlet is near the floor so there's nothing I can do for that.
This used to never really be a huge problem. I mean, they were bunnies and would sometimes chew on something they weren't supposed to. But never, ever, ever like this.
All of this aggression/anger has come out since I clipped their freaking nails. Really, I think that they're on a revenge path or something. Goodness I'm sorry for allowing you to walk properly, bunnies....
So yeah, I'm completely at a loss. They are ripping everything to shreds, have never done this before (even after nail clippings) and I'm going out of my mind. All I can do is put them in their cage, because I am constantly chasing them off. Yes I realize I'm not supposed to chase them off, but nothing else is stopping them from gnawing on a wire....I'm going crazy and I'm to the point where I want to cry. I know owning rabbits is occasionally difficult but it's never been like this, and I've had them for 4/5 years.
....help?
