Becoming destructive

[Marandbear]

I recently moved my bunny into a bigger cage and she seemed to be a lot happier until she started destroying everything! (She isn’t spayed yet) she has plenty of toys and it’s decently big and she gets fed twice A day. However, she rips her water bottle down, moves the cage, throws her litter everywhere, and most frustrating, she eats her floor! ( there just foam mats). I’ve tried giving her more free roaming, I’ve tried new toys for her, I even got her a tunnel. I’ve tried tucking her blankets so she couldn’t get to the floor, but she just rips that up too. I would really appreciate if anyone has any advice, I don’t want to get rid of her but it’s me having to reset up everything in her cage everyday.

 

[Niomi]

Could you post some pictures of her messy cage? What kind of litter and litter box do you use?

 

[Preitler]

Well, congratulations, you've got a rabbit

Unspayed does can have a big urge to dig, chew and to rearrange things, other rabbits too, but the one unspayed doe that I had in my apartment for 8 months outdid all others. Fury is now 9 years old, an outdoor bunny for 8 years, and her recent tunnel is more than 3 meters long...
It isn't destructive behaviour, it's ust what rabbits do, some more, some less, and it can change with time, if something gets destroyed the problem is that it was there in the first place.

You could try stiff cardboard as floor or vinyl flooring, and what works for me to deflect their urge to gnaw is to give them fresh tree branches, willow, ash and others. Also rearranging stuff so that she's ok where it is and securing things like water and food dishes can help.
A digging box might be worth a try too.
Toys..., rabbits don't play like cats or dogs, some enjoy rearranging things and throwing stuff out of the way, and doing other things that have their roots in their natural behaviour - like digging, ripping holes in things, biting cables.

Pictures really would help to point out possible flaws in your setup.

 

[Marandbear]

Well this is my first rabbit so i did a lot of research to get the best stuff for her. Keep in mind I just cleaned her cage completely last night. When I say toys it not like actual toys, there just stuff for her to chew on and she does like to move them around a lot. The picture is of the flooring that she won’t stop chewing on.

 

[Marandbear]

I am aware it looks a lot more crowders than it actually is, she has plenty of room she just moves everywhere. Also if anyone knows her breed id love to know! I’ve tried looking it up and I never could find exactly what she is. I also rescued her from a feed store so they didn’t have any records

 

[JBun]

Is this flooring a change from what she used to have, and if so, what was her previous flooring? How old is she and how long have you had her?

 

[Marandbear]

Her flooring has been the same, she just continues to chew it up no matter what I do. I’ve had her for about a year. I got her from a feed store so I’m not %100 how old she is but I would say about 1-2 years old.

 

[Roo1234]

You could put a tarp underneath the cage with all the edges sticking out so she couldn’t chew them or move them, that’s what I do

 

[Momma Luvbun]

For flooring, may I suggest an area rug, where the edges are far from inside the enclosure.
She may be bored. Maybe a partner (after she is fixed)?
Try putting a layer of hay over her litter. Buns tend to eat and poop at the same time, but maybe having the hay in there will prevent her from throwing the litter and box.
Water, try a heavy dish. (This being said), my buns (free roam) only ever throw their dinner pellet bowls never their water.

 

[Indywtf]

Does she get out for some zoomies twice a day? Not sure how she can burn off excess energy in that small of an area, but we have only ever free roamed so it may be fine.

 

[JBun]

The main problem is her pen set up needs alterations with rabbit proofing and a set up that is better suited to your rabbit. Foam puzzle mats only work for rabbits that aren't inclined to dig or chew, which doesn't sound like your rabbit. Litter boxes need a different set up for rabbits that like to dig in them, a layer of hay over the litter will sometimes work, but for other rabbits a rabbit safe screen placed over the litter layer is sometimes necessary. Having to make cage set up alterations is part of the experience of being a rabbit owner. I can't say how many changes I've had to make with my rabbits over the years. It's trial and error finding the best set up that works for your particular rabbit and for you.

Some changes you need to make are, the flooring needs to be changed to something more rabbit proof, like textured lino or a rubberized chew resistant exercise mat, and you need to make sure the edges are outside her enclosure so she can't chew on them. Changing her litter box set up and other rabbit proofing measures are also probably needed.

Other contributing factors could be the fact that she's not spayed and could be acting out hormonally, and if so then getting her spayed could help some. It could also have to do with diet if she is fed a diet high in concentrated pellets with not enough grass hay, as she will fill up on pellets then have too much time on her 'paws' to get bored and get into mischief. So a very limited pellet diet with free fed grass hay can also help reduce boredom levels as they are then too busy eating hay most of the time.

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/housing-options.html
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/setting-up-a-cage.html
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/litter-training.html
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Litter_training
https://bunnyproof.com/
https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/

 

[Marandbear]

Does she get out for some zoomies twice a day? Not sure how she can burn off excess energy in that small of an area, but we have only ever free roamed so it may be fine.

I let her out about for a couple hours a day but I work 4 jobs and go to school so it’s not like I can just let her out all the time.