Chewing baseboard

[Teddy101]

Hi fellow bunny parents,


Ok, you may notice that i keep on asking new questions EVERY minute. Its because i really care about Teddy's wellbeing. This Topic is about teddy chewing the wall. My walls are painted. I am so scared because I think that paint is toxic to them. What should I do? I was thinking of spraying apple cider vinagar, Which is safe for bunnies. Do you guess think this method would work?

 

[Happy Bunno]

Not really sure... I'm not really an expert. But I don't think that spraying it is necessary. I might be wrong though.

 

[JBun]

If he's trying to chew the walls or baseboard, the best thing to do is block access to them. You can use something like puppy playpen wire panels. Cardboard might work temporarily, but you would need to keep checking to make sure your bun isn't chewing through it.

If the paint or paint underneath the other layers of paint is really old, it can potentially be toxic. Really old paint used to have lead in it, which is toxic. If it's all newer paint, then it's not good for them to eat but shouldn't be toxic.

 

[Blue eyes]

You'll need to block access. Those bitter sprays (or vinegar) only work with some rabbits but then only temporarily. As soon as it dissipates or evaporates, bunny will go right back to it.

Intact rabbits tend to be excessive in their destructive chewing.

If it is just the baseboards, you can tac a 1 x 2 or 1 x 3 in front of the baseboards. If it is the wall surface, you'll need to block it with something like an x-pen or plexiglass, etc.

Here's a pic of what I've done to block baseboard chewing...

 

[samoth]

The biggest concern with paint is the possibility of lead. Old houses often used lead-based paint. I believe this is something that must be legally disclosed during the sale/purchase of a house (at least it is here in Michigan).

I got lucky with rabbits that don't chew the baseboards (although my doe has a thing for pulling up carpet). I've seen some stuff online about ways to protect baseboards (search Google for phrases like "bunny proofing house" or "house rabbit baseboard"). Also, I believe Blue Eyes and a couple other posters here have posted pictures of adaptations they made to their house.

This link is something I was considering making before I got my rabbits. It seemed the easiest option for corners, and doesn't require nailing anything into walls.

For wall corners and edges of doors, hardware stores sell transparent plastic v-shaped strips that protect these area.

Also, for protecting the bottoms of bookshelves and couches, I find NIC grids connected with zip ties to work great (see attached pictures).

 

[Teddy101]

thank you all for the replys and advice. I guess i migh try the nic grids or use playpen

 

[Imbrium]

Rabbits LIKE bitter stuff like no-chew sprays and vinegar. Oh, and they're not deterred by Ivory (scent/dye free) soap or freaking hot sauce.

Once a rabbit decides they like destroying something, the only way to stop them is to block their access. Nothing inspires creative "thwartation devices" quite like naughty rabbits... although cats come pretty close. I remember when our 17 year old cat found out he could knock the kitchen trash can over and once he learned how, he did it constantly! I used scrap 1x2s and 1x3s to build a holder for the trash can that had wide "feet" to it that prevented it from being tipped even by a behemoth of a cat. NIC grids and hardware stores are your friend!

Assuming you don't mind a few screw holes in your walls, these cheap cable clips are an easy/lazy way to attach NIC grids/playpen segments to other surfaces. Another viable option is screw eyes + zip ties... or carabiners, if you wish to be able to "open" a segment of barrier. For example, I screwed two cable clips into each side of the "doorway" type opening to our patio and used carabiners to clip a door made of two x-pen panels to them so that I can close off our 2nd floor patio to let rabbits run around on it when the weather's nice... but we can take the door down when we're done so humans can leave, hehe.

 

[Teddy101]

Thanks again!!!!!And yeah, I tried the aplle cider vinigar and he acctually liked it, Uhh,