digging alternatives

[purplepeacock]

amongst being a chewer Liffey is a big time digger. he is literally destroying his cage between the digging and chewing. doug and i are going to have to replace the coroplast flooring this week too. the thing is i want him to be able to dig since he obviously loves it but i'm not about to put dirt in his cage. i put an extra litter box in the cage with carefresh in it. and he's been digging in that but it's all kicked around the cage and nothing left in the litter pan yet he's still trying to dig at the bottom of the empty litter pan.

so i'm kinda out of ideas....right at this moment he figured out how to unhook the litter pan from the side of the cage and is throwing it around the pen. there has to be something i can do to give him something to dig at.......help!!

 

[Maureen Las]

You could get clean sand ( they sell it at like walmart, Shopco, K mart etc ) to place in a child's sandbox. then you could get something larger than a litter box...how about a kid's sand box ( and/ or any large plastic box type thing and let him dig his little heart out. I don't, however, know how much room you have......:?

 

[purplepeacock]

i'm wondering if i just get him a really big cat litter pan that has deeper sides and put something in it that he can dig. that might work. i could take a few cardboard boxes from work and shred them to pieces to put in the pan then he can throw that around. hmmm.......onder:

 

[Becknutt]

I have a digger/chewer also and the BEST solution I found (from another forum member)is a telephone book. Get a big fat copy of the yellow pages. They will dig at the pages and shred them up. You do have to clean up shredded paper, but it sure beats them chewing carpet, etc!

 

[PepnFluff]

My two are BIG diggers, they're outside so they can have dirt. But when they're inside i get a plastic box and put a old towel in it all scrunched up and they dig and pull at it, it's their favourite toy lol, just make sure its an old towel because it will be destroyed haha.They love phone books too.

 

[kherrmann3]

Shredded paper in a box is another good variation! Berry-Boo is a digger, and she loves the box! The bottom level of her "tower" on her NIC cage had 2-3 towels piled up at the bottom and a nesting box. She pushes the towels in the box, then digs them back out. Hours of entertainment!

 

[purplepeacock]

i love the phone book idea. i wish that a few months ago when we all got our new phone books delivered and no body wanted any that i grabbed a few extras. i only have one. maybe i'll see if work has an extra one. or maybe doug's mom has a few. i think he's just really really pissed off. i had to take the vinyl tile out of his cage.....b/c he'd chew it....that really made him mad. i came home today and everything in his cage is knocked over and moved around. even his litter pan which he's usually so fussy about was knocked over and nasty. i'm not sure what the deal is with him. at least the birds are behaving!

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Not sure how you have the litter pan attached to the cage, but with my first bun, who liked to toss his around, we actually drilled holes on either side of the back of the pan and used zip ties to attach it to the cage(given you have an NIC or dog crate type cage). Can't be tipped over. But he could still lift it up a bit. Worth a shot I suppose.

The phone book and shredded paper in a box are also good ideas for digging, I've used them too!

 

[kherrmann3]

I bought a litter pan that attaches to the side of the cage with plastic clips. SuperPet sells them. They're called their "long john" corner litter pan. Here is the link to Foster & Smith where they have them (visual idea). The round things on the back lock on to the cage from outside. You just pop them off to remove the litter pan. Toby has yet to destroy his.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=6067+15323+17016&pcatid=17016

 

[Flashy]

If you want to give him something good to dig in, you can try under bed storage boxes. I use those as litter trays for some of mine and the sides are quite high, so very little comes out, and they can get in and have a great time. Blankets and fleece can be good for digging, or just hay, in a high enough sides box. If Liffey is not neutered, or is recently neutered then this behaviour SHOULD die down (at least to a certain extent). Also, just make sure this is not a reason for this destructive behaviour though because pain can make buns destructive. Chances are he's not in pain, but just thought I would mention it

 

[purplepeacock]

he's been better since doug and i made him a new cage. i'm going to try the newspaper thing and see how he likes it. i'm visiting my parents this weekend so next week i'll see how the newspaper thing goes.

 

[Maureen Las]

I give my buns big cardboard boxes (like the big ones the hay comes in) and cut an opening for them to go in..

from then on they will rip and shred the box from the inside ..it is a great toy.
"they will end up taking it apart until it has to be tossed and a new box introduced.

 

[BethM]

I put a phone book (cover removed) inside a little box with the flaps folded in. They don't use it very much, but when they do, they'll sit on top of the book and tear on it for a long time. The box, which is low enough that they can jump into, helps to keep the shreds contained.