New toys/habitat

[Lily4]

I now only have one bunny named Lily, her sister passed away in December. Lily currently lives in an x pen in the hallway. My parents do not like her and have been trying to convince me to rehome her for months. They are against spending a lot of money on new toys for her even though I pay for it. I'd like to move her to my room however my parents are convinced she will destroy everything. What can I do to protect the carpet, baseboards, and furniture from her? She loves to destroy stuff but won't eat it. She also needs some new toys to keep her entertained while I'm at school. I can't spend very much time with her right now because my schedule is so chaotic but soon it should be better. I feel bad leaving her alone for so long without much to do. She won't play with any toys I've purchased in the past unless they involve food. She spends a lot of the day chewing on the bars of her cage in boredom. I'm not sure what to do. I want to buy more structures or toys for her cage but I'm not sure what I can get that she will actually be interested in.

 

[Mariam+Theo]

Has she been spayed? That may help with destructive behavior. Moving her into your bedroom would be a great idea. She could free roam which will prevent her from chewing cage bars (which can cause teeth issues). When you first move her into your room you should have her in the playpen until she gets used to the room. The floor of the playpen can be a tarp, covered with towels and/or a rug. You can protect the baseboards with these grids: https://www.amazon.com/AHOME-Storage-Shelving-Bookcase-Shelves/dp/B07DMDW6G7/ref=sr_1_1 crid=2CA2SC6WSQ4XM&keywords=grid+shelving&qid=1582036116&sprefix=grid+sh%2Caps%2C189&sr=8-1. Just make sure you zip tie them together because the little attachment pieces don't work well. Once she gets used to the room you can gradually start free-roaming her. I'm pretty sure you can protect furniture with the grids too.
Check out these links to the 2019 and 2020 indoor housing thread:
https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threads/2020-indoor-cages-add-your-photo.96731/
https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threads/2019-cages-add-your-photo.93422/

 

[Apollo’s Slave]

Apollo is in my room. Wires are covered with a hose because we couldn’t find a wire covers when we got him (which would be ideal: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=wire+protector&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari#imgrc=S7GkMi4wrQhtuM)

Could i see a picture of your room to get an idea of what you could do?

 

[Mariam+Theo]

I also meant to mention in my post above that some great homemade toys are toilet paper/paper towel tubes. You can stuff them with hay and your rabbit will love them! Cardboard boxes can be great houses too. Cut a hole in the side of the box and your rabbit will have fun chewing and sitting on top of it. Another idea is a cardboard feeder. Below is one that I made. It is 100% cardboard. The cardboard attachments are connected by cutting the main cardboard piece and pushing the cardboard attachments through. 3 of the cardboard cubbies have bottoms on them to put treats in, and the others don't so that you can fill them with hay. The little hanging toys are also 100% cardboard and are made by folding the cardboard and poking holes in it. You then string them on a thin piece of cardboard and tie the end off.
*Sorry about the tissue paper hanging down in front of the feeder.

 

[Lily4]

My main issue with her being in my room is that my parents are concerned she will poop everywhere. She was spayed over a year ago. I will be redecorating my room soon so I do not have a picture of the set up. I have a queen size bed that I need to prevent her from jumping on or hiding under. What can I do for that?

 

[Apollo’s Slave]

You probably need to get her litter trained before your parents will even consider letting her in your room. There are many videos and tutorials on it. It took Apollo a mere four days until he got it but it might take her longer! As for jumping on your bed, pet shops sell a kind of repellant for that. And as for hiding under, it’s very likely that she will do that, if you don’t want her to, you can block it off with her xpen or put storage tubs under.

 

[Mariam+Theo]

She will need to be litter trained. Here is a link on litter training: https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/litter-training.html. And to keep her from getting underneath your bed you can also use the grids.

 

[Lily4]

She is litter box trained but they dont trust her.

 

[Apollo’s Slave]

She is litter box trained but they dont trust her.

Oh that’s great then! How about asking for a test run! 7 day’s in your room and then you can make a decision. On the first few days if she’s destructive you can just find ways to fix it

 

[Lily4]

I like that idea! Thank you!

 

[Lily4]

How can I protect the carpet?

 

[Apollo’s Slave]

How can I protect the carpet?

I’m using old sheets at the moment on my carpet (which does not look the best). But it works and it will probably be best for the trial. After that you could buy an area rug or foam mats if she’s allowed to stay!
I hold the sheet down with the furniture in my room in case Apollo digs.
If your parents say anything about the way it looks (which my mum often rants about ), ikea has some pretty cheap rugs

 

[Lily4]

Thanks for the idea!

 

[Cloverhouse]

You can buy plain jute rope at most DIY stores like Lowe's or Home Depot. lengths of that with knots tied in it make good safe toys. You can get it by the foot in nice big widths.

Many bunnies are fascinated by things hanging in their way and if you leave the rope hanging with the end just above eye level they will often spend hours trying to grab it and chew it.

Many rabbits like toys that they can make noise with, bang, throw, jingle etc. you can make or buy those. Cardboard oatmeal canisters are fun. You can buy long tunnel like boxes at the UPS store that make fun tunnels for them.