Nibbler living up to his name. . . .

[cardcrimson]

Hi all,

Nibbler has made it through his first three weeks with us and seems to be doing fine. He has a relatively large hutch with several things to chew on. He has a constant supply of hay and a half a cup of pellets daily.

However, when we let him out for his exercise, he'll stop to chew on anything he can find. Wood table legs, faux leather drum set seats, leather brief cases, magazines, papers, balloons, plastic Monster High gargoyles; basically anything and everything. Is this typical, or do we have a chewer? He's done this from the beginning, hence his name. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Steve

PS Nibbler is a mini lop, around 15 weeks old.

PPS He gnawed off a glued on Valentine's candy heart from my daughter's decorative box. Should I be concerned about the year old sugar?

 

[missyscove]

It sounds like you need to work on your rabbit proofing. Basically your rabbit shouldn't have access to any furniture you care about. Be sure to cover any electrical cords (you can usually find tubing meant to hold several cords; others use aquarium air tubing) and pick up things off your floor. He may grow out of it and you may be able to prevent him from chewing on some things by rubbing white bar soap on them, but things like papers and magazines will always be tempting.

My rabbits live in my bedroom which I essentially designed around my rabbits. My bed has storage drawers underneath it so they can't get under it. All of my cords are covered and I have gates I put up in front of my closet (which came without drawers). After Timmy died and I got a new pair of rabbits, I learned that they enjoyed nibbling on my shoe laces and the books on my bookshelf. I moved all my books up a shelf and started putting my shoes in my closet. Honestly having rabbits running around on my floor keeps me motivated to stay organized.

As for the candy heart. It probably won't do any longterm damage but that much sugar in one go certainly isn't good for him. Keep an eye on his poops to make sure it isn't having any effects on his GI.

 

[Blue eyes]

His age might also have something to do with it. Maybe he won't chew so much after he's neutered.
Bunny proofing is a must. It can't be in reach if you don't want it chewed. Some chew more than others (as you know) but until he's neutered, maybe it'd be best to either up the proofing or use a couple x-pens attached together to create a "bunny safe" exercise area.

 

[cardcrimson]

Thanks for the replies. I'm hoping it's his age. Bunny proofing would mean we take everything out of the room and that's not feasible. He literally will chew on anything he can get his teeth into. We just can't leave him alone.

He loves his exercise when he's out though; he'll circle the two rooms at warp speed a couple of times, then rest, then he's off again. Great fun to watch.