Rabbit with a taste for rubber- any suggestions?

[TeddyTruly]

Hello! My 10 month old rabbit seems to like eating rubber. Ofc thats not a good thing, so I've removed all wire and cords from my room. But, my 10y old brother brought his (rubber cased) ipad in when I asked him to check on my rabbit while I was at school. He left it in there. Needless to say, my bunny chewed on it. Thankfully he only nibbled a bit of it, and it was over a day ago so I think I'm out of the woods (hopefully, hes been eating and drinking normally), but any ideas to discourage him from doing it? He has several wooden chew toys, all of which he uses,, but only when rubber isnt an option. I am also worried about rubber clotting in his stomach, and causing GI stasis over time, or worsening it if he ever has stasis. As long as he does not eat any more rubber, should the cover have passed through his gut already? Should I give him stasis medication? Or is there anything else I should do, if rubber is still lying in his stomach. Needless to say, my brother wont be checking on my bunny with his ipad anymore, though I don't blame him. Mostly worried about the rubber clogging in his gut, as he has already eaten the grip of a rabbit brush, and part of an ipad cover in the span of little over a month..
please, any help would be greatly appreciated. I've been worried sick about him, even though he shows no discomfort.

 

[Blue eyes]

If he's acting normal and pooping normal, then there shouldn't be cause for alarm. Of course you'll need to keep him from getting access to anything rubber from now on. Your rabbit isn't unusual. Rabbits will often chew cords or anything else they feel like. Half the buttons on our TV remote control have been chewed off!

Eating plenty of hay will help push things along through the gut. Refresh the hay a few times per day to encourage more hay eating.

Nothing like a rabbit to encourage us to keep things picked up and put away!

 

[Bluemush]

Hello! My 10 month old rabbit seems to like eating rubber. Ofc thats not a good thing, so I've removed all wire and cords from my room. But, my 10y old brother brought his (rubber cased) ipad in when I asked him to check on my rabbit while I was at school. He left it in there. Needless to say, my bunny chewed on it. Thankfully he only nibbled a bit of it, and it was over a day ago so I think I'm out of the woods (hopefully, hes been eating and drinking normally), but any ideas to discourage him from doing it? He has several wooden chew toys, all of which he uses,, but only when rubber isnt an option. I am also worried about rubber clotting in his stomach, and causing GI stasis over time, or worsening it if he ever has stasis. As long as he does not eat any more rubber, should the cover have passed through his gut already? Should I give him stasis medication? Or is there anything else I should do, if rubber is still lying in his stomach. Needless to say, my brother wont be checking on my bunny with his ipad anymore, though I don't blame him. Mostly worried about the rubber clogging in his gut, as he has already eaten the grip of a rabbit brush, and part of an ipad cover in the span of little over a month..
please, any help would be greatly appreciated. I've been worried sick about him, even though he shows no discomfort.

Hi teddytruly,
I know this post is 7 months old, just wanted to share my bun also has a taste for silicone/ rubber products since he was a young one.
He has chewed up a number of Apple covers, wires. Some say it’s like chewing on roots, they love that chewy texture.
He’s also chewed up remote buttons, gaming controller joystick and the silicone casing, my mug coasters ( made of rubber).
I don’t know why he is so attracted to eating it, today he is more than 2yrs old and still seeks it out, in fact yesterday he stole my Apple Pencil and was making a run with it and today he found a coaster on my table and chewed up a big piece.
As blue eyes said give plenty of hay, keep an eye and also plenty of space to run around so he has gut movement.
I monitor his stools to make sure he is pooping and eating well. so far he is doing well. hope ur little one is doing well.

 

[lilewis]

There must be a non-harmful spray/liquid somewhere that would create an odor/taste that rabbits don't like, (but that we could live with) just to be wiped onto the wires, furniture, apple pencils, and anything else that we don't want damaged or is dangerous to our bunnies. The odor must extend only an inch or two away from the object and last a long time. Only one application could train the bunnies not to chew that object.

If there isn't one now, we need to find a chemist who can create something! Not only will it protect our 'stuff' the chemist who creates it can make a lot of money!

If there is such a thing, please post a link so I can buy it!

 

[lilewis]

Followup to my last post above, since I don't see a way to delete it:

I just checked Amazon and see many items of bunny repellents.
Are any of these actually safe, and if so, would it make sense to spray it on a cloth and then rub the cloth along dangerous power wires, and maybe even some furniture or other objects we don't want the bunny to chew?

 

[Preitler]

The only repellent I use to protect their outdoor hutchges from beeing eaten is diluted rabbit urine - they don't chew soiled stuff, and imo it does protect the wood parts.

Some "deterrents" that are bitter may work with dogs, rabbits do like bitter stuff.

Inside, no way around bunny proofing. Especially cables and cords need to put out of reach. and rubber stuff, well,....

 

[lilewis]

The only repellent I use to protect their outdoor hutchges from beeing eaten is diluted rabbit urine - they don't chew soiled stuff, and imo it does protect the wood parts.

Some "deterrents" that are bitter may work with dogs, rabbits do like bitter stuff.

Inside, no way around bunny proofing. Especially cables and cords need to put out of reach. and rubber stuff, well,....

Thanks for your reply. Our bunny ate some of the leg padding on the recliner and it's now longer comfortable.. I'm looking at new recliners but I don't want to start collecting his urine.

 

[JBun]

Followup to my last post above, since I don't see a way to delete it:

I just checked Amazon and see many items of bunny repellents.
Are any of these actually safe, and if so, would it make sense to spray it on a cloth and then rub the cloth along dangerous power wires, and maybe even some furniture or other objects we don't want the bunny to chew?

Those advertised bunny repellent sprays like bitter apple, rarely work. In fact some buns actually like the taste of that. But you can always give it a try and see if your bun is one of the rare ones that doesn't like it.

Rubbing a bar of plain ivory soap on the surface of something you want to discourage a bun from chewing, will sometimes deter them. Not always, but with some buns it works. You do have to reapply on occasion.

For electric wires, the best and safest thing is protective covers, blocking access, or moving somewhere a bun is unable to access them.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Bunny-proofing
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/bunny-proofing.html

 

[lilewis]

Those advertised bunny repellent sprays like bitter apple, rarely work. In fact some buns actually like the taste of that. But you can always give it a try and see if your bun is one of the rare ones that doesn't like it.

Rubbing a bar of plain ivory soap on the surface of something you want to discourage a bun from chewing, will sometimes deter them. Not always, but with some buns it works. You do have to reapply on occasion.

For electric wires, the best and safest thing is protective covers, blocking access, or moving somewhere a bun is unable to access them.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Bunny-proofing
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/bunny-proofing.html

JBun. Wires are now protected. The only area he's chewed on and is still exposed is the bottom cushioning of my recliner. I like the suggestion of ivory soap. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

I boxed in the sides and the recliner portion of our chairs--we could still recline, but our bunnies didn't chew or get under them anymore--always considered all the furniture in the family room as sacrificial anyways. Was not disappointed. The biggest hurdle was getting to tuck her chair in at the computer--fixed the sound system wiring twice, but couldn't a 3rd time--someone went without sound for 3 + months--only was done by one bunny and she could not move the chair on her own.

 

[lilewis]

I boxed in the sides and the recliner portion of our chairs--we could still recline, but our bunnies didn't chew or get under them anymore--always considered all the furniture in the family room as sacrificial anyways. Was not disappointed. The biggest hurdle was getting to tuck her chair in at the computer--fixed the sound system wiring twice, but couldn't a 3rd time--someone went without sound for 3 + months--only was done by one bunny and she could not move the chair on her own.

A month ago our bunny ate a few inches of the cloth off the lowest part of the recliner's footrest. I covered it by screwing a small board over it. It now doesn't look very pretty - but so far I think he got the message. If he tries it again, I'll try to use the soap method Jbun suggested.

 

[AshAndMaple]

There must be a non-harmful spray/liquid somewhere that would create an odor/taste that rabbits don't like, (but that we could live with) just to be wiped onto the wires, furniture, apple pencils, and anything else that we don't want damaged or is dangerous to our bunnies. The odor must extend only an inch or two away from the object and last a long time. Only one application could train the bunnies not to chew that object.

If there isn't one now, we need to find a chemist who can create something! Not only will it protect our 'stuff' the chemist who creates it can make a lot of money!

If there is such a thing, please post a link so I can buy it!

I use Grannicks Bitter Apple Spray (image attached) - it works for my buns I've found I only have to use it for a few days at a time if they're interested in one particular spot, and then when they learn that it tastes bad they give up. I've also sprayed it on furniture to stop them weeing on it.

I think partly it depends on your rabbit unfortunately - but I've heard this spray is a much better deterrent than most of them, and it's definitely rabbit safe

The taste lingers on your fingers once you've sprayed it - and I can tell you for a fact it tastes absolutely disgusting! I couldn't detect even a hint of apple

I had a quick look on the US version of Amazon, and it looks like they sell it over there too.