Teenage Rabbit

[uofmtingley]

I posted the other day to say that my bunny had completely stopped using her litter boxes. Everyone who answered figures that this is "teenage behavior". I am sure it is because she is also "chinning" everything in sight. Today, the latest problem is digging. In any corner she can find she is digging up my carpet. And I don't mean just digging at the carpet. I mean actually digging it up. She is also digging at my couch and chair.

In the previous thread, I said I could not get her spayed until September. Well, I have found a way to get her spayed in May. Here in lies the problem... What do I do until then. Just today she has managed to completely destroy two corners of my home and there are another 3 that are close to it. I really don't want to lock her in her condo for the next two or three weeks. Are there any other options.

 

[undergunfire]

If it is for just another 2-3 weeks, then do you have a kitchen or an area with tile or solid flooring? If not, put a tarp down under and exercise pen and she can play in there. 2-3 weeks with limited run time won't be the end of the world. Don't get discouraged though if she keeps up the behavior for a bit even after her spay. Also, some bunnies are just destroyers .

 

[NorthernAutumn]

Can you fill a cardboard box with paper shreds as a dig box?

You could also grab those spongy floor mats (the ones for kids rooms), and lay them down as her floor
(http://www.designspongeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/sarah_before1.jpg)
Put a shower curtain liner down as a tarp first, though

She may need some new/more interesting toys to keep her busy.
Check out this toy thread from the Lagomorph Library (see bottom of RO) for some new ideas
->http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12433&forum_id=17

 

[Sweetie]

Put something that you don't mind getting messed up for her to dig at, like newspaper, put it all over the place that she digs.

Glad you found a way to get her spayed earlier than September.

 

[uofmtingley]

Thank you for your suggestions. She has a ton of toys that I rotate on a regular basis so that she doesn't get bored. In the better than 3 months that I have had her she has never destroyed anything. This all started this week. She does have a huge box of shredded paper to dig in. Each time she digs the floor I pick her up and put her in the box of paper. She in turn jumps out and goes right back to the carpet. I can't really let her in the kitchen because there is no way from blocking her from behind the gas stove and gas line to the stove.

 

[undergunfire]

uofmtingley wrote:

I can't really let her in the kitchen because there is no way from blocking her from behind the gas stove and gas line to the stove.

I use NIC panels to block my rabbits from things I don't want them near. I have a permanent 1 cube high panel around my bed so my bunnies can't get under there. They work really well, are not very expensive, and can easy be folded up and put away when you don't need to use them.

 

[uofmtingley]

I use NIC panels too. I guess you would have to see my kitchen set up to understand why it won't work. Trust me I have tried. It doesn't help that all barriers have to be 2 panels high or she jumps them.

Before this week she ran the living room, dining room, stairs and hallway pretty much 24/7. Since this all started we have pretty much cut her run time in half. This is a huge adjustment for her. I really do not want to lock her up any more unless I have to.