Tricks to keep him from chewing baseboards?

[Barley N. Hopps]

I have bunny-proofed my office (in my house) to the best of my ability so Barley is pretty much thwarted in his efforts to jump into and on things, dump the garbage can, squeeze behind and through things, pull things off shelves, chew books, electrical cords, etc. However, he's discovered the joys of chewing a nice unmoveable baseboard. :grumpy: Because of the location (lots of corners) it's tricky to block off or cover. Would rubbing something smelly on it work - without making him (or me!) sick? Any ideas?

 

[gmas rabbit]

Try putting some things down that he can chew on. Rolls with hay inside, timothy hay compressed blocks, chewy sticks. I would personally be afraid to put anything on the baseboards themselves, so many things can burn their mouths or are toxic.

 

[qtipthebun]

They sell that sour apple stuff for dogs, which is bunny safe. However some bunnies *looks at Q-tip* thinks it tastes good. Some people say rubbing hot sauce on stuff works too but again *looks at Q-tip*...some weird bunnies like it.

There's always good old conditioning...squirt him with a spray bottle and go "no!" when he chews. He'll eventually get to the point where he doesn't chew because he doesn't like the squirt. Totally trainable...Tippy doesn't chew any of my wood furniture thanks to the spray bottle.

 

[Barley N. Hopps]

Gmas Rabbit, I have put down toys for Barley - toilet paper tubes, timothy hay cubes, a paper bag, large cardboard box, chew sticks, a half-eaten basket - but I think he likes the baseboard because it doesn't move. :foreheadsmack:

Qtipthebun, love your *looks at Q-tip* comments! :rofl: I might just try your water bottle trick. Even when I clap my hands and yell NO, he glances at me to calculate how much more chewing he can do before I actually reach him and move him away. He's much smarter than he looks.

 

[Raspberry82]

Two things that work great to rub on baseboards as a very effective deterrent are either ivory soap or buying a bottle of GSE (grapefruit seed extract) either online or at your local health food store. Bunnies HATE HATE the taste of GSE but it won't harm them, so they'll learn quick not to taste baseboards after tasting it lol. It worked wonderfully for my bunny Max who since that training with GSE has never nibbled on baseboards since! :biggrin::wink You could probably even dilute it in a little spray bottle with some water and spray it on first to stretch it. But it's cheap and worth it to permanently train them.

Also second everyone else, be sure to have ok chew toys for him to pick over the no no chew toys. Max's favorite is a large bath towel for digging and chewing (he always uses this now and never the carpet which he has been trained is a big no no that will result in cage time outs! lol).

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We gave up and had the floor and base tiled in the bunny room--the doors and jams are still fair game, but they lost interest in them finally. Some day I'll have to patch, sand and paint.

 

[Barley N. Hopps]

Thanks Raspberry82! I'll see if I can find some of that GSE. I'll use it full strength - not THAT much boarding to cover. Barley does have quite a selection of toys all over the floor, but naturally he's far more interested in the stuff that gets him in trouble. :rollseyes

Nancy, I feel your pain. Between Barley and my daughter's chinchilla (who moved out with her a month ago) the baseboards and doorjambs are gouged beyond repair and, I fear, will have to be replaced eventually. Hubby is NOT pleased.

 

[Barley N. Hopps]

Raspberry82, just wanted to send a quick thank you! I couldn't find the GSE but Ivory soap was readily available and seems to have done the trick. I've had to rub it on the underside of my office chairs too. As with having very small children, one really needs to crawl around on hands and knees for a rabbit's eye view of things to find all the potential goodies for chewing! Thanks again for the suggestion - it's been very helpful.:bouquet:

 

[TinksMama]

Hot sauce seems to work for my kids, they seemed to love the taste of the cage wire. lol One of my girls pulled out a tooth, after that the cages with bunnies who had chewing problems got sprayed with a hot sauce & water mix. Worked like a charm.

 

[Barley N. Hopps]

Whatever works and doesn't hurt them, I say! I'll keep the hot sauce and water mix in mind if Barley decides he likes the taste of the soap. :biggrin:

 

[sleepmask4life]

I use straight up white vinegar, my bunnies seem to hate the taste of it. I keep it in a spray bottle and don't dilute it with water. Sure when you use it, it smells like vinegar, but I actually like the smell and I don't think it really lingers. I have my bunnies in a two story rabbit hutch with a wooden ramp in between to get on the second floor. My bunnies were eating the ramp and I was worried they were going to eat right through it and not be able to get to the second floor anymore. As soon as I sprayed it with vinegar, I watched them try to chew it and completely turn away in disgust. A month later I had to respray it, maybe had to respray it three times in all. The last time I really soaked it good and they no longer have any interest in chewing on it.

 

[Barley N. Hopps]

Ooooo another good idea! Thanks sleepmask4life! I might have a craving for fish & chips though.

 

[zebraprint]

Just stumbled upon this thread as Wylie has been chewing up the baseboards behind the couch and in hidden corners He doesn't seem to understand that we RENT! And with another baby bunny coming home to live in the kitchen as of next week, I want to coat my baseboards and corners with something they wont like.
Ivory soap, do I just rub a bar along the baseboards and what I don't want touched?

 

[PaGal]

Thumper was doing this as well. I first tried Bitter Apple but that did not stop him. I tried lemon juice as someone here suggested, not a chance of working. I tried hot sauce and he was following behind me as I was heavily applying it, at which point I stopped afraid that it was making the baseboards even more tempting for him.

I have tried clapping and saying No. I have also repeatedly sprayed him with water. And yes he has appropriate objects to chew on all over the place. I also rotate his toys so he doesn't get bored with anything. I'll be trying the soap soon.

 

[ocelot252]

So glad I found this forum. Lucinda (Luci) has so many toys in her room you can barely walk without stepping on them plus all but 2 pieces of baseboard are covered with inch thick cardboard. The two places that aren't are behind her hidey hole and her litter box. She has starting moving her hidey hole (which can't be easy as it weighs a couple of pounds - it's the bottom house part from an old cat tree) and chewing the baseboard behind it. I can't discipline her by spraying with water because she's brilliant and only does it at night when we are sleeping.
Hopefully one of the suggestions on here works, I'll start trying them tonight.

 

[ChocoClover]

I use straight up white vinegar, my bunnies seem to hate the taste of it. I keep it in a spray bottle and don't dilute it with water. Sure when you use it, it smells like vinegar, but I actually like the smell and I don't think it really lingers. I have my bunnies in a two story rabbit hutch with a wooden ramp in between to get on the second floor. My bunnies were eating the ramp and I was worried they were going to eat right through it and not be able to get to the second floor anymore. As soon as I sprayed it with vinegar, I watched them try to chew it and completely turn away in disgust. A month later I had to respray it, maybe had to respray it three times in all. The last time I really soaked it good and they no longer have any interest in chewing on it.

Vinegar is good for wood too.