Unexplained bunny chewing. Please read.

[Breannaconejito]

I have a dwarf rabbit named Conejito. He weighs 2 pounds and has had his yearly checkup very recently where he was certified the correct weight and in great health with his teeth. He’s in a 16 square foot cage, he’s eating 1/8 of a cup of oxbow pellet food a day or every other day, eats fresh vegetables and greens and measured amount of fruit (since he’s so small he’s on a very measured diet), unlimited hay without fail, and fresh water from a bowl and I give him the option of a water bottle. Okay now that that’s stated.

He’s been chewing on his cage randomly for no reason WHILE his cage is OPEN. I figured he was getting bored with his toys, so I bought him all new ones and spent a pretty penny on em. He played with them for a minute or two and then went to his favorite chewing spot (where I placed a hanging toy to deter him) and moved the toy to chew. I thought it was because I wasn’t giving him attention but he will go in there and chew even if I’m on the floor with him or was just petting him. I have no idea why he’s doing this and I have no solutions?? I’ve had him for 3 years and he has had this behavior on and off but it just started back up again. Please if you have any ideas let me know because I’m so lost and I don’t want him to hurt himself on the metal and I am so sick of the noise. I don’t know whether to make him stop or ignore it, I don’t know how to deter him, so I’ve just been shaking a toy every time he does it to distract him. Help!

 

[JBun]

It might just be an ingrained habit he picked up before he came to live with you. If you want the behavior to stop, about all you can do is either remove the cage bars so they aren't there to chew(if he is free roaming), or block off the bars with something like pieces of cardboard zip tied to the area or maybe pet window screening zip tied there.

 

[Breannaconejito]

It might just be an ingrained habit he picked up before he came to live with you. If you want the behavior to stop, about all you can do is either remove the cage bars so they aren't there to chew(if he is free roaming), or block off the bars with something like pieces of cardboard zip tied to the area or maybe pet window screening zip tied there.

He cannot free roam because he can’t be wandering around without supervision. He’s a very, very mischievous dwarf. And I might place cardboard if it really persists but I think if I did that obstructing his view of the room would make him really stressed out. Because if I did do that I would have to cover the entire area around him up to where he can touch the bars. That just sounds like it would worsen the situation and make him angry.

 

[Hermelin]

My bunny that chewed bars, I covered with a blanket. Now he instead lay the focus on the toys in the cage instead and chew them.

The cage become a bit dark but your bun get the chance to get out and run. And after a while you can slowly take away the things blocking the bars and see if he still chew bars.

I know my bunnies will start chewing bars when they are bored or want out from the cage

 

[Breannaconejito]

*update* I bought a new gate and moved it to the end of my hallway so he has my upstairs hallway to roam around in while he’s out (and the gate isn’t in his sight while he’s in the room) and that has fixed his behavior. I guess even though he has a ton of space (350 sq feet) seeing the gate blocking him in must’ve given him some kind of claustrophobia, or anxiety. Happy bunny now!