Since the dawn of the 19th-century, the rabbit has been treated as a pet in western countries. They can be pretty amazing as your pet if you like a playful and active animal. Rabbits like to play around, do hoping, jumping, and cuddling which feels great to see.
To keep them safe from predators, you have to keep them inside of a cage. And here arises an issue, which is your rabbit chewing on a cage. Rabbits love to chew.
They do it often because either they are bored or they are just wearing down their teeth. Anything doesn’t seem to be wrong here. So, where’s the issue?
Well, when they do it constantly, they might damage their cage or even at times get them injured by chewing the wires. Now, you cannot totally uproot this habit, but you can alter it by giving them something safer to chew.
In our today’s article, we will let you know how you can solve the issue of your rabbit chewing on the cage?
How to Stop a Rabbit from Chewing Its Cage?
So the following are some of the tips that you can follow to make your rabbit stop chewing the cage pretty easily. So, here we go!
Diverting the Behavior:
The first thing you can try is sprinting bitter spray on the cage of your rabbit. Go to your local pet store and buy an anti-chewing spray. You know, rabbits highly dislike bitter things. Then find out where your rabbit generally, chews and spray it there. Your rabbits will forget what chewing means after trying out the bitter taste for once.
In case if you can’t manage to find bitter spray in the pet store or you don’t want to buy one, then we have another solution for you. Using white vinegar and water, you can make a bitter spray.
Just take one spoon of white vinegar and a cup of water and mix it up, then spray it on your rabbit’s cage. This will work pretty good trust me! But remember that the effect of bitter spray will fade away after a couple of days.
So, when you notice your rabbit has started chewing the cage again, then spray it one more time and keep doing it on a regular basis as long as they don’t stop chewing their cage.
Telling Them Not to Chew:
You might think, well, this is ridiculous! How would my rabbit understand my voice command? Let me explain; yes, your rabbit may not understand your verbal command, but they understand signals. For example, when you see your rabbit chewing the cage, you can clap and say NO.
But don’t yell at those poor little bunnies. This might scare them. But trust me, clapping and saying no will stop your rabbit from chewing for a while. So, you got to do it whenever you see your rabbit chewing the cage.
Giving them Something Safer to Chew:
The moment they stop chewing their cage after startling them, you got to give them something safer to chew. If that idea doesn’t work, then get him out of the cage and encourage him to play and run around a bit.
Here’s another amazing idea. You can use a jar full of coins. If those methods above don’t seem to be useful, then you can get your bunnies to stop chewing his cage by shaking the jar. These unusual noises will deviate his attention from chewing.
Try Putting Up a Wire Barrier:
When you just can’t get your rabbit to stop chewing its cage, and you are worried, he might damage the cage. In that situation, you can put up a wire barrier in the place where he usually chews. If you don’t like the idea of putting up a wired fence, you can make use of untreated wood. This will be safer for your bunnies.
Put Fresh Hay and Replace in Time:
You need to provide your rabbit with enough nutrients in order to keep it healthy. We would recommend you filling a rabbit’s cage with timothy hay, orchard grass, or oat hay. And replace them with fresh ones when necessary.
You got to keep a minimum of 60-70% of hay in your rabbit’s diet. This will be beneficial for their digestive system also helpful for their teeth.
Giving them Fruit Branch to Chew:
You rabbits will love to chew fruit branches or untreated wood. But make sure that wood was not treated by pesticides, and the branches should be dried enough as toxicity from raw branches might harm your bunnies.
Providing Your Rabbit Entertaining Materials:
You can offer your rabbit some toys; trust me, they will be as happy as Larry! You can find rabbit toys in a local pet store, or else you may make some by yourself. An empty toilet paper roll can come in handy here.
Take one of those and shove veggies or hay inside of it, then you can put it inside the cage or hang it by using a sisal rope. At a point in time, you will see your rabbit is losing interest in their current toys, and at that time, you got to replace them with new ones. Otherwise, they will start chewing their cage again.
Make Time for Playing with Your Rabbit:
You need to give your rabbits a few hours of your day. This will help them a lot to get out of their boredom and uplift their mood. You can play hide and seek with your rabbit: they would love it! Also, rabbits love stealing things. You may create some facilities for them to steal papers, toys, or snacks.
Some bunnies would just love to get cuddled by you instead of playing around. So, you have to understand their nature before interacting.
Get another Company for Your Rabbit:
Your rabbit will most likely get bored when they are left alone for a long time. So, giving them a company will be helpful. You will notice that your rabbits have also decreased their chewing as they don’t get bored often anymore.
Final Words
Rabbits are amazing to have as a pet. When they get enough nutrients, good accommodation and some facilities for their entertainment they will be happy and healthy. And as a pet lover, this is something you must be aiming for.
We hope after reading our article, “your rabbit chewing cage” is not going to be an issue anymore. Wish you the best!
Contents