Rabbit chewing on cage

Hi all - I was wondering if anyone had any insights as to why Bill the Bunny keeps chewing on his metal cage? He scratches at it too.

He has a large cage with a large run - so he isn't trapped in there - he will even go in his cage when he has full run of the apartment just to chew on it! He has toys galore - he has hay - he has a crazy bunny mom here that plays with him several hours a day!

I can't imagine it's because he's bored - because in the middle of playing he will go in his cage and chew - I'm nervous about him chewing on the metal - any insight?

If a rabbit can't wear his teeth down they will grow continually.

Time for a chew toy.

He has multiple chew toys available? Try getting something made out of apple tree wood, it's really good for chewing rabbits from what I've heard.

When I had my rabbit, he would bite the metal bars and pull to make a long ding sound. He would also chew on his water bottle. I think he just wanted to chew on metal for some reason, because he had a ton of wood to chew on (which he did as well).
It could be just a habit. The only harm it would do is make noise.

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Originally Posted by wilomn

If a rabbit can't wear his teeth down they will grow continually.

Time for a chew toy.

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He has chew toys - I said up there he has toys galore. He has natural willow baskets - apple woods chew toys - baby toys like rattles - cardboard boxes - and hay.

He chews on all those - but chews on his cage as well.

I totally missed the whole middle paragraph when I responded last night.

Maybe he thinks he's a horse and he's cribbing.

A large snake or a fun BBQ will cure it either way.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wilomn

A large snake or a fun BBQ will cure it either way.

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:O:colbert:


:8:

Rabbits just do that from time to time. You can get bitter apple spray if you want to keep him from chewing it, but generally it causes no harm. I've had bunnies for awhile ( One did just pass away, unfortunately) And they do/did this too :)

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Originally Posted by mooingtricycle

Rabbits just do that from time to time. You can get bitter apple spray if you want to keep him from chewing it, but generally it causes no harm. I've had bunnies for awhile ( One did just pass away, unfortunately) And they do/did this too :)

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Alright, cool. AFter trying everything I could ever think of I give up. He just likes to chew on it.

He might need a rabbit friend. Rabbits need the companionship of another rabbit, and no amount of human interaction can replace this. I only had my bunny for about 2 weeks or so before I brought home her companion (I was waiting for him to be weaned) and it made a huge difference in the behavior of the first bunny. I would also recommend fixing both rabbits regardless of sex--this greatly lessens the chances of reproductive cancers, allows for most males to get along and stops them from spraying and also, obviously keeps you from getting lots and lots if babies if you get a female to go with your boy.

I would also recommend a simple cardboard box as a toy and hiding place. Mine love their box more than any other toy they have. They hide in it and chew it and then I just replace it as necessary. They don't use their chew toys near as much as they used to, because most of their chewing desire is focused on the box. :)

Sounds to me like he just wants to make noise. :D My big fella has chew toys and such as well, and uses them, but his favorite thing is ripping his newspaper cage lining to shreds because it makes a good noise! He also loves throwing his plastic cat toy with the bell against the bars of his cage. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mlededee

He might need a rabbit friend. Rabbits need the companionship of another rabbit, and no amount of human interaction can replace this. I only had my bunny for about 2 weeks or so before I brought home her companion (I was waiting for him to be weaned) and it made a huge difference in the behavior of the first bunny. I would also recommend fixing both rabbits regardless of sex--this greatly lessens the chances of reproductive cancers, allows for most males to get along and stops them from spraying and also, obviously keeps you from getting lots and lots if babies if you get a female to go with your boy.

I would also recommend a simple cardboard box as a toy and hiding place. Mine love their box more than any other toy they have. They hide in it and chew it and then I just replace it as necessary. They don't use their chew toys near as much as they used to, because most of their chewing desire is focused on the box. :)

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He is going to eventually have a bunny buddy (he is already fixed and the shelter I will get a female from fixes em before they give em to you) but right now the cage isn't big enough for two bunnies (he has a large cage and a 4 foot by 3 foot run attached to it that he always has access to) but I'm hoping to get a nother couple levels in his cage before I bring another bun in.

And he has cardboard boxes... he has some with hay in them, some tunnels, some homemade "bunny cottage" with two levels, a little maze and one box that he seems to like flattened.

And woooah boy, just to add.

It occured to me to use the wood beams (untreated and bunny approved!) I had got to make a second level of his cage (I had them cut too short so they didn't work) to slide down through the slats and block him from chewing on the part of the cage that he liked... he thew quite the hissy fit! It really leads me to believe he just liked chewing on the cage because he was so angry when I stopped him!