Bunny and Baseboards: Bad Romance

[SeaTurtleSwims]

So I moved into a new rental place and I am sort of at a loss. The rabbit is going to be restricted to my bedroom in the new place, which is still plenty of space to exercise, but I let him out to run for the first time in the new place and he is chomping on the baseboard! To limit him to an X pen within my bedroom doesn’t seem nice/will take up a ton of space in my room. He didn’t do this at the last place! When I caught him in the act, I said NO and gave him a mulberry branch he’s been working on, but it didn’t seem to make an impact. I gotta say, bunny training is pretty different than dog training Any tips to help curb/control this?? Much appreciated!!

[SeaTurtleSwims]

Also, I’m not sure if the bunny is experiencing potty training regression?? Or stress pooping? Despite setting out two litter boxes he is familiar with in direct sight, he was pooping everywhere different pellets than normal, some were very tiny and all were tacky/sticky which is not the norm. I didn’t think the move would impact his behavior so much. :/

[Azerane]

Moving house can easily cause a change in litter habits, some rabbits feel the need to mark all of their territory again. I imagine it will calm down with a bit of time.

Regarding the baseboards, there are two common options I see, the first is to tack on lengths of timber that can be chewed. Two or three tacks in each one into the baseboards won’t leave much of a mark. The other option is to line the walls with NIC/C&C grids. It doesn’t take up the space that an xpen does and should keep the baseboards safe. While not a practical option for multiple room bunnies, proofing the wall of a single room with grids works well.

[jerseygirl]

I like the title. :p

I was going to suggest same as Azerane re the timber. They can gnaw to their hearts content and you wont need to worry. Only problem I see with it is when they want to chew it when you’re trying to sleep!

My bedroom baseboards have already been chewed so I’ll be looking to replace them in future. I have sort of sacrificed them having not covered them up. They’re the wrong type compared to the rest of the place so I will want to change them eventually anyway.
In the room where I have my other rabbits, I got some PVC rectangular downpipe and cut it down the middle lengthwise. The profile is the perfect height & shape for the boards in that room. I only attached it with blu-tack but have furniture pushed up against them to keep it in place.
I’ll add a pic later.

I agree, the litter habits is likely just you’re being in a new place. He might be picking up on scent of a previous pet also.This should lessen with time. Fingers crossed!!

[jerseygirl]

Addtional pics

1) A piece of the leftover PVC cover

2) the cover over baseboard

[SeaTurtleSwims]

These are great ideas! Have any of you had luck rubbing perfume on things you didn’t want chewed? Nailing 2X4s is probably the cheapest option, but I think the PVC looks nicer Will do some price shopping at lowes today. Thanks!

Will keep holding my breath over the litter training haha. I just took it back to square one

[Vienna Blue in France]

Yup likewise – I’ve got wires running on the top of baseboard (if that’s “skirting board” in English… ) (but actually it isn’t wood as they are tiles, but the wires need protecting… phew!) so I needed to protect the kitchen area and likewise I put planks of whatever I had (a few inches higher than the wires to stop an inquisitive nose!) up against the wall and keep them there with table legs and one bit is slightly behind the fridge which keeps it in place too. Any actually she’s not bothered ONE iota and does not chew at all ! (So it must be a visual thing with cords rather than ‘waves’….)
I’ll do a piccie too …

[Vienna Blue in France]

Hope this photo gives anybun ideas (the white plank is 20mm thick and can pretty much stand on its own (just needs something to suppport it to prevent it being pulled over), but the brown one on the left is only 5 mm, solid and wouldn’t stand up on it’s own but the end of it is being supported behind a bit furniture off the photo to the left. they also prevent the ‘edges’ of the wallpaper becoming exposed for inquisitive teeth… (see second photo….. )

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Following this topic with a lot of interest. My boyfriend used to house the bun in his bedroom, and all skirting boards were neatly “rounded off” by the bun. He didn’t miss a single spot.

We’re hoping to find an apartment together within the next year, and we’re planning to protect the skirting boards so the bun won’t chew them. I hope my boyfriend will get his deposit back from the student housing association..

[SeaTurtleSwims]

Okay thanks guys! I measured my baseboard and it’s like 6.5in tall. Thanks to your suggestions I was able to find affordable vinyl siding at lowes that I can just have cut to my wall length measurements and will secure them in with an electric drill (I am obsessed with power tools right now haha) Thanks so much! This will work!! $5.50/150in and 8in wide. Two sheets should cover my whole room! So happy brain storming with you guys and $11 later can help my bun run free! Thank you! :3 He has been pent up in his pen or on my bed for like 5 days and you can tell he’s getting antsy to run!

[Vienna Blue in France]

STS – Yay !!!! Photo please !! (always nosey for new ideas !!)
Ellie – well, if they are rounded off evenly and not different colours (ie paint chewed through to revela different colour underneath) – then maybe an untrained eye wouldn’t know the difference !!

I know I once ‘artistically” coloured in a big scratch on parquet of a friend’s flat before she handed the keys back… I used about a dozen different brown/orange/black/yellow coloured felt-tips pens which absorbed happily into the now non-varnished bit of parquet – and you wouldn’t have known the difference !! Very proud I was of that !!

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Sadly, those boards will need a thorough paint job It was oak wood painted white, so it’s very obvious where our little home redecorator has applied his artistic vision.

[Vienna Blue in France]

Well. A wood file + some artistic shaping and a paint job, they wont see a difference and you’ll get your deposit back.

[jerseygirl]

Yes, would like to see some pics also SeaTurtleSwims. Great that you can get it cut to size. I can tell you right now, cutting the pvc pipe was a pain. I did it with a cutting disc on an angle grinder. 
I suppose I could have asked to have it sectioned at the store but they generally do cutting for wood, not PVC. And I was too shy and didn’t want to explain why I wanted a downpipe cut in half that way. 

Viennas pic reminded me or PVC wallpaper corner protectors also. AKA corner guards. So if a rabbit is only chewing the top of the base boards, these or the wooden ones might be all one needs.

[SeaTurtleSwims]

Okay a photo journal of my morning/afternoon. Grand total cost $15.33 (had to buy one extra, measured wrong.) 

These vinyl siding pieces are 12 feet long and about $5 a piece. Lowes would not cut them because their machine is only designed for wood

Had I known they couldn’t be cut in store initially I would have brought pruners and cut them in the parking lot, buuuut 

Flower pruners did great! Measured the walls and have about 5ft extra to play with.

The original base board/ skirt board…..

After I laid the vinyl!!

It even helped me bunny proof!

Going to wiped down vinyl with a citrus-y perfume to help deter vinyl chewing. I don’t mind if he chews the vinyl and hope this does the trick! 

[jerseygirl]

Oh that’s perfect!!
I can see how those baseboards would have been attractive to bunny teeth. A couple areas to grip onto.
Thanks for the update and pics.

[Vienna Blue in France]

Bunny perfect in fact !!

[SeaTurtleSwims]

So far so good! Thanks!

[Deleted User]

Excellent work! Wish I had thought about this before letting the buns free in my rental apartment

I have to replace the vinyl in the bathroom as some bunny has lifted and chewed it. I have to have the carpet repaired too as some bunny has chewed it  I don’t have any cut offs so it’s not going to be an easy job I don’t think

[Author]

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