Flooring for cage pusher and digger?

[Luxray]

(TL;DR version at end if you don’t want to read my story!)

My New Zealand, Daisy, has gotten into the habit of actually pushing the sides of her x-pen around (and she’s quite strong!). I had her pen on a large, flat area rug I bought from the store, but one time I came home from work and saw that one of the corners had been chewed. I looked at her, she looked up at me with those big bunny eyes, and we came to a mutual understanding: she ate that carpet. So I flipped around the rug and stuck the storage bin that keeps their food in between the two buns’ (I also have a mini rex, but they are caged separately) pens to make sure she couldn’t get to any other corners until I found another solution, new flooring, etc. Then, a few days or so later, I took her litter pan out to clean and saw a hole in the middle-ish of the rug, right underneath where her litter pan was. It was about 1.5 inches in diameter.

So I decided to swap out the bunnies’ pens: put Daisy in Ruby’s (mini rex) area, which had indoor-outdoor carpeting instead, the flat, waterproof kind that doesn’t have any sort of threads for them to chew. Ruby’s a complete sweetheart snugglebunny so I knew I didn’t have to worry about her chewing or digging at that area rug. I made sure all the previously damaged corners and such were out of reach, though. Needless to say, she’s been completely fine through this and the area rug is still intact.

But this only amplified Daisy’s problem(s), sadly. Shortly after moving her to the new area, I started hearing “cage moving” noises again. I would go out to check on her and sure enough, she had that x-pen pushed somewhere else, the sides all pointed and crooked and whatnot, and I also found a corner of the carpeting all chewed up. Little snot. I fixed it, and eventually asked my dad to help me out. He suggested these gardening bricks we had stored outside, about 3 pounds or so each. So I have like 5 bricks set up around the perimeter of her pen now to try and prevent her pushing habits. So far it’s worked, though she does still try and push it sometimes and you can hear the rattling of the sides. I have it pretty well locked with the little clips and stuff they give you, so I’m not worried about it collapsing in, at least.

HOWEVER, this still did not solve the problem – or, at least, not this new problem I just discovered last night. Although the bricks successfully put an end to her cage pushing, I guess during all her struggles she managed to actually bunch up a large portion of the carpeting and created a ruffle, which she’s been secretly destroying at night or something as I didn’t hear anything. I clean out their litter pans entirely, dump em and replace the wood pellets, etc., about once a week, so when I picked up Daisy’s, I finally saw the damage. Huge holes like 2-3 inches in diameter, all the way through to the floor, scattered down that entire ruffle she’d made. I ushered bunny outside her pen, picked it up and moved it, then just rolled up the whole carpet and trashed it. Wish I’d taken a picture or two but I was so furious and worried that I didn’t even think about it. As far as I know/could see, there were no little carpet pieces lying around, so I am very afraid she ate it all… *sigh*. 

Daisy has been on basement tile only for the night. I’ve been too afraid to give her even like a towel to lie on, thinking she’d destroy that, too. And mind you, it’s not like they’re always just in their pens. They’re out quite often, either on the bed with me or just running around in our living area (though separately because they don’t get along, sadly), so I don’t think it’s just out of boredom…

Anyway, TL;DR, here is my question at long last: What kind of flooring can I get for her, or both of them, that is non-chewable/diggable? I’m not exactly sure how much I can trust carpet anymore.

Also pics of shameful bun, not feeling remorseful at all for what she knows she’s done: http://imgur.com/a/BEFZ0

And pic of Ruby, the sweetheart <3: http://imgur.com/a/mDeIc

Any and all help is appreciated! Sorry my post is so long, but the only person I can talk to about this is my boyfriend haha, he knows the struggle as well.

[vanessa]

Sounds like you have a handful! I have a pair of super destructive buns that would give yours a run for their money! Mine destroyed a square foot of carpet, through the underlayment, till I could see the nail strips and the bare plywood floor. So I put linoleum on top of the carpet, but it bunches up and they have shredded about 14 square foot of linoleum. So now I put thin plywood on the floor. It doesn’t cost a lot, you can get it in 4×8 sheets, and it isn’t permanent. I use to use 2x4s, and then 4x4s to prevent my bunnies from moving their objects around. Now, I have 2 pairs of bunnies sharing a bedroom that is completely converted to a bunny room. I use 2×4’s to protect the baseboard molding, and the bunnies chew on the 2x4s instead.

Question for you – how big is her x-pen (I assume it is 16 square feet floor space), and how much time does she get to play outside of that. Each of my pair have 66 square foot (6ftx11ft), and they want more. I would consider an x-pen a suitable “cage”, but your bunny will definitely benefit from play time outside the x-pen. Forgive me if you already do this – but I’d let her run around the house some, as long as it is bunny-proofed. I have a baby gate up at the end of the hallway so my bunnies can run around the back half of the house. I don’t let them in the lounge/kitchen/dining area, because I have 2 border collies that would tear them apart, and I want the dogs to have their ownership of the house too. But – the bunnies get the hallway and the bedrooms. I only do this with Guinivere and Lancelot. I have never let Morgana and Avalon out, because I would have to watch them solidly, and they don’t let me pick them up. I’d have to corner them in a cat carrier to get them back to their room. I can let Guin and Lancelot out and not have to supervise them. They are really well behaved. As long as electric chords are out of reach, closet doors are closed, and beds have a barrier so they can’t get underneath and chew the mattress, and there is a litterbox in each room they have access to, they have a great time running and sprinting and binkying. I made a wooden barrier around my bed – it is just inside of the bed frames so it’s out of my way, and no bunny can get under there. In the guest room, I use NIC panels to block the bed.
For Avalon and Morgana who I don’t let out, I just rearrange their furniture/toys regularly to keep them from getting bored, and use plywood floor, and 2×4 lumber to protect the molding.

[Luxray]

They’re both out a minimum of 2-3 hours a day. My boyfriend and I are renting my parents’ basement right now so that’s where our space is limited to mainly. We do have lots of game consoles and cords but surprisingly both bunnies are very good at leaving them alone, so we haven’t had to bunnyproof those at all. There’s a futon in the middle of the room though, so we did have to put NIC panels along the bottom to stop them from hiding/pouting/shedding under there all the time haha. Whenever one bunny is out, there’s another set of NIC panels strung along the other’s cage to prevent any unnecessary fighting and whatnot. But pretty much they do get the whole run of the area! Sometimes when she’s out and I’m playing a game, Daisy will hop right up on the futon with me <3

Oh and yes, it’s just the regular 8-panel, 16 sqft pen. When we move out I would like to at least buy one more for each of them so they can have double the space when we’re away (we both usually work 10 hours a day).

I like the plywood idea a lot, actually. It sounds on the cheap side but not especially harmful. So for your bunny room, do you basically just have a bunch of plywood sheets on the floor? Or just one? I wonder how I would go about laying one down here – the space I have to work with for the buns’ area is about 70 sqft, give or take a few.

For now, because I didn’t want the poor baby to be cold or slip-slide around any longer, I went to Walmart and picked up another $20 area rug. It has the same “flatness” as our own area rug we use under the futon, and neither bunny has ever tried to scratch or chew on it. Daisy seems pretty pleased with it so far, but I know it’s only a matter of time!

Thank you for the great response

[Vienna Blue in France]

I’ve got my xpen grids tied to 6packs of 2L water bottles so my monsters can’t shove and push and pull them (which they still do, bit by bit)!!! LOL

When I’ve decided to get my nic cubes and move their area I’ll be getting the heavy duty puppy pen grids which are supposeduly much heavier (they’d better be!).

I’m impressed that they’re leaving your cords alone – I thought that too, until… one day…. Crunch !

Even with a very flat carpet, one of mine can get his teeth into it and start ripping tugging and pulling and… whoops, hole…. so i’ll probably be trying lin on plywood for the new bunny condo and hope that is too flat for him… although Vanessa’s witness account make me think I won’t spend a lot on the absolute nicest one, until I know…

I may try false parquet and then give them a fleece, but I suspect fleece = weewee !!

Another thing i have on one of their shelves is a square of carpet (you know like in kitchens or offices) and i’ve put wood around the edges. Edges are SOOOO tempting. So far, they haven’t realised they could try to chew through it.

You could try that on one square (get a few free samples from a carpet shop). So glue the carpet square on something (plywood) then screw securely a frame of flat wood slats around the edges…. see how that goes… it gives them a bit of softness and more importantly, grip to binky on !

[Luxray]

Sounds like you’ve got some troublemakers too!

Thanks for the suggestion! I’ve always been a bit hesitant to try fleece, too, but for different reasons – fleece loses its threads and bunches up a bit too easily, I think. Being on the basement tile, I need something that won’t slip around. Those rug gripping pads work pretty well, but they’re about $20 a pop for a big one that I need, and with all the times I’ve replaced the rabbits’ flooring, it can add up! Yikes.

The area rug I bought is temporary, I know that, but I’m hoping it’ll at least last a week or two so I’m not stretching my money so thin, hehe. I think Daisy’s gotten hold of one of my boyfriend’s cords one time (his watch charger) and basically ended its life, but that was when she was on our bed and we weren’t paying much attention. Other than that, they might sniff them, but they never bite them. Just to be safe, I’m ordering more NIC panels soon to cover underneath the tables where the majority of our cords are.

[Deleted User]

These decorative fence panels are taller and heavier that the x-pen panels.

They come 3 per pack at Lowes and are very affordable.

FENCE PANELS

We have used for years inside the house and “dog” gates. Now using for the bun too!

[vanessa]

Good idea Tracy.
As for carpets – they are just chew toys to some bunnies. Yes, I just lay the plywood down on top of the linoleum which is just laid down on top of the carpet. I dont’ staple or nail it down, I just slap it down. I haveabou half of their floor covered with plywood I need to keep adding untill I’v got it all covered. They learned to run on linoleum, and I actually think they like the wood. I gave them vet fleece bedding on the plywood that is the floor of their buny castle, thinking hey woudl like to lie on somethign soft. They shredded the fleece bedding, and prefer to lie on he plywood, or on the bare carpet. These two prefer a hard sleepy surface over a soft cushy surface. For your space – if you are only concerned about the floor the bunny’s x-pen is on, I would get 2 sheets of plywood, place them next to eachother, nice and tight so the buns can’t rip up the seam, and the maybe get a cheap bed sheet or blankie to lay on top of the wood. see if your buns prefer wood or fabric. They don’t slip . Veneer is slippery, but strait plywood has enough texure that it’s actualy not slippery. 1/4 inch is the thickest you would need. If you are concerned about the carpet in the 70ft square area… I’d focus on protecting corners and wall edges.
I evenually plan on tearing up all my carpet and replacing it with real hardwood flooring. And the buny room will still get plywood on top. But when I do that, I’ll place a thin fabric tarp over the real wood floor, then get enough 4×8 sheets to cover the entire bunny floor, and call it a day. Guin and Lancelot can get towels to toss around, and Lancelot can have his vet fleece bedding, but Avalon and Morgana can only have towels/sheets that would have otherwise gone to goodwill.
It sounds like you may just have some very active destructive bunnies, like Avalon and Morgana. Sometimes I don’t believe that exercise will solve the destructiveness. Each case is different, but I think we do need to recognize that bunies are as different as humans are. In cases like these, we need to find ways o allow them to have their mischief in a way that is not frustrating and expensive for us.
Here’s an idea… if you get your measurements right – you could nail a few 2×4 pieces as barriers to prevent the bun from pushing the fences around. But you would have to use a marker and mark on the plywood where the 2x4s are going. It could be a few 12″ pieces, If you use a square panel setup, you could use 2 12″ pieces per corner. So lay them down on the outside (or inside it you want) corners of the pen. Inside corners would give the buns something to chew on, which they would like. Mark their placement, in case they move around. Use a really thin pilor hole drill bit. Drill through the 2×4 and the plywood all at once, on each piece. That is the easiest way to mark the hole you’ll need. Make 2 holes per piece. The 2×4 piece should be lying flat. Using 1″ or 1-1/4″ inch screws, screw them into the pilot holes from the BOTTOM or underneath side pf the plywood. Once you see them sticking out, place the 2×4 over the screws so the holes line up, and screw the 2×4’s down. It will help to mark the 2x4s with wood side, and open air side. If you screw the open air side to the wood, the holes won’t line up and the shape will be skew. Screw the wood side of the 2×4 to the plywod. That will give you a nice stable frame to keep the pen from moving, as long as you dont’ have plans on changing the shape.size of the pen. But if you do, drilling new pilor holes won’t be hard. I call that design, the “upside down lid” 🙂

[Vienna Blue in France]

Tracy – thanks for the idea – it’s great – but how do you fix them (“not” into the ground) indoors.
The stakes come in the pack for the outdoor ground, but I have big buns that would push and pull (and stand up against) grids that are not solid.

[Luxray]

Lots of good ideas here! Thanks for the replies, everyone!

@Tracy – I love how those fence panels look, but I’m worried there’s no “gate” that comes with it. Is there any sort of gap between the panels?

@vanessa – Dang, that’s a thorough reply, haha. I think maybe throughout the week I’ll go to Home Depot and pick up a couple sheets of plywood, then. If that works out, maybe even get a few of those carpet squares like Vienna suggested and see what I can do. I know they like their carpet, as Ruby often head-dive flops into it lol, but if only for Daisy, something’s gotta change!

I think what I’m most worried about regarding the plywood is that I usually have their pens in like a pentagon shape rather than the square, that way they have just a little extra space. Plus I keep the food and water bowls right on the inside of the pen as soon as you walk in, so if that wall’s on a little angle, no one bumps into them by mistake.

But I’ll try some experiments again later and post some follow-up pics! Again, thanks everyone!

[Vienna Blue in France]

Well… if you know how to use a saw and bits of cardboard to cut out shapes, you coooould (just a suggestion), cut the plywood (thick) into your pentagon shape, but make it a few mms smaller, and fix the bottom of the xpen (outside, but cable ties (through holes made in the plywood, staples or glue, etc….) to the thickness of the plywood (which is inside the xpen), then the xpen will NOT budge an INCH ! (well, depending on your DIY skills !!!! LOL ).

If you don’t have the tools, know-how or precision to cut, I’m sure Home Depot could cut them to size… but you’ll have to be accurate with the measurements!

[vanessa]

Cable ties are a good idea.

[Vienna Blue in France]

Make sure they are tight and the “tail” is on the outside (and trimmed). Bunnies like chewing them… LOL

[vanessa]

Yeah – Morgana and Avalon chew off the tails.

[Lucythelionhead]

Hey ya’ll. I have a little 6 month lionhead. In an apartment. She has a nicely sizes living space and we let her run around everyday. We use playpens and zip ties for the living space and more playpens to keep her away from furniture, un safe spots, wires, etc when she is out. Her living area is on a rug, with old comforters on top of it. Works pretty well but she digs, just a little, and it’s kind of a pain to pull them up and wash them.. So I’m thinking about putting a waterproof mattress protector over them. Going to try and find one with a soft side to be the top. Has anyone tried this or can you think of a reason not to do it? I’m not sure plywood is for us yet since we’re in an apartment.

[Vienna Blue in France]

HI there *wave* – I can think that maybe by clawing and digging a waterproof protector she may make a hole in it and then chew it and eat the plastic – potentially life threatening…

Maybe this can help you.
Mine are on a carpet rug but which I have fixed wooden slats around the edges making a sort of frame. This serves 2 purposes.
One : so the wood is chewed and not the very tasty easily accessible sides to the rug (making it unsightly and also potentially dangerous eating the carpet fibres) and two: the attached frame keeps the rug taught and flat so when Henry (always Henry! Never Zou! LOL) trys to pull it up between his teeth, he can’t actually get much purchase on it.

I vacuum the rug.

Hope that helps !

[Lucythelionhead]

That is a good idea.. the edges are the biggest problem.. thank you! Yeah I was worried about the plastic.

[Vienna Blue in France]

You’re welcome – let me know if you want a photo and I’ll try to post one (I have an unwilling computer…)

But really, just a long pice of wood (mine is 1.5inches wide by half an inch thick, I turned the rug upside down (wood underneath) and with wide headed screws or nailed with roof tacks , making sure the length of the spikey bit is long enough to go through the rug and just meet the wood, but NOT go through the wood and so stick out.
And i’ve held the four corners together solidly, by turning the rug the right way up, and screwing a small flat metal plate over each of the 4 joins.

[Lucythelionhead]

Oh my goodness. Please do post pictures! Or email me. That’s awesome.. where do you get the metal plate??

[Author]

Messages