Rabbit wont stop chewing

Question
Hello, My male rabbit just turned about a year old. Once he started getting comfortable with us he started chewing. At first it wasn't so bad. Now he will chew on anything, doors, walls, cords, and more I'm sure I haven't even found. I thought neutuering him would help (advice given to me) and he still chews. I've given him the toilet paper rolls, hay, washing machine cord and he continues to chew. I don't want him confined to his cage all day as we have a very busy life style. I don't know what to do. I can't get another rabbit because my husbands patience is wearing this with just one. What can I do? If he doesn't stop my husband will want to get rid of him and our daughter will be devistated.  Please help. PS I don't think he has malocclusion. They look normal.

Answer
Hi,

he is a normal rabbit.  They do eat bark/wood in nature, these guys have a taste for it too.

You just need to give him acceptable alternatives.  Such as:

1.  Untreated (bare) pine blocks.  From a Home Depot, get untreated 1x2 strips of pine, cut it into blocks, and give to him to chew on.  You can put a thin coat of corn oil on it.  He will chew on it until the edges are worn over.  Then all you need to do is put a fresh edge on it, clean and recoat with a little vegetable oil and he's got new edges to chew.

2.  You need cord protectors on any cord he can get to.  You can also find these at Home Depot.  You can either use the corrugated black ones and tape them on with electrical tape, or you can get the flexible thicker tubing they use on air conditioner condensation lines, cut one side of them open and put the cord in there.  If he likes cords it's because the plastic smells good to him, it's not to be mischievous.

3.  Give him a 'diggy pile' of clean, no longer used cut up soft cotton tshirts and towels.  He will be able to throw them around and he might like the fabrics to nibble on and put holes in.

4.  Regular undyed, untreated, cotton batting.  Some of our guys love this stuff and how it feels in their mouths.

5.  Blankets or small undyed/untreated cotton rugs with fringes on them.  These guys often will nibble and mouth the fringes like a baby nootch.

6.  Hard plastic baby teething keys.  Not only to mouth but to toss.

7.  Other acceptable wood things are wicker tents and tubes and balls from Busy Bunny, or if your local pet supply store carries them, you can get them there.  Seagrass mats from the pet supply store may be of interest to him too.

Bottom line is if he still goes after trim around the house you probably will need to put up a scarificial strip of the untreated pine board (described above) so that he's got something there to chew on instead of the trim.  You'll have to screw it in over the trim you want to save.

But as rabbits aren't trying to be destructive on purpose, they're just being themselves, if you realize what they are doing and need, you can find alternatives they will generally go for.

Don't give him substitute cords, you're sending him mixed signals by doing that.  You don't want him hurting his mouth on that cord if he bites into the copper and it frays and can cut him.