If your rabbit is in your house outside of his enclosure, you will need to rabbit-proof your home. Some people tend to set up an enclosed fenced exercise area for their rabbits, which reduces the amount of rabbit proofing needed. So how do I bunny proof my house from my pet rabbit?
Teach your pet Rabbits how to avoid chewing on certain items or entering certain spaces, but this can not be the only safeguard. There are still going to be gaps in teaching. Similarly, security mechanisms and deterrents might not be enough. The optimal formula for improvement is to combine preparation with removing proximity to the trouble region.
Our article’s primary focus is how to bunny-proof your house. We are going to discuss the following topics: How do you house proof a rabbit?
- What does bunny proof your house mean?
- What does Bunny proof mean?
- Can rabbits be protective of their owners?
- How Do You House Proof A Rabbit?
How Do You House Proof A Rabbit?
Rabbits are fascinating creatures, but they do exhibit certain destructive habits. It’s not unusual to discover that they chewed through a vital wire or scratched through a carpet corner. Fortunately, there are a few tried-and-true ways to keep bunnies out of your house. You will help keep your home protected from your troublesome rabbit by ensuring your rabbit doesn’t end up in any dangerous circumstances.
1. Flex Tubing and Wire Covers
Bunnies are very fond of wires. Their razor-sharp teeth will easily sever your wires, causing damage to your beloved lamp or, worse, electrocuting your rabbit. Strong plastic wraps or flex tubing are ideal for covering cords. Any appliance, home decor, or electronics shop should have these. It’s much cooler if you keep all wires out of your bunnies’ control.
2. Protection for the baseboards
Baseboards are a popular object that rabbits tend to chew. Rabbits also have a habit of chewing things we don’t want them to chew. Since rabbit teeth are constantly growing, they must wear them down. Rabbits have learned to eat a lot, so it’s only normal that they chew a lot.
- Scratcher mats for cats are a good idea: Those lightweight cat scratcher mats are a workaround I’ve used for my bun. The mats are fastened to the wall with Command hooks. The mats are the ones that go around the leg of a table. Scratcher mats are suitable to keep the rabbit from scratching on the legs of your furniture.
- For furniture, restrict access to baseboards: One way to keep rabbits away from baseboards is to position furniture against the walls in such a way that it prevents the rabbit from getting to them. Although you won’t close off space completely, you will reduce the amount of work you have to do. Instead of protecting the whole length of the room’s baseboards, you’ll need to take precautions to secure a small part of it.
- Spray with a bitter apple: You should buy or make a bitter apple spray to prevent rabbits from chewing on anything they shouldn’t. With this process, I’ve had a small number of results.
3. Defining Zones
Do you see any areas you don’t want your bunny to live in as you look at the location where your bunny will be living? Some bunnies will leap up to 36 inches and climb on top of shelves, chairs, and desks because they are curious. They can even fit into small spaces, such as behind your bookshelf or under your bed. You’ll have to cordon off these places. You may use baby gates or puppy pens to separate parts or whole spaces, but they should preferably be made of metal, as otherwise, your rabbit would eat his way right through them. However, make sure the slats aren’t too far away, or your rabbit will fall through. You should zip tie storage cube panels or wood panels to the bottom of the slats that are too far apart (as is always the case for baby gates).
Bunnies are natural diggers who will dig in every available room, even your carpets. Some loose edges will be twisted and dug on until the carpet is a tangle of strings. Covering places where your rabbit loves to chew with tiles or natural seagrass mats is a smart idea. You should even rearrange the furniture to hide areas where your bunny likes to dig.
4. Prevent your bunnies from Houseplants
Houseplants may harm bunnies. Many plants are poisonous to your rabbit, and contrary to common opinion, domesticated rabbits do not necessarily know not to eat them. It’s best to keep those plants out of your bunny’s control. Plants that are poisonous to your bunnies include poinsettias, holly, tomato leaves, and tulips.
5. Articles and books
Rabbits enjoy chewing on paper, which includes books. They’ll dash up to the bookshelf and grab a book off the shelf, only to rip it to shreds. And there was more than one time when my rabbit ate my homework when I was a child (or at least shredded it to pieces).
The first and most simple remedy is to prevent your rabbit from accessing your bookshelves. However, this isn’t always necessary, but a little reorganization would suffice. Place everything you need quick access to on the top shelf, out of sight of your bunny.
Remember that when standing on their hind legs, rabbits are very tall. Then get some plastic bins that can fit on the lower shelves and fill them with your remaining books. And that’s it! Your bunny will no longer be able to eat your set. For all those journals, make sure you keep track of where you put them. Make sure never to leave valuables lying around where your rabbit would be able to find them.
6. Electrical Appliances
Heaters and fans, for example, can be hazardous to our intrepid bunnies. They could get their nose or ear stuck between the fan blades or get burned by a space heater. They will also be able to bring these machines down, perhaps resulting in a burn.
Make sure these items are out of sight of your bunny. As a result, position them behind a gate or on a ledge. Over everything, whether your rabbit has access to a fan or a space heater, never leave them unattended.
What Does Bunny Proof Your House Mean?
Rabbit proofing aims to keep your rabbit healthy, protect your property, and provide more efficient opportunities for your rabbit to use their instincts. You’ll continue to have problems with your indoor rabbit until you address all three of these issues.
You’ll need to walk around your house and look at it through the eyes of a rabbit. Get down on your hands and knees and take a look around and see what kinds of harmful or damaging habits your rabbit may engage in. You will protect your rabbit from chewing on cables, scratching into your furniture, and just becoming a nuisance with a little planning and preparation. I’ll go through the most popular rabbit bad habits that cause damage to homes so you can avoid making the same mistakes I did and bunny-proof your house.
What Does Bunny Proof Mean?
Bunny proofing, also known as rabbit proofing, involves:
- Preventing the rabbit from behaving badly.
- Maintaining the safety of your rabbit.
- Offering your rabbit fun chewing and digging alternatives.
The intention is to let your rabbit run around and exercise without trying to keep an eye on them all the time. It’s not enough to rabbit-proof space where your rabbit is allowed to exercise. However, you can opt to rabbit-proof your whole house so that your rabbit has more room to roam and become a member of the household.
Can Rabbits Be Protective Of Their Owners?
In the United States, rabbits are one of the most commonly domesticated small animals. This means rabbit owners can form emotional bonds with their animals. Rabbits, like all animals, have a wide variety of feelings, both simple and complex.
A domesticated pet rabbit can recognize and represent its owner’s emotions. If you’re happy, your bunny will mirror that happiness. A bunny will show sympathy about your situation if you are isolated and sad. Rabbits have their own exclusive set of facial expressions. Nonetheless, this does not imply that they are aware of the changes in a human face.
Bonding with a rabbit is similar to bonding with other pets. You must provide them with meaningful memories throughout their lives. Your bunny will get addicted to you if they see you as a source of fun.
Just keep in mind that the same is also real. Rabbits are frightened animals. They will hate you if you give them some excuse to do so. A wild bunny can be difficult to control, so take caution against your friendship.
Conclusion
It’s time to offer your rabbit alternatives after you’ve made sure they can’t get at something risky. Moreover, digging and chewing are normal behaviors for rabbits. It’s up to you to create an environment where they can express themselves without harming themselves or their environment. Chew toys are a perfect way to keep your rabbit entertained while still keeping their teeth clean and stable. Objects you can use as rabbit chew toys include:
- Wooden dolls
- Plastic toilet paper tubes
- Applewood sticks
You can make your chew toys out of cardboard toilet paper tubes and other popular household objects.