We have a wonderful little bunny that we let out into the house so that she can exercise. She has a terrible habit of chewing electrical cables while we are not watching, which can pose a huge fire hazard! I want her to run around, but I cannot constantly watch her.
Right now, we have everything unplugged (which is something we need to do anyway to save electricity) with the wires off the ground, but she still somehow gets to them. I am TIRED of replacing cables to my lights, etc! :-) Does anyone have a safe non-toxic recipe for something we could put on them so that she does not want to even touch them? (hopefully, something that doesn't smell bad to us?). Thanks so much!!!
Hi! I have two 10.5 year-old house rabbits. They are caged much of the time now (due to increasing age and changes in my family) but for most of their lives they were uncaged. So, I got used MEGA bunny-proofing. I have yet to find a taste deterrent that works, but plastic cable wraps (spiral wraps that people use to gather or hide their cables) work great. You can find them at a place like Home Depot. Good luck!
Cyndi
You might try wrapping the cords in something that the bunny doesn't want to chew if the cable covers aren't an option for you. I'm thinking like foil or something along those lines. You know, something that would make the chewing uncomfortable.
Try toothpaste- the kind without mint or mouthwash.
Look at pet stores they make some kind of a ball thing for bunnies to run around in(think big hampster ball).
I have heard about getting some pipe (like pvc or something) and threading your cords (that are along the ground) through that...if all of the cords are contained inside something sturdy, perhaps the bunny wouldn't be able to get to them as easily. Good luck!
We had the same problem with our bunny, who is now in bunny heaven. Not only did he eat electrical cords, but also phone cords, speaker wire, the wood from the bottoms of our furniture.
There is a vibration that is emitted through the shielding on the cord that they can pick up on and that attracts them. A cable protector would probably work.
Elizabeth,
I have seen stuff at Petco called bitter apple or something like that. It sounds like exactly what you need.
Have you entertained the idea of replacing the bunny with a cat? I'm sure your bunny is litter trained, so adjusting to a cat would be easy. Also cats don't chew up cords. It seems that this Bunny "pet" is more hassle than enjoyment. That's their nature, to chew, and nibble. So if you find a product to deter it from chewing cord, the bunny will find something else to chew up. Pet Smart in my area has adoptions on the weekends, their are vets that come in with stray, rescued animals, and they adopt them out. You might want to visit them one weekend, and see if they have some suggestions on what you can do to keep the bunny from chewing on the cords, and who knows you might find a cute kitty to adopt.
We found a foam tube at Lowe's that is slit down one side. It was either in the electrical or plumbing aisles. It was black, long and could be easily cut down to shorter lengths. It has tape on one side that can be used to completely close the tube if you want to do that.
Our rabbit, Lucky, acted like the bitter apple spray was vinaigrette so obviously that didn't help us at all. =)
Every type of pet has good and bad points. My mother's cat has completely destroyed two rooms worth of carpet. Repainting a nibbled baseboard is minor compared to that.
I've heard sprinkling cayenne pepper detours lots of critters. Plus, it's totally non-toxic.
Been there. My sister had a rabbit (Pepper) and she was great. She loved chewing the baseboards. I'm not sure what works for cords. We did the same thing by putting them up just like kid proofing. We had an awesome book on training rabbits and we had her trained to come to us when we called and that kept her away from things. I wish I knew the name of the book but it did come from Petsmart. You will always have to watch them but it can be very intertaining too. Try some of these tips attached. Rabbits make wonderful pets.
http://exoticpets.about.com/od/rabbitcare/f/rabbitchewing...
You could try vinegar.
