Bad Bunny

[TaraMichele]

 So this morning after getting home from work I let Cady out as usual, hes been extremely active, even almost looking to cause trouble and be bad! I had stayed away from home sat night and had my friend stay to bunny sit…could this be my punishment for leaving him? lol hes eating normally no problems other than the bad behavior! he even gives me a look right before doing something he shouldnt! any thoughts?

[Sarita]

How was he being bad?

[TaraMichele]

chewing furniture, trying to knock down barriers that were set, chewing the carpet pretty much all the bad habits that he had gotten soo good with he was doing this morning lol he seems to have calmed down a bit i tried playing with him giving him some kisses, basically apologizing, hes normally soo good ive left him out by himself several times without a single issue. I should have mentioned he did kick his feet when i let him out

[Huckleberry]

Huckleberry does that too. She likes to watch me as she goes for a book she shouldn’t chew on, as if to say “Im gonna chew on it…. here I go… getting closer… almost…. ” then I warn her “Huckleberry… dont you do it…” and she does a binky and races off.
I think that rabbits are a lot like 2 yr old kids. They want attention and lots of it. If they cant get it they will get it the only way they know how to, by doing the things that they know will get attention. She must know this gets attention because she does it ALL the time and every time, she gets my attention.
Try getting down on the floor with him when you let him out and spend special time with him…
Also…. I really dont want to offend you but your cage looks a little small for a bunny that size… does he have an x pen he has access to or does he spend a lot of time in that? It would be fine if you use that as his littler box/food area and he had constant access to a pen he could run around in. If not, you might consider getting him a larger cage or a pen. This might help his behavior too!!!!
Also, keep in mind that he really doesn’t KNOW these behaviors are bad…. he just knows they get attention. He is, by nature, a curious animal that digs and chews and knocks down barriers to avoid being trapped in the event that a predator comes after him. He is only doing what he knows to be natural. If you need to train him to avoid these habits, try using a squirt bottle of water and aim for the butt, not the face. Clapping your hands or a clicker can help too.
Hope this all helps and that he starts to acclimate and be a little less of a pain 🙂

[LoveChaCha]

Bunny is being a bunny. Lol. He is giving you rabbitude for not being let out. I know the footflicks, I get them all of the time

[RabbitPam]

I just checked your profile and you said he was about 4 months old when you got him, so that makes him a soon-to-be-teenager in bunny years.
And that’s when the “trouble”, ie. hormones, starts.

Yes, he was mad at you for leaving him – they are very moody – and what he gave was a thump or a foot flick to show it.
Yes, he is baiting you by deliberately doing what he knows very well is “bad” behavior. He is acting out on purpose. If he could blow a raspberry at you he would.

But what is also happening and will happen more now is that his teenaged hormones are kicking in and the sweet little precious that we all bring home is becoming the bunny from Hell. It’s a very short lived phase with a (literally) quick fix. He will need to be neutered as soon as your vet will allow it. Most vets are willing to do the procedure at 5 months or older, depending on their level of skill and how accessible his Boy Bits are. I would call your vet and make an appointment to have it done soon, or to bring him in to be checked and schedule his appointment from there. If you haven’t found an experienced exotics vet (the name for those that know rabbits, not your average dog/cat vet) then check out the HRS site, http://www.rabbit.org, to scan their recommended vets listed in your area.

His behavior will be like this until it’s done and for about a month afterward. Then he will settle down again. If you don’t have it done, he will take much longer to settle down and may hump your ankles with LOVE for his whole life, so it is highly recommended. But with a little patience and in less than 6 months you will have a sweet little guy for many, many years. Hang in there. (And bunny proof your home.)

[TaraMichele]

 No offense taken, hes very rarely in his cage if at all, he was put in this morning for a bit for cleaning purposes.  He does have quite the attitude, he was back and forth lol reminded of the commercial for the sour patch kids.  it took like three hours to calm him down, but he seems more like normal now, out of curiousity when they go through puberty do their metabolisms rev up? he always seems to want to eat more and more! and hes already been to the vet and were just counting down the days until he can get neutered!

[Lagomorphic]

I try to spend some time on the floor with my buns every day. If I’ve been busy and haven’t been giving them the usual amount of attention, I can totally tell. Usually, if they start getting into something I don’t want them to get into, I can make a warning noise and they’ll leave it alone (then I praise them). But if I haven’t been spending time with them, they’ll keep going back to it until I get up and go over there.

It’s kind of sweet/sad, because really, they just want your attention, and if you’re not giving it to them, they’ll even try to provoke negative attention, just to get SOME kind of attention. I always try to remind myself that even if I’m busy, it’s better to avoid the aggravation and just spend some time with them to prevent the negative behaviors.

And of course, sometimes you have to be gone for a while. I find that they’re pretty tolerant if I’m spending a lot of time with them on a regular basis and then giving them lots of attention when I get back. Good luck! He sounds like a character (my favorite kind of bun)!

[TaraMichele]

lol he is quite the character, most of the bad behavior was happening as I was sitting with him, i tried clapping, shaking a jar of coins but i think he’s caught on and just ignores them, even as i tried gently pushing him away from certain spots he would jump right over my hand or just nudge me right back! he definitley made my morning eventful, I think Ive spoiled him a bit

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

My very independant bunny, Kokanee did this when we had gone away one weekend and returned. Quite shocking as she hadn’t bonded well with me yet, and yet was giving me the gears for leaving her! I think it’s sweet when they notice Rupert and Kahlua have yet to even notice I’ve returned from holidays-they very much don’t care lol

[LoveChaCha]

Rabbits eat a lot.. period There is no end to them eating Hehe.

[Huckleberry]

I agree with Chacha, they eat ALL THE TIME!!! This doesn’t mean give in and feed endless pellets though. Make sure he has lots and lots of hay and he will be fine.
I totally forgot about him possibly being a teen!! When Huckles went through it, she ripped up a ton of our carpet, down below the padding and all the way to the foundation. She grunted, snarled, boxed (just what it sounds like, it looked like she had her dukes up and ready to fight), and was just a nightmare all around.
Spaying calmed her down a lot and now she is my super lazy, slightly grumpy bunny.
It sounds like you enjoy his crazy behavior, even though some of it might be annoying 🙂 They are so much fun to be around!!! You can really see a personality that you never expected to see.

[bunnnnnnie!]

Bunnies DEFINITELY misbehave to get attention. .

I learned the hard way that if I don’t give Zeus attention FIRST THING when I let him out in the morning, he’s a holy terror until I leave for work.  If I just take 5 minutes to sit with him and give him his “good morning pets”, he’s content. .

His favorite naughty things to get my attention is biting the carpet, or getting up on the futon.  He knows both will get my attention in no time flat, and ALWAYS looks at me expectantly after doing these things.  

[TaraMichele]

Its official my bunny is insane! lol he has been crazy the past few days not being quite as bad but definitely way more hyper, if he can tear it apart he will, good thing i love him to death! it seems he thinks the word no is funny and everytime me or my boyfriend says it we get a head binky or a full binky, hes smarter than he puts on. last night we went back and forth for a good ten mins where if i was watching him he would purposely do something he shouldnt as soon as i stopped looking he would peek up on the bed to see if i was paying attention! exhausting but worth it!

[LoveChaCha]

Time to schedule his neuter

Make sure you have everything out of sight that you don’t mind being chewed on.. really

[TaraMichele]

 I wish I could the vet told me I had to wait 2 months! she believed he was around 4 months and wanted to wait until 6.. seems like its going to be a long couple of months but at least hes not being aggressive!

[BinkyBunny]

 I wonder if our pet sitter had scents of other animals on her that put his already teenage hormones in overdrive.  I mean it’s not uncommon for this to happen at this age, just that you noticed this immediate change after your pet sitter.   It could also be just a “new” scent that got the whole ball rolling. 

I am surprised that you vet is making you wait until six months. I know that is common for females (spays), but many rabbit-savy vets feel fine neutering once the testicles drop.  HOWEVER,I am not steering you away from your vet as it’s best to go with a vet you know is good and you trust.    

For some helpful tips on what to do while you wait for the neuter check out our Bunny Gone Nutty Page and scroll down toward the middle of the page. . 

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