Nibbling on Clothes

[CharleyBunn]

Our bunny Charley is still a baby (around 2 months old I believe). I don’t have any rabbit experience so I am about to ask a silly question lol.  So far he has been very friendly and never bitten anybody. Sometimes when Charley is out playing my son and I will set down in the floor w/ him. He likes to jump into our laps and lick our hands or clothes and get rubbed. He will take a few minutes to investigate and then he starts playing and binkying around. When he starts to get really excited he will jump on our laps and start nibbling at our clothes for 1 or 2 seconds then he takes off really fast and will binky away. Then he will spin around come leaping back in our lap and nibble again. It seems like he’s being playful and wanting us to chase him. Like if we were one of his litter mates he’d nip us and take off running so we’d chase after him. He never nips our skin just our pants or sleeve. A few times he will really chomp down and bite the clothes hard, but its mostly nibbles.

I have also noticed a few times when he’s not really playing but just setting in my lap he will lick all over my hands or arms and then my shirt. Then he will start nibbling/biting at my shirt. Again it is mostly very gentle nibbles mixed w/ licks, but occasionally I will hear him chomp down. We always let Charley come to us and jump or climb up to be held or set in our laps. So anytime he is doing this, he chose to be in our laps and is otherwise acting really affectionate and can hop down and leave on his free will. 

This may be a silly question to experienced bunny owners, but I don’t know if this is playful/affectionate or if I should tell him no and stop him. So far I have stopped him after a couple of nibbles because I am really nervous he will bite through the clothes. When I tell him no and move him off my lap, it seems like he turns demanding. He gets back into my lap however he can or follows me if I try to walk away.  It makes me nervous now when he wants to lick my sons hands because I worry if he will start biting next. I am also worried he could get in a habit of biting to demand attention or while playing. But I feel bad cause these little nips might just be bunny kisses and Im telling him no. 

[Beka27]

It’s exploration at this point, just like babies who explore things with their mouths. When he reaches sexual maturity (3-4 months), the chewing may become more aggressive and destructive, so be aware of your surroundings. Make sure things are blocked from his reach and picked up when he’s out.

[CharleyBunn]

Ok, thank you! He didn’t nibble on any clothes tonight when we played, so I think he’s just playing around and exploring like you said. He’s never been aggressive and is really sweet natured. He has all types of toys & cardboard tunnels and houses he can chew on but he rarely does. He won’t touch his apple orchard sticks either. He occasionally chews on some cardboard toys or one of his towels, but only briefly. He eats plenty of hay though, both timothy and alfalfa- and he seems to prefer the timothy.That’s really all the chewing he’s doing now.
We already have things blocked off and temp. bunny proofed, but I would like to put covers over cords and need to buy some baby gates so he can have total free reign in areas without having to supervise him. I’ve been reading and trying to prepare as much as possible for teenage angst w/ puberty coming up for him. My biggest worry is him becoming aggressive, which is why I am so worried about if I should try to stop him from nibbling now or just let him be. I do plan on having him neutered as soon as he’s old enough. I guess we’ll just take it day by day. Thanks for your advice!

[Beka27]

Boys are usually able to be neutered before they get really hormonal, so you’ll probably be alright. (Girls are the problem because vets delay spaying until 6 months since it’s an invasive procedure.)

He seems like a happy guy so far so that’s good!

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