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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum BEHAVIOR New Bunny Mama going mental – Please help!

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    • Lyssa's Mama
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        About two months ago my spouse and I fell in love with this bunny, I’ve never had a rabbit before but I was convinced after asking a bazillion questions about what they eat and how they should be housed. I’ve been doing constant research to make sure we’re doing everything we can to make sure this bun is happy but I’m quickly getting over whelmed with her bad behavior. It’s almost a constant thing now and it’s brought me to tears more then once. 

        I don’t think it’s right to keep a bunny in a cage all day, so I’ve gone through the efforts of bunny proofing the house (it’s not a very big house anyway, more of an apartment), there’s only really two places she’s not suppose to go (besides the bedrooms, we just close those doors), one is behind the couch because it’s just too small and we can’t see/get to her, and the other is the corner where the tv is because of all the wires. I made barriers for both those places and have done backflips to cram every little possible hole she could wriggle through to get in there and absolutely nothing works. I watched her literally clear one of the 2 foot high barriers, twice the other day. She seems to /insist/ on getting behind the couch even though, as soon as she gets there, she starts thumping her foot and trying to get out, but she can’t figure out how and she won’t let me get near her to help her out. She has literally pulled apart barriers to get in there and for nothing, but that I have to spend the next half hour trying to coax her out. She also /knows/ she’s not suppose to go by the tv, I’ll tell her ‘no, Lyssa, no.” and she’ll run off somewhere else, but then I don’t know…it’s like she’s decided she’s fed up with rules and thumps her foot in defiance before suddenly jumping the barrier anyway.

        She acts like she’s bored! She chews on the walls and the furniture and the carpet! She used her litter box like a pro for weeks and suddenly she doesn’t think she needs it anymore or something. We’ve gotten bitter apple spray which kind of works on some things, but there’s just one spot on the wall (it’s not even the base board!) where she insists on chewing and it thunders through the whole house when she does it. We’ve gotten her SO many toys! Balls and chewing rings, those wooden chew logs, a grass hut, a rope carrot thing that’s suppose to be for throwing, I’ve made her toilet paper and paper towel roll toys and cut holes in at least three different boxes, torn up news paper and laid it out for her and she wont’ touch any of it. Everywhere I look says that bunnies LOVE cardboard, but she won’t chew on any of it!

        My spouse is at work all day and I stay home to work, which means I watch her all day, but I just /can’t/ work with her out in the house. It’s always that the second I sit down she’s run off to do something else she knows she’s not suppose to do. It’s a cycle for her or something, from one thing to the next to the next. I have to jump up ten times a minute and cram myself into tiny places to either rescue her or shoo her out from behind the television. I litteraly don’t have the endurance for this, but I don’t know what else to do! I wouldn’t feel right leaving her in her cage all day! She’s still too young to get fixed, but that’s also our last hope that she’ll calm down. Is there anything anyone can suggest to help?? How do you correct a bunny so it matters to them? How do you keep them from destroying barriers to go exactly where they’re not suppose to go(and don’t even want to be in the first place)?? Why would she just stop using her box!? What can I do to entertain her so that she stops being so bad and I can have some semblance of sanity back!? 


      • Meatloaf N Bunnito
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          Bunnies can jump up to 3ft in a single standing hop. my buns are super mischevious so when we let em roam we have a watchful eye and isolate them to one area. they are nuch more energetic and mischevious when young. Some say to use the spray bottle method to try n negate bad behavior, but I don’t do that. My suggestion is so pick a more isolated area for your bun to roam and have plenty of toys around for her to chew and toss. also never leave her unattended. if she tries to or does succeed in getting loose, pick her up and put her back right away. this will tell your bun that, that is not for her to be in. eventually they’ll get the hint. i also suggest making the barricade higher. i hope this helped some.


        • Sarita
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            Honestly she is probably too young to have free roam of the house.

            I don’t really believe either that rabbits no matter what have an understanding of what they can and cannot do – I think too you have to remember that she is very young and this behavior is indicative of a rabbit at this age.

            Rabbits do not have the ability to be defiant or bad – that is a human trait not a rabbit trait – rabbits instinct is to chew especially when they are young. It’s a behavior that many rabbits do outgrow, but not all.

            My suggestion is to take a deep breath :~) and consider starting over with her. I strongly suggest that you consider keeping her in a puppy exercise pen where she will have plenty of space and just let her out for free time for small amounts of time during the day and maybe once she is altered and older she will be able to have more time out. You need not feel guilty about keeping her contained if she is destroying your house and making you resentful of her – that is not good for you or for her.


          • Very. Fat. Bunny.
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              To pull back bad behavior or even when potty training, I found it effective to put him in a time out. Now I know when Mason free roams he enjoys it because he binkies and runs uncontrollably, but if he has an accident or chews something he knows he isn’t supposed to I put him immediatly back in his cage and it’s conditioning really, where he knows if he does something he isn’t, he doesn’t get to play.

              Hope that helps and good luck!


            • JackRabbit
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                I totally agree with Sarita.

                The dog exercise pens come in different heights up to 48 inches tall, give play area, keep bunny safe and out of trouble, and are moveable. You could even set the pen up in the room you work in so you can have your bunny’s company while you work (without having to constantly watch her). That would also let her keep an eye on you and feel “involved”!


              • Beka27
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                  Just going to ditto the suggestion of a dog xpen to add additional, but contained, exercise space.

                  Another question, you work from home. Are you restricted to certain hours that you must be working, or do you have more leeway on when? Rabbits are most active morning and night, and rest during the day. If you can provide more exercise time during the active periods and watch her, then cage her during her “nap time”, she’ll get her rest and you’ll get your work done.


                • Silverpaws
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                    On Amazon (sorry if this is breaking advertising rules!) There is an excellent dog exercise pen. Merlin is in a bungalow with my partner and I, and whenever we are out of the house working or at bedtime, he goes in there. It has his toys and hidey holes, so he has no complaints.
                    Just invest in a nice big play pen for your bun, make sure its got her fav things in it, food and water, and she’ll be fine. Then, in the evenings you can bring her out for supervised play. This means you can bond and snuggle and keep an eye on the mischevious madam if she starts eyeing up the electricals!

                    I agree with Sarita. Take a nice deep breath and start over. You only have to look at my post history to see I’m terrible at anxious mothering! But the BBers are lovely and give sound advice


                  • Lyssa's Mama
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                      Thank you everyone that’s posted! Getting one of those pens is the next thing on our list to get her though there’s really no where in the house that something like that can be set up? Our house is a very strange…shape, lol! (It’s like a square, long narrow hallway, another square) We’ll fuss with that then though. I have shortened the play area though, blocking the living room where she gets into the most trouble so she just has the dinning area and the hall to hang out in. I’ve also gone into the garage and found a large unused box that I’ve brought in, cut a couple holes in and fitted under the table where she likes to lay. Aside from the box entertaining the cats endlessly she’s begun nibbling on it which is a good sign I hope….I do find it very weird that she doesn’t seem to like cardboard more, do some bunnies just…not like cardboard that much?


                    • manic_muncher
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                        I’ve had Bumpy since August of last year. In all that time, he’s eaten only about 1 sq ft of cardboard from his hidey boxes and another box we had laying on the floor he likes to run around on. He has never chewed anything else. A few pieces of willow and that’s it. He just doesn’t chew. I worry that he won’t wear down his front teeth, but I can’t force him to chew. LOL

                        Once in awhile he’ll pick up a cardboard toy I’ve made and drag it around for a couple seconds and then he’s done. Since she’s started nibbling on the box, maybe that will help redirect her away from your walls!

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                    Forum BEHAVIOR New Bunny Mama going mental – Please help!