At my wits end unless situation changes.

[Jeanette]

Hi, I’ve been reading this forum, though, since I brought Coco home. I’ve read everything I can find online, but I’m overwhelmed. My arms are covered in bites, bruises, and scratches and I’m beyond frustrated trying to deal with handling her, picking her up, and letting her out for enough exercise.

She sees a vet regularly who is very bunny knowledgeable and loving. Coco wasn’t cage protective before I had her spayed – it’s fairly recent and I’m not sure what started it. Would a bigger cage help that??

BTW, Coco has also beensick. It’s been a week and now she’s on the road to recovery from being constipated. Could she be biting more because she doesn’t feel well??

From babyhood til now, she has destroyed 5 corners of carpet, pulling the area off the floor boards. She continues to scrape paint off the baseboards. I’ve used soap, perfume, and even getting a pen (which looked huge and crazy in my living room and i realized was not enough run room) as ways to reduce the destruction. My apartment smells like the cosmetic area of a dept store now. This amused me at first, but now my allergies are kicking in.

Coco doesn’t take treats that I offer by hand.

 I have no repeatable way to pick her up once she’s out of the cage. If I approach her, or try to pet her when she comes close, she takes off. Occasionally I get lucky that she goes into her carrier, then I can pick her up there. I’ve seen advice saying if a bunny is being destructive “pick her up and put her in her own box where she can dig and chew” but lol “pick her up?” that doesn’t happen here. I’ve spent hours in bunny pursuit/capture attempts, until my back is in spasm, I’m in tears…

 I used to be timid about picking her up out of the cage, and would always open the door and let her hop free. To give her meds, though, I had to pick her up.  I don long sleeves. “gloves” (socks over my hands) and pet her in the cage, pick her up, pet her, hold her, carry her to various parts of my apartment (limited possibilities!) but today again she latches on to my arm and it feels like her whole body weight is hanging from me. My arms are covered in cuts and bites and bruises.

 I’m disabled and don’t have a lot of energy (for example, to go shop for materials to use to surround furniture she hides behind). I’ve become completely frantic and beside myself. I want to make this work, but often think it’s too much for me.

 I asked about putting her cage on my screened, covered patio (so she can’t destroy carpet when she’s out) but the Dr says it’s too hot here. I’ve been kind and sweet to Coco no matter how much she’s biting and nipping – hoping she’ll learn the biting doesn’t get her way.

Advice please on what I need to do to get to  a routine  where she can run around, I can get her back in the cage,she doesn’t cause more expensive damage to the apartment, and I get bitten only rarely? Would a bigger enclosure possibly help? When do you know it’s time to throw in the towel and rehome her? This tears at my heart, but I want to be realistic.

 Thank you

[Bam]

You can try putting white vinegar on stuff she likes to chew, like furniture, to make it taste bad.

It’s very common for animals that are not feeling well health-wise to show aggression.

How recent is the spaying? It takes a while before the hormones start to “calm down”. The first time, a few weeks, a month or so, after a spay, the rabbit may be WORSE behavior-wise – territorial, aggressive, grumpy and jumpy, destructive, hypersexual and/or pee- and-poop-marking all over the place. You should give it at least 8 weeks.

I hope you’ll be able to work through this.

[Stickerbunny]

Set up a schedule for her play time. For example, every day at 6pm she gets to come out until 9pm to play (example, you can fill in your own times). This will get her used to going in / out and she’ll start to expect it. Animals do well with routines and schedules.

For getting her to go back, since you have trouble picking her up, have you tried not feeding her pellets until it’s time to go back in the cage? Then put the pellets in and rattle it and make a lot of noise so she knows you’ve put her food in there. Mine always go right back into their rooms for dinner time.

For her biting when you pick her up – if she had bloat or a blockage, it would make her tummy very sore and sensitive and it probably does hurt her when you pick her up. So, she’s probably lashing out in pain and fear. A human adult with an intestinal blockage will sometimes cry out if pressure is put on it, so those are very painful. You could try wrapping a towel around HER so she can’t get to you to bite/scratch you before you pick her up. Or, you could see if she’d hop into a carrier from the cage for you if you put craisins or some other favorite treat into it. Then you could just let her out on a table or something, wrap her up in a towel and give her the medicine. Rabbits sometimes really hate getting medicine – Stickers hates me for about two weeks whenever she has to have hers. Last time I had to medicate her, I had scratches from my chest to my neck.

You can also buy leather armguards if all else fails, which she won’t be able to bite through – they are sold for falconry and welding, so very sturdy and will protect you from eagle talons, so bunny claws won’t be able to get through them at all. Also, when they bite/scratch, it’s best to squeal like a hurt rabbit, since it lets them know it’s not a good thing to do.

For baseboards and such, I just use a squirt bottle of water. But, you could get some NIC cubes and block things off. You don’t have to go to the store and do it, you can order them online and have them delivered to your house. Amazon, walmart, any big company carries them online. And they are really easy to make protectors with, you just put a zip tie on the top and bottom to connect them together. Or, there are vinyl wallguards you can buy and slip over baseboards to protect them from damage.

As for a bigger enclosure, it may help some of the destructive behavior. How big is her cage? Does she have enough room to run around and get her energy out? Does she have a dig box in the cage? How about toys? A NIC condo with multiple levels is fairly space friendly and easy to build, again it just takes being able to close up a zip tie. And they are inexpensive – $20 a box for 12 panels is what I paid from amazon.

Bunnies, especially young ones, can be very destructive though without good bunny proofing. Stickers has destroyed my carpet and she’s even put a hole in one of the walls. She’s growing out of it finally (at three years), but it’s their instinct to dig/chew, so I can’t blame her. When we get good carpet again, I am going to put a cheap vinyl linoleum cover over the carpet before she gets to come out around it, that way she can’t chew/dig it and it won’t get damaged. And I have noticed when she doesn’t feel very well, her chewing increases, kind of like a baby teething will chew on everything.

[justwildbeat]

Based off of your post, a majority of the biting/nipping happens when you pick her up to move her out or into her cage. Some rabbits don’t tolerate frequent handling well. What is your current cage set up? You can surround the cage with an xpen or keep the cage inside their own rabbit-proofed room. That way your rabbit can come in and out as she pleases.

To keep her from destroying furniture and other things. The best way is to either remove the item, cover it up, or provide an alternative like toys/cardboard boxes. Again keeping your rabbit in an enclosed area can help with this. Some rabbits just can’t be given complete free roam.

[JackRabbit]

I do not even try to pick my bunnies up unless absolutely necessary. (If every time she sees you coming, you’re chasing her to pick her up, she’s going to be defensive). I open gates/doors and let them hop out on their own. If I need them in carriers, I put a treat in there and let them hop in on their own. When I’ve had to give them medicine, I’ve found that I can hold the syringe for them and they will lick the meds from the syringe while I slowly dispense it (found this out after it taking two us of to give meds and then only with horrible struggles).

My lops *hate* being picked up. Nail trimming time is an agility test (for me!). It’s scoop ’em up quickly or not at all. My single bun is a boxer and biter. All three are super fast, well the girls are super fast . . . Moshi doesn’t figure out quite as fast that he’s being caught!

With my bunnies, its all about control. If they feel they have the control, they are much more cooperative and loveable!

As for the chewing and destructiveness . . . I have one serious chewer, one major digger, and one that seems to just like to destroy some things. None are allowed where there’s anything that I couldn’t replace fairly easily. Our bunny room has vinyl plank flooring covered with fleece. The hall play area has rubberized mats covering the carpet. If they start going after the baseboards, I’ll block them off with NIC grids. My house isn’t a natural bunny habitat, so instead of fighting to make them adapt to my human world, I try to adapt the areas where they live and play to them. Since I’ve figured that out with my bunnies, we all been happier. Everyone and everybun are different. I know it can be emotionally and physically draining! Just try to find a happy balance between what you want and what your bun wants through trial and error. I wish I could offer a solution, but can only offer what I’ve found works for us.

[Deleted User]

I’m exactly like JR. I never ‘pick’ Henry up unless I ‘have’ too. And when I did (when I didn’t know any better) I was covered in scratches! His nails need cutting and the hubby and I have spent the last week arguing who is going to pick him up, ha ha ha ha! We’ll have to decide soon cause we can hear him tap tap tap coming down the hallway, lol!
Henry LOVES a pat, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve bent over and before I touch him he runs off – SO annoying, leaving me hanging (bending over) like that! ha ha ha ha….. so I usually wait for him to approach me to pat him. He’s got us all worked out!
As for the chewing of furniture, I hate to admit this – but I moved everything that I don’t need to use in Henry’s free roam area of the house into the lounge room (that we don’t use and he’s not allowed in) and boarded and moved everything else up. It’s tragic (me), but I can’t argue with the bunny – I never win! I know how you feel, and I am SO sorry. But once we accepted that Henry was a family member, no different to our dog’s, we just did what we knew we had to do to lower my stress levels and make our family journey with Henry enjoyable.
Wishing you the very best….. cheers.

[LBJ10]

I agree, chasing is just going to make it worse. I always feed my buns their “dinner pellets” at night when I put them to bed. I put the pellets in their bowl and they come running and eagerly hop in the cage. Believe me, it saves a lot of headaches.

[Jeanette]

Thank you all for your suggestions and kind understanding.

I have done the pellet noise in the cage and having a schedule.. I appreciate the feedback that those are good things to continue.
It also helps to know that it’s ok not to pick her up to make her a more snuggly bunny.

I will order the barriers and believe that will relieve much of my frustration. There are only 3 places that I need to put those.

Her cage is 2 1/2 feet at the long side and about 1 1/2 feet on the short one. I don’t know how i can fit a bigger cage in here, but I can get help to rearrange the furniture to do so. It seems that her cage is too small because it only fits her litter pan, a hidey hole, and her when she’s fully stretched out. She has arranged it (lol) so she can run laps. She only does this though when she’s excited that it’s breakfast time.

I’ll continue to reach out to this forums. I realized after I posted that she’s been through a lot in her short time so far and she probably needs quite some time to have a predictable routine. I love her so much so I want the best for her. I appreciate you all helping to make that possible.

[MMK]

I’ll definitely echo not picking her up. People are constantly amazed at how social my guy is. Going to greet visitors, hanging out in the cat tree, and sitting in my lap all happened after I stopped picking him up! I used to have to carrying him to the living room, but he started running from me, grunting, etc. so I stopped that cold turkey! I also started using his pellets as a reward. When I first wanted him out, he had to come out of the cage on his own and eat them out of my hand (nicely). I would also shake them in his bowl to bring him back to his cage at the end of the day. I also started training some tricks with them. I just watched that he didn’t become nippy looking for hand outs…

Anyhow, all this brought him around night and day! He greets visitors not…probably hoping for treats. Is easy to put back in the cage at night. When I sit in my arm chair, I also taught him “up” to jump in my lap and he get pats there. This is the most affection I get! Haha

The only time I pick him up is for nail trimming, he usually woun’t associate with me for the rest of the day, but is himself the next day!

[Stickerbunny]

Instead of going wider/longer you can go UP instead if your space is limited. Running up and down ramps can tire them out too . http://houserabbitblog.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/59511_10150260406010167_642205166_14285855_1368116_n.jpg condos like this are possible to build and you can custom fit them to your area. You can ask in habitats section for help on building them, they are actually really easy to do.

http://smile.amazon.com/Whitmor-6256-978-Storage-Cubes-Yellow/dp/B000LRFO4Y/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1405702682&sr=8-3&keywords=wire+storage+cubes these are the cubes you can use to build them. I have those for storing clothes, the holes are small enough. They come in other colors, the multicolor ones are just cheapest so that’s why I bought those.

Edit: And don’t worry about venting about how horrible she’s being. Stickers has made me go through “OMG I do not even like this animal” periods before because she really is a pain in my neck. Some days I can’t even sit and relax for five minutes cause she just won’t stay out of trouble. You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t care about her! 

[bunnnnnnie!]

Posted By Jeanette on 7/17/2014 2:48 PM

Hi, I’ve been reading this forum, though, since I brought Coco home. I’ve read everything I can find online, but I’m overwhelmed. My arms are covered in bites, bruises, and scratches and I’m beyond frustrated trying to deal with handling her, picking her up, and letting her out for enough exercise.

Before I even give any advice my most important advice – breathe!  It sounds like you’re going through the “OMG what on earth did I get myself into?” phase most new bunny owners seem to experience.  It’s totally normal!  You just haven’t figured out Coco yet, and Coco hasn’t figured you out yet.  It’ll take time, but you’ll both get into a routine and it’ll get easier.

She sees a vet regularly who is very bunny knowledgeable and loving. Coco wasn’t cage protective before I had her spayed – it’s fairly recent and I’m not sure what started it. Would a bigger cage help that??

Being protective of her home is 100% normal bunny behavior.  It’s her safe haven, she wants to protect it.  A bigger cage will certainly make her a happier, and probably help with the destructive behaviors somewhat.  Just avoid being in her cage while she’s in it.  Clean her litterbox and give more food/water/etc when she’s having out of cage time.

BTW, Coco has also beensick. It’s been a week and now she’s on the road to recovery from being constipated. Could she be biting more because she doesn’t feel well??

That is definitely possible.  If she’s feeling unwell, she’ll feel more vulnerable, so may be more defensive.

From babyhood til now, she has destroyed 5 corners of carpet, pulling the area off the floor boards. She continues to scrape paint off the baseboards. I’ve used soap, perfume, and even getting a pen (which looked huge and crazy in my living room and i realized was not enough run room) as ways to reduce the destruction. My apartment smells like the cosmetic area of a dept store now. This amused me at first, but now my allergies are kicking in.

For the carpet, my boy bunny looooves to rip up the corners.  So you’re not alone, LOL!  I buy ceramic flooring tiles and put them down in the corners ontop of the carpet.  They’re heavy enough he can’t easily pick them up and move them.  And a bonus, he loves to lay on the cool tiles!  For the baseboards, try providing her something chew-approved right next to them.  Cardboard box, phone book, bunny toys, etc.  My bunnies like to shred wrapping paper.

Coco doesn’t take treats that I offer by hand.

Neither do either of mine.  Rarely they’ll take them from my boyfriend… never from me.  Go figure!

 I have no repeatable way to pick her up once she’s out of the cage. If I approach her, or try to pet her when she comes close, she takes off. Occasionally I get lucky that she goes into her carrier, then I can pick her up there. I’ve seen advice saying if a bunny is being destructive “pick her up and put her in her own box where she can dig and chew” but lol “pick her up?” that doesn’t happen here. I’ve spent hours in bunny pursuit/capture attempts, until my back is in spasm, I’m in tears…

As the others have said, just don’t pick her up unless completely neccessary.  It’s a very rare bunny that will sit quietly to be picked up.  If you need her to be somewhere, bribe her or just slowly walk behind her and calmly herd her to where she needs to go.

 I used to be timid about picking her up out of the cage, and would always open the door and let her hop free. To give her meds, though, I had to pick her up.  I don long sleeves. “gloves” (socks over my hands) and pet her in the cage, pick her up, pet her, hold her, carry her to various parts of my apartment (limited possibilities!) but today again she latches on to my arm and it feels like her whole body weight is hanging from me. My arms are covered in cuts and bites and bruises.

With medicating, it’s tough and you kind of have to pick them up.  But for just letting her out of her cage, just open the door and let her choose when to hop out.  That’s what I do with both of mine.  Sometimes they decide they’d rather just stay in their cage, sometimes they come zooming out.

 I’m disabled and don’t have a lot of energy (for example, to go shop for materials to use to surround furniture she hides behind). I’ve become completely frantic and beside myself. I want to make this work, but often think it’s too much for me.

You can use NIC cubes found at Kmart or other stores like that to block her from the furniture.  Luckily once you have this stuff, you’ll be all set and won’t need to replace it often or anything.  The cubes are really easy to put together with just some zip ties and a pair of scissors.

 I asked about putting her cage on my screened, covered patio (so she can’t destroy carpet when she’s out) but the Dr says it’s too hot here. I’ve been kind and sweet to Coco no matter how much she’s biting and nipping – hoping she’ll learn the biting doesn’t get her way.

Your vet is right, outside will be too hot and she’ll be a happier bun inside.  When she bites/nips, back off.  Bunnies lash out when they feel they need to defend themselves, because they feel scared or pressured or insecure.  Backing off will ease the pressure she feels and lessen the biting.

Advice please on what I need to do to get to  a routine  where she can run around, I can get her back in the cage,she doesn’t cause more expensive damage to the apartment, and I get bitten only rarely? Would a bigger enclosure possibly help? When do you know it’s time to throw in the towel and rehome her? This tears at my heart, but I want to be realistic.

Try a bigger cage, get some tiles for the carpet, get some NIC cubes to block her from furniture, and give her lots of chew-approved stuff to shred.  You just have to figure each other out and get into a “groove”.  It’ll be okay!

 Thank you

 

My responses are bold/underlined above.

[Jeanette]

Following up..esp for anyone having similar problems:
-She’s better now. A little cage protective but not crazy so
-I pick her up less. She comes to me more
-we have more meetings at the cage where I give her a bite of food and reach in to stroke her head. Luckily my hand goes pretty far between cage wire.
-I bought 8×12 inch floor tiles at home depot. They’re cream colored, blend in well between apt white wall and apt light brown carpet. She already has caused too much carpet damage, but this way she spends less time uprooting carpet fibers.
The tiles cost $1 apiece.
-I still want to have a taller cage and the protective covers as you showed me. I’m here to take a look and ask questions in the habitat section isabout how the cubes are done. So for now she doesn’t get all the exercise that’s recommended.

Basically, I give her as much attention as I can , feed her well, keep things clean, and figure it’s not perfect but figure she’s got a pretty sweet life.

[Jeanette]

question about the cage you linked here… wondering how to open the ceiling/floor so bunny can go between floors. Can’t tell from the pic how that works. Also not sure how in the world to find small pieces of carpet. local web searching finds large carpet squares, not smaller 1 x1 or 2 x 2 ft scraps. Any ideas?

[Stickerbunny]

Go to any carpet store (or lowes/home depot etc) and ask them to cut you whatever size you need off the rolls they have.

[litheandgraphic]

I’m glad to hear her behavior is getting better. You seem to be doing the right things now. Relationships with bunnies are built strongly on trust, and it seems like she’s starting to trust you more now.

About the floors for the NIC condo, it really depends on how you decide to do it, because they’re so highly customizable. The easiest thing to do is to make a “shelf” inside the condo — see this picture, like the horizontal shelf on the inside, but obviously without the vertical panels — and make it as long as you like. As you can see, these wire storage cubes are made of individual panels that are usually 1 sq ft. So when you make the condo, you can just leave one of the panels out so that there’s a hole.

YouTube is your friend when it comes to this project. Check out the following videos! 

• 101Rabbits builds an NIC Condo
• Budget Bunny builds an NIC Condo

[Author]

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