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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.
this is going to be a long post so please strap in and bear with me because i could really use your help. *prayer hands emoji*
some background info: i adopted my bunny, cowboy bebop (bebop for short), from a shelter/foster system this past november. they estimated that she’s between 1 and 2 years old and she has been spayed. she’s an american rabbit and a sturdy one, she’s a good cat-sized bunny (which can count her out from many pet store toys for hiding, burrowing, or digging). she has a very slight head tilt, which doesn’t much hinder her for the most part–she has no problem standing on her back legs, jumping from one surface to another, or flying around a room. she’s technically my second bunny, but my first died very shortly after coming into my care due to a birth defect (binky free, feta), so i haven’t had much experience caring for a bunny outside of extreme sickness–if she ever gets sick (heaven forbid), i’ll be prepared. but when it comes to training and behavior i am a newbie and i need some guidance.
so i’m having 3 big issues with her right now (i can make a separate thread for each of them if necessary but i’m new to the site and thought it more polite not to crowd the behavior board )… i could really use advice on all 3 of them, so give me whatever tips you’ve got, because it seems like i’ve exhausted every online article or resource i can find.
i hope you can tell that i love her endlessly and would do anything for her… but she’s also drivin me up the wall. any advice you could give would be incredibly appreciated by the both of us.
love,
bebop & c.b.
For grooming i read somewhere that if you wet your hands and pet them you will get scads of hair. Would she tolerate that better than a brush?
For digging, can you put another surface down on floor like carpet squares or those floor pieces that look like puzzles. I use that in my bunnies area. Then since she likes to dig in cloth give her some old towel or if room enough the comforter
As far as toys, my bun isn’t fond of toys either. I worry be doesn’t get enough mental simulation. I built him a digging box which he went to town on. And then he peed in it. So…im not sure what to tell you about toys. The only thing he seems to like are tp rolls filed with hay
Posted By Tgbarber on 1/22/2017 2:54 PM
For grooming i read somewhere that if you wet your hands and pet them you will get scads of hair. Would she tolerate that better than a brush?For digging, can you put another surface down on floor like carpet squares or those floor pieces that look like puzzles. I use that in my bunnies area. Then since she likes to dig in cloth give her some old towel or if room enough the comforter
As far as toys, my bun isn’t fond of toys either. I worry be doesn’t get enough mental simulation. I built him a digging box which he went to town on. And then he peed in it. So…im not sure what to tell you about toys. The only thing he seems to like are tp rolls filed with hay
after reading your reply i tried doing the wet hands thing just after refilling her water bottle and she didn’t seem to mind it too much so that’s how i’m gonna handle that in the future. also, you reminded me how she enjoyed when i gave her one of those giant cardboard tubes filled with hay (she immediately tossed it and sent the hay flying everywhere and then ran around the room because she loves mischief). so i’ll definitely also try the TP rolls thanks a bunch!
i could be wrong but from what i understand reading other stuff from bunny owners, peeing and digging (like peeing and eating) are bound to go together for buns so i think your bun peeing in his digging box is fine and probably par for the course… bunnies are pretty gross.
general update: i wrote the original post right before i went to run some errands and when i came back she was digging and shredding in the box i made!!! she’s returned to it a few times since, too, and she seemed to be having a big old time chewing and shredding and digging and rooting around for the treats and hay. this box is bigger than the first i made for her, so maybe she just wanted something roomier and needed a minute to get used to this new thing in her space before she could enjoy it. hoping she sticks to it but right now i am very relieved that this seems to have curbed the digging and offered her some enrichment
Yay! Great news
That’s great that she loves her new digging box We have the same shredded paper box for our bun, because he needed enrichment as well. We give Breintje his pellets mixed into in his digging box, it makes him more active and playful.
In general: no rabbit is alike, but they are generally quite opinionated and stubborn. One may like this, one may like that, but they’ll all have it their way and not otherwise! The best thing for a bunny owner (slave) is to make adjustments according to the rabbits wishes.
Rabbits generally like their litter boxes and digging boxes to be roomy. I have a dwarf bun, and he could fit thrice in his litter box. He still manages to sprinkle a bit occasionally because he’s not in the middle.
If he’/she is getting into places you don’t want them to be the only option may be to block that area off completely. We’ve got alu foil underneath all the couches and cupboards, and around all wires. This is the only thing that will block Breintje from walking somewhere of chewing things. This may be a last resort for the truly desperate.
Posted By Ellie from The Netherlands on 1/23/2017 7:40 AM
<p>In general: no rabbit is alike, but they are generally quite opinionated and stubborn. One may like this, one may like that, but they’ll all have it their way and not otherwise!
[Quote]LOL
I did something wrong in grabbing your quote but i loved that statement. Lol
I have the same issue with my rabbit digging and her lack of interest in toys! she has ripped through carpet and when i finally found solace in making her a dig box she did nothing but use it as her new litter box completely discarding her littler box. -_- I have bought her hundreds of dollars in toys from wooden toys to hay toys and the expensive toys and honestly her favorite thing is to dig, to cuddle, and to rip cardboard boxes apart so i get all different kinds of boxes to make little houses for and dig mats for and stack them and all that and while i don’t think she is fully satisfied i dont really have money to keep throwing away toys and materials right after i buy them. I bought a cat tunnel as well which is the ONLY toy i have ever bought that she likes. She rolls it around and hops over it and runs through it. I have even tried buying her those little kid toys to throw around and she wants nothing to do with them. Just wants to dig, rip things up and eat my walls lol. I usually make it a point to play with her. She likes to chase my feet but i mean of course with work and school that doesn’t happen as long as id like it do a day.
Anyway! as for digging… yeah there’s not much you can do but to give her things acceptable to dig on! my options are cardboard boxes and carpet squares! toys, i wish i knew! lol i’m still looking into that 3 years later with my stubborn mini lop and my bun hates the brush as well so i usually do what was said before with the water and that seems to do the trick! good luck!! if you find any awesome toys she loves i’d love to hear your review from one stubborn bunny mom to another lol
My bun also has nearly zero interest in the toys I have bought her for tossing and for chewing. But she’s more of an athletic bunny who loves running, tunnels, hiding spots and jumping, so I try to buy her toys now that are geared towards those interests of hers. I have a castle hutch with a ramp and a cottage right next to it with a bunch of entryways and exits. She has a blast with this. I also got her a cat tunnel, and I change the shape often to keep her interested. She gets a lot of time outside of the pen, so we also rearrange furniture temporarily, just so she can explore them in their new spot. Eventually she started tossing toys after that. She still chews and digs at things she is not supposed to ALL THE TIME, and I have pretty much accepted this as typical bunny behavior. I just shoo her away when she seems she might damage something or hurt herself. Good luck!
Typical bunny behaviour indeed:
new toys? – meh…
bunny bed – *whizzz*
curtains, carpets or other stuff that’ll get you into trouble? – OMGYAY!!BESTTHINGEVER!!!111!!! *munch* *destroy*
I complained to my neighbour once: it’s like having a toddler armed with a pair of bolt cutters. A toddler which can jump up 3 times his body height and can do a neat 40 km/h with some zigzags included. Big ears, but they just won’t listen…
Love the name!
Ellie – LOL
Is the comforter stuffed? Could you maybe switch it out for something else, like a fleece blanket?