Why has my rabbit started to dig through her litter box? And other destructive behaviour

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gelliebean

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My rabbit Momo, in the last week, has started to dig all the contents of her litter box onto the floor. I don't mind the hay, since hay gets everywhere anyways, but it's not fun to be cleaning up urine soaked paper bedding and wood pellets everyday. It's also important to note that she has a large large dig box with shredded and crumpled packing paper. I hide treats in there for her as well to encourage foraging.

She's also gone off the rails and started to chew through all the cord protectors I have for my PC and monitor. I honestly think it's because she's getting lonely. I have almost fully encouraged my mom to let me get a second rabbit for her but this still likely won't be for another month..
 
She's spayed right? And she's eating and behaving normally otherwise? It could be she is bored and/or needing more attention, which a bunny companion could give. But if that isn't the cause, then getting her a friend wouldn't necessarily stop this type of behavior.

One strong possibility is 'spring fever'. It's an instinctual behavior, even in altered rabbits, where they start getting more antsy and active with the come of spring. Where their natural instincts surge and they start digging, chewing, nesting, and even may show more hormonal type behaviors. It happens a lot where people come on here asking why one of the rabbits in their fixed pair, is all of a sudden wanting the chase and mount their bunny companion incessantly, coinciding with the coming of spring. Or why their spayed bunny is all of a sudden trying to build a nest.

In the meantime, you could make or buy a screen to cover the litter to stop the digging issue for now. Then maybe she'll use her dig box instead. Providing more cardboard boxes to rip up(provided she isn't trying to also eat the cardboard) can also prove helpful in redirecting that extra energy. Also rabbit safe branches/sticks or grass hay blocks, are good for redirecting chewing.
 
JBun said:
She's spayed right? And she's eating and behaving normally otherwise? It could be she is bored and/or needing more attention, which a bunny companion could give. But if that isn't the cause, then getting her a friend wouldn't necessarily stop this type of behavior.

One strong possibility is 'spring fever'. It's an instinctual behavior, even in altered rabbits, where they start getting more antsy and active with the come of spring. Where their natural instincts surge and they start digging, chewing, nesting, and even may show more hormonal type behaviors. It happens a lot where people come on here asking why one of the rabbits in their fixed pair, is all of a sudden wanting the chase and mount their bunny companion incessantly, coinciding with the coming of spring. Or why their spayed bunny is all of a sudden trying to build a nest.

In the meantime, you could make or buy a screen to cover the litter to stop the digging issue for now. Then maybe she'll use her dig box instead. Providing more cardboard boxes to rip up(provided she isn't trying to also eat the cardboard) can also prove helpful in redirecting that extra energy. Also rabbit safe branches/sticks or grass hay blocks, are good for redirecting chewing.
Click to expand...
Yes, she is spayed.

Just awful because my entire room is covered in x-pens to block her from chewing up cords. Do you have extra advice for protecting cords? I'm going to start taping them up to minimize how much is hanging around but they can't be protected if she's chewing the plastic covers I've put on all of them.
 
Use hard plastic or metal covers that are chew proof, move them out of reach, or block access with wire, wood, or plastic paneling. That's about all you can do.
http://bunnyproof.com/
If you are wanting to do a screen to cover the litter, probably the easiest solution is using plastic cross stitch canvas like this. I think #7 is the size I used in the past. It's thicker and more sturdy than sheets with smaller and more holes per inch.
plastic cross stitch canvas

Then just zip tie the sheets together and cut to size to fit the litter box. There is a possibility she could chew at it, but it's by far the easiest screen to make. The others require tools.
 
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