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Steph16

Steph16

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I have a question or need some opinions.

Jacob has recently gotten this great idea to dig and bit at his cage. He used to bit at his cage, but not dig. I am fine with it during the day, but when he does it at night, it's beyond annoying. I am wanting some suggestions on how to get him to stop.

I have placed and attached his tunnel to the cage where he bites, but now he has moved over a little.

I have also moved the square that I open to the top. 1 part so he can't dig at it, and 2nd part so that I can move him away from the area to deter him from biting.

I have also tried the putting my hand on top of his head to "tell" him that he is bad. But he doesn't seem to understand it. Also I have raised my voice to him and told him no, and he sort of stops for a moment, then he starts up again.

Last thing I have done is, last night he hit my last straw and so I took his little carrier and placed him in it for the remainder of the night. But I don't want to do this all the time. I would rather teach him not to bite and dig at his cage, then remove him every night.

Also I am not going to use the hot sauce thing. I don't want him to get it on his paws, then later that evening clean his face and get it in his eyes and make him blind.

Thanks for all your help,

Steph
 
He sounds bored. He needs a 'job'. Do you have a photo of his set up and maybe we can suggest some layout changes or distractions?

Not sure if it's possible to try and change his hours by keeping him busier when you're awake, but something to look at.

Off the top of my head, can you let him out at night with an x-pen around his home?

You can stick a cardboard box crammed full of hay for him to work on. (I think you already have a box with hay (the pet store bags are never enough, really best to buy it by the bale), but really stuff it in a bigger one, even if it's in his way at night). They like chewing on things that don't move, so if it can be secured to the side of the pen, even better.

With mine, the more levels I added to their pens, the quieter they are. And if I put a bunch of hay in their pens right before I go to sleep, they tend to munch away on it at 5 AM instead of driving me nuts with 'projects'.

Hope this helps!


sas :bunnydance:
 
Rabbits are naturally most active at dusk and dawn so it certainly makes sense that his activity at night is annoying you. Timmy used to dig everything out of his litter box if he didn't get his breakfast pellets by 6 am. I always fed him around 5:45 on weekdays when I got up for school, but on weekends I would wake up extra early to feed him and go back to bed before he started his dig-a-thon.
Is he getting lots of out time to exercise? Maybe he just needs to tire out a bit more before your bedtime.
 
I let him out the other evening, while I was watching tv, but it didn't seem to stop him from biting and digging.

Also I could handle him digging the floor, cause I have a towel down. But it's the fact that he is biting and digging his cage walls. It is so noisy at night, and I don't know if the neighbours downstairs can hear it.

Like I have recently moved and I could not bring all of the squares that I used to have, so his cage has decreased in size quite a lot. I have put a bunch of items up in between him and his cage, so he gets a clue to bite those instead. But he is not getting that hint.

Maybe I just have to go to the pet store and look for more things, like a hay bin that hangs on the side of the cage.

I do find putting him in his carrier at night does help with the biting. He seems to just lay and sleep. I put some hay, some water and a little pile of litter in it with him.

Also do you think that neutering him will stop or at least decrease this behaviour?

Also I have a bunch of stuff for him to bite on. Like 3 pieces of cardboard, his hay, some toys and a big roll of hard cardboard that is covered in hay.

I will try and post some pictures within a couple of days. But I don't have much to work with for redesigning.
 
Sounds like Toby.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u08mfm9qHUs[/ame]
That's what he likes to do at 3am. I either take out his house for the night or give him more hay, sometimes that works sometimes it doesn't.

I'm working on a new cage plan so hopefully that'll help his restlessness.
 
Well I went to the pet store and found a hay bin that hangs on the side of the cage, and I secured it with zip ties. Also I have his water dish, his tunnel and his food dish along that wall. Hopefully that will work. It seems this wall is the only one he bits. I also bought him these timothy hay cube chews, so that if he is board at night, then he can chew them. So hopefully I have fixed it a little.

Whoever knew that a little 5lb bunny could be so sassy!
 
K it didn't work... I still had to put him in his carrier last night.

I have know idea what to do else. He has so many things in his cage to play with, but all he wants to do it bit the side of the cage...

I will call around today and see how much it costs to neuter him. I am just getting really sick of this behaviour.
 
Have you tried putting him in another room at night that he can free range safely, like the bathroom ( toilet lid down of course ) or a back bedroom. Benjamin is a 15 pound rabbit that decides on occasion to bite and scratch his dirt box or the wall beside it at night. I am think that he is a crafty little butt because he just knows that it drives me crazy and I get up and give him some more food and chase him around abit and pet him. Some nights when it is really annoying I just drag him into bed with me. You gotta love them. lol
 
Well a little update... Jacob is going for his surgery on Thursday. I would love to be able to put him in his own room, but I don't have enough room for that.

When I get a little more money I will be buying more material for his cage. So I can build him something bigger.
 
Being neutered will probably help a lot. Though, Spike still bites at his cage sometimes. I got a timothy hay mat at the pet store and put it where he bites. That helps a little. I'll wake up in the morning and that mat will have been ripped to shreds.
 
So just a little update... He went for his surgery, and everything went fine. I was worried the whole day.

He is just resting and recovering.

Oh I also found some place that sells the cube cage sides (Canadian Tire). So I bought some more and was able to build his cage up a little more. Although, I wont let him jump up to the second level until maybe tomorrow or the next day, even though the dr. said there shouldn't be a problem. So hopefully the extra room and the neutering will help with the biting of the cage.

Yeah I tried cardboard on the side of the cage, just for a quick fix. But it didn't work so well just cause he would bite it and slap it against the side of the cage.

Also I found that ziptieing the cage together decreased the amount of sound he made. So he was able to stay in the cage for last night.
 
Jacob started eating today too. I fed him some carrot tops and some cilantro, but he didn't take. So I went out today and bought him some kale and some parsley and he started eating it right away.

He also pooped a little, but it is a bit runny (but the little pamphlet that I received from the vet said it could be). But I think he was eating some cecals today too.

So he is on the road to recovery. I am so happy for him! And he is so brave.

Also I already noticed that he is getting a little better with being held already. He isn't so fond of me picking him up, but once I am holding him, he doesn't squirm or breath so rapidly, that I think he is going to go into cardiac arrest.
 
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