Bunny nipping

[Snowballbun]

Hi all! I'm fairly new to bunnies and I was wondering about a particular behavior-nipping.

My dwarf is very affectionate and licks me sometimes and loves being pet. One day, I was petting him in his cage and he nipped my finger a few times after rubbing his face on me.

From then on, when I'm holding him and petting him, he usually chews on my shirts or pants. I don't know if this is because they are wrinkled and I've read about bunnies "grooming your matted fur." He sometimes licks my pajamas too. His nips have been getting a little harder, like last nite he nipped my leg and it hurt, and today he nipped my arm through my clothes. I firmly told him no. When he nips my clothes, I've been trying to lift his front up and reposition him. He really likes chewing on zippers~!

Why is he doing this behavior and how can I deter him from chewing holes in my clothes?

 

[funnybunnymummy]

It sounds like he is grooming you in return for grooming him. However, bunnies sometimes don't realize they're nips hurt our thin skin!

Every time he nips, I'd squeal in a high-pitched "EEK!" (the sound rabbits make when they're in pain), tell him "No!", and then put him on the floor or back into his cage. Don't continue to pet him, because that's rewarding him for nipping. By putting him off your lap, it should communicate to him that nipping is unacceptable behaviour. Eventually, he should stop doing it.

Hope that helps!

Rue

 

[jleo3]

I have the same problem with my rabbit. I, too, am new to owning a rabbit. I have read that making a loud, high pitched noise after being nipped ("Eek" sounds about right) will startle them and make it an unpleasant experience for them. After all, they don't want to hurt you. They're just a little curious and that is how they investigate.

 

[Torchster]

Nips are a natural part of bunny communication. Since they rarely vocialize, they nip each other to say things like, move out of my way or stop that. Since many bunnies have a fair amount of fur on them, a little nip isn't that big of a deal. However, most people I know aren't all that hairy, and a nip on plain skin usually hurts.

The key here is that your bunny doesn't know that, he doesn't know it hurt you. Your bunny doesn't know how to communicate except in bunny. Most bunny communication is done without vocalization. From what I can tell, so much is said between buns with very subtle gestures. Your saying "no" probably meant as much to the bunny as saying "suprecalifraglistic.." I can't spell, why did I pick that word???

Anyway, you have to communicate with your bunny in bunny. funnybunnymummy gave you some good ideas. Bunnies will let a very high pitched noise if in extreme pain (I pray to God that I will never hear it). Another thing that I do, if my buns do something I don't want him doing, is that I stomp my foot and turn my back on them for a minute. You might notice from time to time that if you do something yer buns don't like, they stomp their feet and give you a nice look at their back side.

The other thing that you can't do is re-enforce this behavour, which is easy to do. Say yer bun doesn't like to be picked up. Now, from time to time, every bun needs to be picked up (vet visit for example). If you pick up yer bun, who doesn't like to be picked up, he nips you (telling you, "hey, put me down") and you put him down, he thinks of it as effective communication and you think that you have a mean bunny.

Its tough to "talk" in bunny.

Now, from what I understand - him grooming you is one of the deepest forms of bunny affection. Not all bunnies, even with other bunnies, let alone with people do this. So that probably means he cares for you very much.

You also talked about something else, a different behavour. "after rubbing his face on me". Rabbits have sent gland under their chin. Humans can't smell these scents (so it doesn't really matter too much), but other animals can. If he was "chinning you", well that is how rabbits mark stuff as theirs. They chin something to take ownership. This cage is mine, this toy is mine, so forth. The funny thing is - I don't know if a bunny chining you is a good thing or not??? He might be saying that he sees you as a lesser bunny and that he is in charge. I just don't know on that one.

As far as chewing clothes, well if that is all that gets the bunny treatment. Be happy. I try to discourage it myself, but my buns like to chew to stuff so I give them plenty to chew and don't reward chewing on stuff I really like, well, intact. I also don't wear my good clothes around my buns either.

 

[elrohwen]

My bun did this allll the time when he was a baby, so I'll tell you what I did to stop it. He was clearly trying to nip my clothing, but he would nip through to skin and it hurt (not to mention I didn't like having holes in my clothes!). I tried telling him no and pushing him away a bit. When that didn't work, I would just get up and leave. He was trying to play with me/groom me, so when I left he realized "Ahh, if I nip, my playmate leaves." After doing this about 5 times, he never nipped me again.

It's important to not positively reinforce the nipping by petting him or giving him attention when he does it. He'll just learn that nipping gets him attention and it will be hard to break the habit.

 

[Snowballbun]

Thanks for all the great advice everyone. I am happy everyone has so much knowledge about bunnies and that you are all so kind to respond, especially in such detail I was really looking forward to the responses. I've been trying the "Eeek" and high pitched noises and they seem to be working. He seems to go on and off with his chewing/nipping, but it seems to overall be helping. I will definitely keep the whole reinforcement thing in mind, even with other aspects of the bunny. Also, I'm glad to know that the things he does means he loves me/cares about me very much Thanks, you guys are the best!