inexperienced bunny owner concerned with an unusual behavior

Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

zainchaudry

New Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2011
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Location
islip , New York, USA
Hi everyone,

This is the first time here, and first time having a bunny as a pet. She's been with me for a month now, she is a 2 mmonth old, still a baby, I have read several forums and help info online but one of her behaviors is still not understandable.

Her housing: in house, very large cage, with beding, a tiny house, ceramic bowl to eat(always has food), her hay(which is always there in a corner), water bottle(water changed every two days), a corner box with litter( not litter trained yet), good room temp, not hot or cold, fresh air, -she is with me in my room.

Her: loves to sleep in the corner and in the house without bedding, drinks water just fine and eats a lot hay+pellets n vegs or fruits I giver her as treat(very limited). She sleeps fine, chills, hops around, chews on everything she finds except me, she is used to me grabbing her, she sometimes tries to run but after I pet her she is ok. I let her out to explore. She loves going in and out of the cage, she loves to sit in the litter tray but poops in the corner opposite to it instead.

Time periods it happens : 11pm to 12 at midnight or in the morning around 7 am.

Unusual behavior: I observed her very closely, she scrathes herself and its as If someones trying to grab her and she runs n hops around the entire cage, she jumps as well and then she stops, she even shakes herself, or acts if someone is touching her, she does that for a minute or two, and when I open the cage she jumps out and then she is breathing hard but I pet her n she is fine. There are no fleas on her, I tried looking, not even any noise that could bother her. No other pet in the house.

I don't understand this behavior, is it something in her head that she's gone mad, she sees ghosts or is it fleas or smthng?

Help please, hate to see her doing this, and she makes her cage all messy by running and sliding.
 
Are you sure that when she's jumping around in teh cage she's not just doing the normal bunny thing of zooming around and binkying? My bunnies shake their head when they're getting excited or happy, usually just before they start zooming around the house and binkying. Sounds like normal bunny behaviour. Mine scratch but they don't have fleas or mice, i think they just have an itch now and then like we do.
 
She's playing by running around and stuff. That is about the normal time for them to play (at least the 7 am....mine tend to be more active around sunset too).

She's happy.
 
Yep sounds like its "happy bunny time". Jump on youtube and search for "bunny binky". Fraggles does all these things all over the living room with lots of foot thumping mixed in (she thumps for fun)...LOL Annete its good to hear that none of your babies have "mice". You gotta love typo's :)
 
I_heart_Fraggles wrote:
Yep sounds like its "happy bunny time". Jump on youtube and search for "bunny binky". Fraggles does all these things all over the living room with lots of foot thumping mixed in (she thumps for fun)...LOL Annete its good to hear that none of your babies have "mice". You gotta love typo's :)
Hahaha. You know i am actually known as the queen of typo's and miss tells. But oh jeez, im really glad they don't have mice, too!
:laugh:
 
Thank you Everyone, I understand her better now and during her most energetic times I let her out of the cage and she acts fine. Getting used to her now. =)
 
I agree, it sounds like pretty normal bunny behavior.
A tip on litter training, she shouldn't need bedding all over her cage. If you just keep the bedding in the litter box, she should start recognizing that as the place to go.
 
Try giving her a bunch of extra time out of her cage if she doesn't already get it. Extra energy and lots of binkys. Normal. :)
 
Oh Thank you !, I happen to try that and she has started using the litter box now, Should I let her get used to it and not change the litter for a while ?.

I let her out of the cage for hours yesterday and she didn't repeat that behavior last night or even this morning. Which actually proves it is normal and she is just energetic. The room is not rabbit proof yet so I try not to let her out of the cage without supervision. Soon she will have the freedom.

Do leashes/harnesses benefit you in any way ?, I know you can not walk a rabbit the way you can walk a dog, and snowy hates those things on her, she keepson chewing it and tries to take it off. Has the leash been beneficial for anyone with their rabbits?, I want her to be used to it from a very young age if it is going to be worth it. If she gets older she will get too stubborn.
 
I haven't had any luck with the harnesses. The eight rabbits I've had have all freaked out when I tried to put one on.

Ya a rabbit in a cage all day will be aggressive and depressed so make sure she is out as much as possible. My rabbits cages are never closed and they never get in the way :)

Change the litter box every 3-4 days.
 
bunnymother22 wrote:
Change the litter box every 3-4 days.

:yeahthat:

For the first few changes, put a little of the soiled litter back in the pan after changing it.
She'll soon get the idea that's the place to "go".
 
I'm glad you are figuring her out more. Another tip: Never give a bunny any fruits or veggies until 4 months of age. Before this time veg and fruit can cause digestive upsets (diarrhea) that can cause dehydration and death. Some may give them before this age but it is a golden rule for me as I have heard way too many times of young bunnies dying because of this. An alfalfa Hay based pellet, unlimited hay and water is all she needs right now!
Best of luck!
 
I agree with everyone :)

As for pooing in oppisite corner of litter box just move the litter box and shell get the picture some rabbits like to choose a slot themselves :)
 
they lik to jump and play and they r kinda nocternal. also if she ppops in another corner try moving the litter box there that will teach her to use the litter box. and i wouldnt suggest feeding her so much food she could become over weight which is never good.
 
the harness works with pippin but not palo and i havent tried lillie. i like the jacket harness best, but i do use a string harness sometimes. i would never hav more than one bunny on a leash at a time helps them stay calm and it is easier for you if the bun starts to freak
 

Latest posts

Back
Top