My rabbit is frustrating xD

[SaruCharmed]

Ripley keeps digging on the blanket under his playpen, and I keep giving him a grass mat which I bought for this purpose, but he doesn't use it. He just chews on it. What can I give him that he'll like digging on so I can encourage him to use that instead of my blanket? xD

 

[JBun]

You could make a dig box with hay or something to dig around in. Or put a fleece blanket down that would be ok to dig on, or cardboard. Is he neutered?

 

[BinkyBunny]

Does an unneutered have a drive to dig more? Why would that be?

 

[JBun]

The hormones can drive them a bit to do it. At least with one of my female rabbits it did. She was a digging fanatic before I got her spayed. Now she doesn't do it even half as much as she used to.

 

[lagomorph]

My almost 7 yr old neutered male still digs a lot, and the spayed female I used to have also dug a lot. Despite the fact that they were spayed/neutered before maturity, they would go into a digging frenzy every spring, as if to prepare for a litter. The digging obsession resumes in fall, perhaps to ensure an adequate burrow for winter. These are outdoor rabbits who have a large enclosure where they can create an actual burrow.

 

[SaruCharmed]

He recently got neutered. And he doesn't dig a WHOLE lot, I'm just not sure why he doesn't use the things I buy him and instead chooses to mess up things I don't want him to. xD

 

[LakeCondo]

That's life. Other people & our pets don't do what we want them to do.

 

[Tam O Ham]

this morning I spent twenty minutes watching Georgie 'make' her bed. She's got a towel in a corner she likes to lay on and apparently this morning suddenly it was All Wrong! So we got digging. And then we got biscuit making - ie. pushing out with her front paws until she's all stretched out. And then we got a bit of nibbling, some nose pushing and a generous amount of tugging. Along with a bit more digging and biscuit making. By the time she was done her towel was all the way across the floor. It was adorable.

sometimes bunnies just need to show the world who's boss of the place and rearrange. So your little guy might be attempting to do that. Or maybe he's just digging because he feels the blanket needs digging and it crumbles very nicely. Either way, is he hurting anything by doing it? Because if not, I'd just let him do his thing and than straighten up after him. Bunnies get weird notions inside their heads and they tend to stick with them. If it makes him happy and gets him some exercise and nothing's getting hurt than why not? If he's hurting his paws or something though maybe putting some cardboard in place of or over the blanket might work instead?

 

[Troller]

Well ever since my bunny's neuter he's been on a rampage. More chewing, more flipping his bowl and more of every bad behavior he barely exhibited before. I'm almost regretful getting him fixed and I hope it's just the hormones kicking in for one last hurah rather then retaliation for taking away the family jewels.

 

[Chrisdoc]

this morning I spent twenty minutes watching Georgie 'make' her bed. She's got a towel in a corner she likes to lay on and apparently this morning suddenly it was All Wrong! So we got digging. And then we got biscuit making - ie. pushing out with her front paws until she's all stretched out. And then we got a bit of nibbling, some nose pushing and a generous amount of tugging. Along with a bit more digging and biscuit making. By the time she was done her towel was all the way across the floor. It was adorable.

sometimes bunnies just need to show the world who's boss of the place and rearrange. So your little guy might be attempting to do that. Or maybe he's just digging because he feels the blanket needs digging and it crumbles very nicely. Either way, is he hurting anything by doing it? Because if not, I'd just let him do his thing and than straighten up after him. Bunnies get weird notions inside their heads and they tend to stick with them. If it makes him happy and gets him some exercise and nothing's getting hurt than why not? If he's hurting his paws or something though maybe putting some cardboard in place of or over the blanket might work instead?

Wow that so reminds me of Houdini, he´s always rearranging his fleece, he pushes it outwards with his front paws and strethes right out then he does it to the rest then he turns it over then he decides to move the straw as well and once he´s finished, five minutes later, he digs somewhere else. I just let him get on with it if he´s enjoying himself and not making too much of a mess. Snowy does the same thing with his fleece, he digs at it, rolls it up, moves it round until it´s just right for him. I actually find these kind of things they do fascinating as you wonder what they´re replicating in wild bunnies. They all have their little peculiarities which makes them all so different.

So, I agree if he´s not hurting himself and not doing any damage to anything, let him enjoy.

 

[SaruCharmed]

Well... the blanket I was talking about doesn't go anywhere when he digs at it. His playpen is on it so it's pretty much flat on the floor and he can't do anything about that. I am a bit worried though that if he were to dig at this continuously for long enough that he'd wear a hole right through the blanket which would defeat the purpose of this because it's meant to create a barrier between him and the carpet so he doesn't soil the carpet if he happens to pee and so he doesn't chew on the carpet fibers. I don't mind if he digs at his bed blanket. He rearranges that all the time. Lol

 

[Shmoo06]

I don't know if this will help, but at wal-mart and I think Big Lots I've purchased "rugs" for a couple bucks that are really just squares of carpet.

They haven't really dug at it(not huge diggers), but it might be something to try. I mainly used them to put on the bathroom floor when I had Stitch in there. I have my litter boxes on a couple of them just in case they do miss, it doesn't go directly to my carpet. lol.

 

[mochajoe]

My experience with having pet bunnies off and on over the past 22 years.....some bunnies are diggers and some not so much....just like some are chewers and some are not! I have a bunny he NEVER chewed on anything....then another who chewed on EVERYTHING!!! I have had the same experience with digging....and in my experience it didn't seem to matter if they were fixed or not....same with the chewing! Every bunny is different! I am also and advocate for spaying and neutering....so I would start there! Good luck!