Rattling the cage?

[Astrobunny]

I got a holland lop for my birthday, and this one came from a farm. This bunny has some really odd behavior. She used to just lay around once we got her, but now she wants to hop all the time. If she wants to hop and she sees someone around, she starts biting and rattling the cage door. If I go to sleep and she still wants out, she starts thumping loudly. Vinegar on the cage doesn't work. Whats up? The bun is too young to be spayed.

Also, I want her to use a water bottle instead of the bowl. How can I get her to use it?

 

[Flashy]

She just sounds full of energy and needs to let it out. Does she get free run outside her cage? It might be worth trying to maybe attach a pen, if possible, to the cage, and if that's not possible, allowing her a good long run right before bed so that she is more tired out. Also, when she is spayed, having a friend may help keep her occupied. Do you have toys and things to stimulate her in there?

 

[anneq]

I'd second what Flashy says - sounds like she needs a bit more area to exercise.
Depending on your area you can buy the 'Organize It' wire cubes (got mine at Target)and construct an area outside her cage that extends her play space - and yes, a 2nd bunny might be perfect for her after she's spayed.
My bunnys will drink out of a crock if I let them, but I always put up a water-bottle (seems more sanitary) - there are however, places (on-line also) that sell water crocks that can attach to a cage - that way they can't tip over the water or get debris in it.

 

[Astrobunny]

I usually let her hop around the apartment, for about and hour unless she starts biting the power cords around the apartment. The rattling the cage mainly comes at night when I'm trying to sleep. I let her have a big hop before bed, and around 3-4 am she wakes me up with cage rattling.

 

[Flashy]

Unfortunately rabbits are most active at dawn and dusk, and right now dawn is generally at times when we would want to sleep.

Could you fix a pen up so she can come out at that time? Or maybe give her other stuff to do so she can keep herself busy at that time? Generally rabbits also need a minimum of 3 hours running a day, depending on the size of their cage (and obviously how active the rabbit is and how much they need that run).

She's woken up and wants to play, so the best way to stop her chewing is to find a way to accommodate her needs as well as yours.

Also, have you tried rabbit proofing the area she runs in so that she can't get to things like wires? That might make things easier.

 

[TreasuredFriend]

Is the persistent cage-rattling a heart-related concern?

 

[Astrobunny]

She gets more than 3 hours of hop time. Lately, she has figured out how to jump out of her cage, so I'm going to try getting her some toys.

 

[Flashy]

Maybe if you post a pic of her set up it might help people give you more ideas

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Serena rattles her hutch door when she wants out or when she thinks it's time for a treat. She's a checkered giant--almost 17 pounds, so, she can really rattle it too. We give all our bunnies paper towel and toilet paper rolls to play with--once the paper is all gone, of course. They also love paper grocery bags and cardboard. Also took a litter pan and filled it full of torn newspaper. They dig, re-arrange, and even burrow in under it. Every now and then I put a cardboard box in their room and watch the fun--they move it all over and chew on it until they have an opening big enough to enter. Eventually, the is almost no box left, so, we start over with a new one.

 

[okiron]

The only time I got rattling of cages from my rabbits is when their cage was too small to their liking. I made their cage bigger and the rattling stopped.

 

[Astrobunny]

Flashy wrote:

Maybe if you post a pic of her set up it might help people give you more ideas

Here is Mina.

One of her favorite activities is her salt-lick

And a flopout

After some observation and everyone's suggestions, I've got an idea. This bunny is just super friendly. She seems to want to be wherever I am; I let her out for 2 hours today, and she spent most of them following me around. She also likes to be around people all the time- when she sees people, she wants to play. When I got her, she was in a cage with her 2 brothers, so I guess she needs a lot of entertainment.

 

[Flashy]

Looking at the size of the cage I would think that she probably does need more space and more entertainment.

She's very cute, especially when flopped out

On a side note, if a rabbit is getting a good enough diet they don't need a salt lick. Some can lick until they cause themselves to be dehydrated, so one to watch, probably

 

[luvthempigs]

That is one adorable bunny!I have a holland that is super friendly too. Mabye the good temperment is a trait of the hollands?

I think the more time she spends out of her cage the better behaved she will be

Keep those pic's coming!

BTW, The bunny in your avatar is adorable too :inlove:

 

[JadeIcing]

I would agree that cage is very small. More so for a growing bun.

 

[Astrobunny]

I tried taking the salt lick away, it didn't go over well. I'll check the pet stores for a larger cage this weekend.

Oh yeah, the bunny in my profile pic is my girlfriends bunny, we got him from a pet store at 4 weeks. Way too young, but with the care we gave him, he survived. Funny story, that bunny's name used to be Nora, because we thought he was a female. About a week or two ago, my girlfriend picked him up and saw that he had some jinglebells.

 

[okiron]

Maybe try leaving a couple cranraisins where the salt lick used to be after you take it out. I'm sure you'll be forgiven soon enough

 

[luvthempigs]

I had/have a "male" bunny who turned out to be a female bunny :biggrin2: Since the name Malley can be used for either gender I didn't have to change it!