Ripley is being a bad bunny.

[Bunnylova4eva]

So I need some behavioral help with Ripley. Thoughts? Ideas? :

Lately he's been peeing out of his litter box. Every day or two, I'll find a puddle right next to his litter box. I don't really thing it's a UTI but I guss I could be wrong. He's always had great litter habits until now he's made this new habit. Also since being neutered (in the spring), its been rare to find even a bit of poop out of his litter box. Now there's like 10 little poops a day in his pen.

Also, he never used to chew on things. Ever. Now, I let him out, and he makes a b-line for anything and everything chewable. Primarily power cords. He already chewed one in two that was plugged in, but because of the type of cord he was alright. I'm really worried one of these day's he'll electrocute himself.

Also, he's quite the nibbler. He hates being handled or pet at all. He's a friendly boy when he's running around or able to jump on your lap, but as soon as you go to pet or hold him, he's out of there. He bites if he wants you to move out of his way or if you're holding him for any length of time (more than 30 seconds).

Nail trimming with him is a nightmare. I've trimmed many a bunnies nails, but he is the worst. There's almost no strategy that works. I've tried them all and he's awful. The only thing that works at all is giving lots of food the whole time. However, by the end, he is still very stressed out and I'm totally scratched.

Any help is much appreciated. Don't get me wrong, I love Ripley alot. But, of all the bunnies we've had, he's quite the knucklehead :brat: .

 

[JBun]

Oh, but he's such an adorable bunny! That cute little face isn't the face of a bad bunny, is it? No, I know what you mean. My bunnies have their cute moments, then turn around and be obnoxious.

Behavior wise, I wouldn't allow the biting without doing something to show him it's not acceptable. I've noticed sometimes with my rabbits, that when they get too much freedom, they can become a bit bratty and think they are entitled to do whatever they want. Once I show them that I am the boss and there are boundaries to what is allowed, they do a lot better, and are much better behaved. Though they of course, will sometimes try and see what they can get away with. You may have to dial back on his freedom a bit, and supervise his play time. When he misbehaves or does something that isn't allowed, discipline him in whatever way works best for him(a loud clap and a 'no' often works for my buns, though sometimes it may take a bit more), then maybe divert his attention to something that is allowed. You may also want to bunny proof your cords.

I have a few buns that are very difficult to trim nails on. One in particular will bite me if given the chance. The only way I can get her nails trimmed is to lay her on my lap with her head kind of lowered and supported between my knees, and a corner of the towel she is laying on, placed over her head to protect me from those sharp teeth. It's kind of awkward to do, but seems to keep her the calmest, and enables me to get the nail trimming done quickly and without stressing her too much.

With the peeing accidents, it could be behavioral, but ruling out health problems is a good idea. Could be a UTI or sludge/stones, or it could be something like arthritis making it more difficult for him to hop in the litter box. Could you lower the side of the litter box to see it that helps?

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Spike used to go in his litter pan, but he'd back to the edge and his pee would stream outside--I put it in a cardboard box with higher sides and put a small entrance in the front, middle. Problem solved. Can you get someone to help hold while you trim--he's just got to get used to a certain amount of handling. I have help, but not looking forward to Cosmos' first trimming as he's a squirmer--Hoppes should be alright because once you pick him up he calms down. Nikki is a squirmer too, but she's so small that she is controllable.

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

hmmm, punishing him for the bad behavior is definitely something Ripley needs to see more of. However, I'm not totally sure what that should include. I've tried all sorts of things-clapping when he goes to bite things, a firm NO!, pushing his had down and hold it for a couple seconds (I've heard for bunnies that the head down is submission), letting out a scream when he bites me, and all sorts of things. He really doesn't seem to respond. Or, he does but seems afraid of me after. But, the whole "only positive reinforcement" with no punishment has made him a little brat as well. *sigh* He's really like a little child..

For nail trimming, I think someone must have quicked him really bad at some point, because not only does he behave badly and won't let me restrain him, but by the end he is so stressed out and he seems terrified by the whole ordeal; I think he's really scared of it.

I've tried low edge and high edge litter boxes, but he continues with accidents. I got him a big cat box and was hoping that might help, but no. He mostly goes in, but goes beside it a lot. And, he's only 2 so I'm not sure arthritis would be an issue. If I can't get the accidents figured out, I may take him in to see if it's a UTI or stone, but it really seems behavioral.

JBun, I do think you have something there are about limiting his freedom abit. The paragraph at the bottom of this article http://rabbit.org/faq-litter-training-2/ sums what I think has happened up perfectly under the behavioral related section. However, I don't know exactly how to solve it.

As of late, Ripley hasn't had the greatest routine either, which, I know bunnies are creatures of habit and love routine. He might just be frustrated about that, and has formed a new bad habit because he's irritated. However, now I can't trust him out loose anyway, or he'll have accidents and chew the chords so it's hard having a set routine anyway (it got messes up to start out due to my work schedule etc.)

 

[Paddy Ohara]

Perhaps being bunny of the month has given him an ego?