scratching the cage's door

[tailof2rabbits]

Marbles, my normallysweet little boy, has taken to scratching the door of his cage. He does this when he wants to go out or when he's bored or sometimes I think just for the heck of it. I don't think "scratching" is even the word for it. It's like he's digging, really. Won't he wreck his nails this way? I let him out at least two hours a day, sometime longer. He'sstill too headstrong to free roam. He likes climbing up the shelves but has difficulty coming down. That sort of thing.

I don't have a picture of the cage uploaded but here's part of it.

(That's Mocha. You can see Marbles' feet behind her. Anyway...)

The door of the cage has more horizontal lines and his nails run through those. He does this frantically and I used to shrug it off as adolescent angst but it's starting to scare me. I keep checking his nails.So far they're okay but for some reason,he won't let me trim the nails on his front legs. Could that be because they're sore?

I can make him stop while he's doing it but he'll do it again hours later. How do I get him to stop permanently? Thanks. Would greatly appreciate any help.

 

[Bassetluv]

This is a problem I've not really dealt with, so I'm not sure what to suggest. I don't know if you can discourage it completely, as rabbits are natural 'diggers' (and chewers), and some will do it much more than others. I suppose the potential is there for him to damage a nail if one were to get 'hung up' in the rungs. If you were to wire some cardboard or wood to the bottom of the cage door to cover up the rungs, do you think that might help? I don't know if it would discourage Marbles from digging, but it might serve as a bit of protection from getting caught. I think the fact that he is digging at the door suggests that he wants free time...all the time (some bunnies can be so demanding! LOL).

As for him not wanting you to touch his nails for trimming, it could simply be that he doesn't like having his feet touched. If you can, check his nails to look for any irregularities that would indicate soreness (red in the quick, broken, split nails, nail missing, a 'hot spot' on a toe or toes, or swelling). If they check out okay then I'd suspect he is simply touchy.

You could also try varying the routine he is now on. For instance, try having his play time in the hours before he is to be fed - if that's possible (and if you aren't already doing so). Then once he is put back in the cage, make that dinner time...something he can look forward to in returning to the cage. Extend his time outside of the cage if you can. Maybe try giving him a sisal mat to dig/chew on if he doesn't have one and place it near the area where he already digs. Give him a variety of toys to play with (tunnels, dangly toys from the roof of the cage, plastic keys or light bunny-safe toys to toss, etc.), if he doesn't have that already.

I can't think of anything else to suggest at the moment; these are all off the top of my head. I don't know if they will help, but hopefully someone who has had this challenge will have some better suggestions to add.

~Di

 

[Nessa1487]

Skippy scratches AND bites his cage door when he wants out, or when someone walks by. He hasn't hurt himself, I don't like him doing it. But, I figure if his nails are longer, it might hurt him. I do need to get his nails trimmed though. I honestly don't think it hurts a rabbit.

 

[tailof2rabbits]

Thanks. Di, what's a "hot spot" on the toes? He has all sorts of toys and a gnawing block. He'll play with them for a minute and then get bored. My bunny boy has AD/HD.:jumpforjoy: I'll be adding more soon. Also, we're easing him into free roam.

 

[Bassetluv]

A hot spot is simply an area that feels warmer to the touch than it should (if you were to feel his paw and one toe felt warmer than the rest, for instance, it would indicate that there is inflammation or some sort of infection going on).

LOL! Your poor little AD/HD bunny! Just the opposite of Raph, who I suspect is AD/SM (Attention Deficit/Slo-Mode).

Give him a hug for me!

~Di

(P.S. Mocha is adorable )

 

[tailof2rabbits]

Thank you!! Will do. Give Raph's ears a good Valentine's rub for me!:hearts

 

[thor]

Nessa1487 wrote:

Skippy scratches AND bites his cage door when he wants out, or when someone walks by. He hasn't hurt himself, I don't like him doing it. But, I figure if his nails are longer, it might hurt him. I do need to get his nails trimmed though. I honestly don't think it hurts a rabbit.

I agree with this. Thor is the same...she will scratch and bite on the cage. Bored? Wants out? Wants attention? Hungry? All of the above, probably, perhaps at different times.:rabbithop

 

[Akkatia]

If you want to discourage her from messing with her bars altogether, buy some Bitter/ Sour apple spray for dogs at the peet shop. When you go to cleanit's cage the next time, spray all sides of the cage, except for the bottom. This stuff WORKS, for serious. It has a sour taste and if your rabbit tries chewing the bars, it gives them an aweful taste. As for scratching, don't you think it might be a good idea to clip her toenails? You can't clip a rabbits toenails with a human clipper. Buy one especially for rabbits at a rabbit workshop or a pet shop. If it continues, put some timothy hay in it's cage, or dump some chinchilla sand on a solid part of her cage so it can dig around. Hope I help!

 

[bunnylover78642]

Is it ok for rabbits to dig dirt? It is not treated but we have a rabbit run and one of my rabbits lays down or eats grass while Leo likes ot dig and dig and dig... And DIG!!

 

[Akkatia]

[align=left]Oh yeah! That's just fine. It's also very cute! When they dig in the dirt, they're just referring to their instincts where they dig burrows and build warrens. They say does do most of the digging because of their nesting needs, but with all my rabbits, it seems my bucks do it a lot more.[/align]

 

[thor]

I think it's only natural for rabbits to dig dirt. When Thor is outside in her fenced in area, she has dug such a deep hole/tunnel, that I wouldn't be surprised if she dug her way out of the pen. (ha ha). I know she digs deep in the summer to keep cool.