Understanding my new Bunny's behavior

[Gezabella09]

Hiya,

I have a lovely lop called Chop but i'd like to know if anyone can explain what his behavior means!

First off he wees on me.. not so much the last couple of weeks (i've had him since June) but it was always me he weed on! My boyfriend has fallen victim a couple of times but its normally me that gets the pleasure! Why?

Second he licks me, he loved being picked up and stroked but after about 5 10 mins of me petting him he starts licking me.

Lastly we took him to the vet a couple of weeks ago and as soon as one of the receptionists went in his carry case for a stroke he started thumping. All the time we spend at the vet he was thumping his back legs like there was no tomorrow. He settled down as soon as we got him home. Is he just scared?

One other thing not on behavior but i'd like to know when i can start feeding him vegetables. He's about 3 months old now. Is it true as well that you can't feed them salad goods like tomatoes and cucumber and lettuce only veg?


Thanks in advance

Geraldine

 

[momto1]

well I can't help with much but I can say you can start adding veggies into his diet at 6 months old. There should be a list here of safe veggies to feed some veggies are not good for him.

I'm a new bunny owner too so can't offer much advice but that. Enjoy your new little guy!

 

[Amy27]

I am not sure why he is peeing on you. Maybe he is leaving his scent on you because he likes you. He wants everyone to know you are his human!

Licking you is a good sign. He is grooming you back.

Thumping is his way of telling you he is not happy. It can be because he is scared and/or mad. My buns also thump at the vets. He wants to make sure you all know how he feels about being there!

Here is some information from the library about feeding. http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12046&forum_id=17

 

[Gezabella09]

Thanks a lot. Thats really helpful.

He does love me after all!

 

[Flashy]

I think the pee is that he is claiming you as his. He's effectively marking his territory.

Licking you is bunny love, and shows he very much loves you (which also, ironically, he is showing when he wees on you).

The thumping is due to him being scared (rabbits thump for a variety of reasons but I think we can presume its fear on this occasion). It could be a particular smell (such as a dog or cat, i.e. a predator) or it could be just that he is in a different place and it is scary.

If he has not had veges before then he's probably too young to have them introduced right now.

In addition to the great link Amy has given you, this one also might be useful. http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=16340&forum_id=48

You need to make sure you make any introductions very slowly, so give a tiny piece (when he is old enough) and then wait 24 hours to see if it has any negative effect on him (diarrhoea, excess cecals, no poo, lack of appetite, any sort of change in behaviour). Then next time increase the amount you give by a bit and watch for 24 hours again, etc.

Good ones to start with are things like grass, dandelion leaves, parsley, basil, romaine lettuce.

Here are some safe and toxic food lists
http://earthhome.tripod.com/saferab.html

Safe
http://www.sniksnak.com/plants.html
http://www.adoptarabbit.com/articles/packet/abcvegi.html
http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/resources/content/info-sheets/safefoods.htm
http://www.rabbit.org/care/veggies.html

Toxic
http://www.sniksnak.com/plants-toxic.html
http://www.adoptarabbit.com/articles/toxic.html

Hope that's of some use.

It might be worth you checking out the Bunny 101 forum and also the Health section and just have a browse at some of the info in there. It's a mione of knowledge

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

use your search engine.ie.goggle for::rabbit secrets-or-adoptarabbit-or-house of rabbits for a complete list of vegys,fruits/safe-or toxic plants,,rabbit behaviour..like thumping which means warning/danger/diet nutrition issues,..sincerely james waller

 

[Sox]

I too am new to bunnies and I always like to read posts from others new to bunnies too as I find description of their behaviour and characters rather interesting. Yes, half the time, I don't understand the rabbit, don't know what he wants if he is happy or upset and its great if I can learn from other's posting.

As for veggies, well at the pet shops in Perth, they all seem to just throw in veggies and fruits without any concern for the rabbits age, which I know is wrong. Anyway, I got my bunny at 7 weeks of age (so they say, won't know till I visit the vets). I started slowly introducing carrots to Sox a tiny bit daily. I check his poo to make sure it doesn't get affected. So far so good as I only give a tiny bit. it's been 2 weeks now and he just loves carrots. Just 2 days ago, I introduced some Chinese vegetables Bok Coy and Sox loves them. I gave him more than what I should have as he adores them and came sniffing my fingers begging for more. I noticed his poo is a bit damp but still in shape and I see one or twoclumps instead of pebbles. I think I may have given him a bit too much, so I will give him only a tiny bit today. I just assumed that green vegs would be the same as eating hay. Guess I'd better slow down giving him treats despite his begging!

I gave him a tiny bit of banana once but have stopped as I read some where that bananas are a no no? Can someone please confirm? I also gave him a bite of sultanas ones as read some where that rabbits loved sultanas as a special treat but Sox hated it.

 

[missyscove]

I don't know about the peeing either, but licking is definitely a good sign.
Fiona loves to lick the inside of my elbow. The other day at work I met another bunny who also loves to groom. She licked my neck and arm.

Sox, for buns old enough to have fruits and veggies, bananas are a yes, yes!

Most buns absolutely love banana. It's a fruit though, so only in small amounts.