bunny is being a little brat all of a sudden!

my little skipper used to be so humble!
i recently moved around all the furniture in my room to allow a 5ft x 4ft run/pen area for him to live in while i was not at home. This is a big step from his smaller accommodations before.

all of a sudden, he's started to chew on the bars of his cage. Something i know is normal for guineas and rabbits, but he never used to do it!
how can i deter this? i have been woken up in the middle of the night about 10 times to go refill his hay, or give him chew sticks. he doesnt seem to care for them anymore he just wants his cage bars to be chewed.

i have bitter apple spray that i bought for my dog when he was a puppy. Will this formula be safe for my rabbit or is there a specific brand for rabbits that you need to buy?
is there any home remedies i can use that work? i heard vinegar works but i havent tried it yet.

any comments will be appreciated. Do you think its because he lives in a bigger area now?

Is he neutered? Does he have a friend?

What do you do if he chews at the bars?

It sounds to me like he's bored. If I were you I'd get him neutered, then adopt him a girlie bun. Would it be possible for them to live outside, at least during the summer? As rabbits are crepuscular they would normally expend A LOT of their energy at dawn and dusk. Does he have freerange during these times? How much free time does he get each day?

I agree with the other posters.
Also if your bun was used to the room before you changed everything round, from his viewpoint it's an entirely new environment he'll want to claim as his territory.

Buns carry an internal map of exactly where eveything is in a room - so when things are moved it scuppers their internal map!
Mine ran smack into a white clothes horse one evening during play time. He's far from blind, it wasn't in his map & as far as he was concerned suddenly appeared from no where!!

Similarly if he wasn't used to being confined in the room before, he'll be protesting. Buns are very much creatures of habit.

as above, but also the more you react to it the more he will do it, biggles does this to me but i end up lifting the whole cage and moving it to the hall, for some reason they never rattle there :lol:

They do this for attention, so yes he may well be bored or annoyed that things have changed.

I agree with the others it is bordom/attention seeking. I have had this problem with mine a few times. Things i have tried include new toys... something like a treat ball were they have to push it around to get the food out .

Also another thing i did was spoke to the vet about it and they gave me some valariean compound to put in there food.... chills them out abit.

My bun hates anything to be moved - and she has the run of the house! It really throws her and she thumps and bangs for days, even weeks. Chewing would be par for the course. I think you upset someone :lol:

oh no!
that was my last intention i thought he would be happy to have so much more space.

to answer your questions, no, he isnt neutered. I have been calling around various places asking for quotes and procedures, i've only found one place that really sounds like they take care of their animals. its 500 bucks! so, hopefully i'll be able to scrape that together by the end of the month.

I am also planning on adopting a certain rabbit named fig (shes the cutest thing ever and only has one ear! i love her.) she costs another 120 dollars, so i'd have to scrape that together too.

see unfortunately for me, im graduating college in a few weeks. so i dont have a job, and finding one after college is going to be tough. i currently live with my mom whos willing to help pay for the neuter but she doesnt want another bun in the house. So i have to move out on my own before i expand my bunny family.
It is certainly something i am looking forward to doing though!

in terms of him being bored.... URGH! this bothers me, he has so many toys and balls and chew-things. how could he possibly be bored. what a fussybun.

Don't worry about the change around. He'll come to terms with it & remap!

An easy way to stop him chewing the bars, is to tie a large piece of perspex on the outside. (Drill holes & use cotton thread) They can't get their nose through to chew . It has to be on the outside so they can't cut themselves if they try to "chin scent" it & make sure he can't get ot it on the outside too.

There is a further explaination of the chewing, he's just saying,"I don't like being confined at all - not big enough - let me out". Sometimes we have to reply "tough matey!!"

that makes total sense.

im so upset i want to have a happy bunny and i do everything i can for him. last night he had all his toys to play with, and there was no biting of any bars. i actually got a good nights sleep for once. i also let him cuddle with me in bed before he skipped off to his pen.

Ah the night time cuddle is very important for some buns. In their behaviour it's a mutual grooming which reinforces the bondbetween their "partners" who can be human, when there is no companion bun.

My bun gets depressed, & eats less, if we miss our bed time routine cuddle. Because he's a singebuck & I'm all he has, I allow him to "groom"= lick me back, usually my nose & eyebrows!! I call it my pre face wash!:lol:

thumps_ said:

Ah the night time cuddle is very important for some buns. In their behaviour it's a mutual grooming which reinforces the bondbetween their "partners" who can be human, when there is no companion bun.

My bun gets depressed, & eats less, if we miss our bed time routine cuddle. Because he's a singebuck & I'm all he has, I allow him to "groom"= lick me back, usually my nose & eyebrows!! I call it my pre face wash!:lol:

Click to expand...

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol: classic and very sweet :lol:

all seems to be better! he started not only chewing the bars of his cage, but the bars on the pen now too. but i think he knows not to do it when the lights go off now. such a smart bunny

what are some other ideas to keep them entertained while im not home? i mean he has all sorts of toys, is there anything else i can do?

Womble did this for a while and it turned out to be boredom.

We bought some toys but the 2 most popular where:

1) A used foil/cling film tube stuffed tight with hay. Allow the hay to hang out the end and maybe some treats mixed in. Didn't last too many days but lead to peace and quite and was cheap

2) We also bought a large Willow Ball and filled the gaps again with hay. Wrapping it in one and out another. Did the same with added strips of non inked cardboard.

Gives plenty to chew at and throw around and we got a good nights sleep

Misty loves a box, big enough to hide in and sit on and bite through, and open at one side, or better still, all closed up with a rabbit sized hole in the side. I put hay in one but she took it out - just the box, thank you Mammy.

A phone directory is good too. Good for tearing pages and biting. And she has a plastic wash ball that you use with washing detergent - she loves to fling it in the air and watch it roll down the stairs.:roll:

She also has a ted in her cage that she gives a little cuddle to every now and then.

thanks for the advice guys. i give skipper a toilet roll with hay/chew logs stuffed into it every night and that seems to help a lot.
also, covering the cage with a blanket so it blocks the bars - one of the smartest things i ever did!!

he also has about 4 teddy bears, a plush ball, a chewing ball, a treat ball, three other plain foil/saran rolls. he also has tons of blankets to dig through, and a digging box
plus a box to run in/out of. and tons of hay. jeez. how could he be bored lol.


i've noticed now, if anything, he only does it in the morning. as if to wake me up and say "Mom, im awake now... you need to play with me.... stop sleeping!"