rabbit handling help

i have a male harlequin dwarf lop called scooter who hasnt been done yet but soon will be hes about a year old. he has some behaviour problems the main of these is ragging and chewing the cage bars now i do know this is normal for an indoor bunny and i do realise this but if he carries on my moms gonna make me get rid of him and i would rather not get rid of him to scared that no one will take him because of his bad behaviour. he does every so often show off his good side very rarely.

anyways ever since he was little he refuses to let me handle him dont know if its due to fear or aggression issues and i was wondering if there was anything that could be done to change this.

Also when ever i leave home to go to boyfriends or on holiday, i leave him in the care of my mom now she has little to do with him as possible she feeds and waters him and lets him out for a little bit of excercise and according to her hes normally good as gold apart from if she doesnt feed him at the right time he gets upset and tryes to go for at which point my mom tells him off by either putting him back in his cage and leaving him or just shove his butt, at which point he soon gets over it and starts being nice again. whenever he gets let out he will mark the cage with his chin which is normal for him he also has a basket ball to play with when hes out of the cage he plays with that and marks it and comes back to her and starts bitting her clothes. now with me there isnt anything that he hasnt tried to do he has tried to bite me once but it was ages ago, he goes to do it now but he dares not cause i just tell him that ill either not let him out or he can wiat for his dinner for the next hour at which point he soon stops lol he ragges on the cage when im asleep this is normally about 6 oclock in the morning he normally gets feed at about 7, lucky i do have ear plugs but i dont like to ignore him for too long done want him to wake everybody else up.

shadow05 said:

he has some behaviour problems the main of these is ragging and chewing the cage bars now i do know this is normal for an indoor bunny

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This is not normal behaviour for a rabbit (indoor or out) it is a sign that your rabbit is bored and frustrated. He's got nothing to do so he's rattling the bars as he's frustrated or possibly partly because he knows they open to let him out.

To stop this you need to look at his accommodation and time out. If he spends a lot of time in a cage then it needs to be big eg a 4' dog crate with multiple levels, a custom cube cage or a pen. If he doesn't get a lot of exercise time then you could increase it but using a pen attached to his cage. Space isn't the only factor. It needs to be interesting space so he needs activities to do ever day and different things each day. So lots of toys, things to chew, a digging box, hide his food so he has to search etc.

If he has lots to do then he won't have any spare time to chew the cage in.

I think you'll find the other issues you have are related to hormones so the should improve after neutering.

Tamsin said:

This is not normal behaviour for a rabbit (indoor or out) it is a sign that your rabbit is bored and frustrated. He's got nothing to do so he's rattling the bars as he's frustrated or possibly partly because he knows they open to let him out.

To stop this you need to look at his accommodation and time out. If he spends a lot of time in a cage then it needs to be big eg a 4' dog crate with multiple levels, a custom cube cage or a pen. If he doesn't get a lot of exercise time then you could increase it but using a pen attached to his cage. Space isn't the only factor. It needs to be interesting space so he needs activities to do ever day and different things each day. So lots of toys, things to chew, a digging box, hide his food so he has to search etc.

If he has lots to do then he won't have any spare time to chew the cage in.

I think you'll find the other issues you have are related to hormones so the should improve after neutering.

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thank u i am hoping that neutering will help. he was actually quite good yesterday night he didnt actually make to much noise and this morning he only made a little bit of a noise with the bars i did give him a new toy yesterday. i might start buting him a toy every week but there arent that many places that do loads of toys for him.

i do think his cage is a little bit small hes been in it since he was a baby bunny but at the time it was the biggest size i could get, after hes been done i am hoping to get him a new home, but it will take some time to gather the money up for that, at the moment i am at collage and unfortunatly i dont get home for until about half 6 which means i dont get to spend as much time with him as i would like but on average every day he gets let out for about 10 to 20 mins but this does range on wat day it is on the weekends i do try to get him out for a bit longer but with him destroying stuff and spraying every where it does make it a bit harder i would put him in his pen during the day but i really dont trust him enought and knowing him he would spray and bite the carpet all day.

How big is his cage?

Buns need a MINIMUM of 4 hours per day out of their cage/hutch to run around in as much space as possible, it is also recommended to have an attached enclosure of atleast 6x4ft permanently attached to their cage so that they can exercise as much as possible for the other 20 hours they are caged up.

I agree with Tamsin, it doesn't sound like bun has enough space or enough to do and is either extremely bored or frustrated or both. He also needs neutering which should help calm some of his hormonally driven behaviour, but I am concerned that this bunny does not have enough space to live or play adequately and is begining to suffer emotional and maybe physical deteriment as a result. :?

prettylupin said:

How big is his cage?

Buns need a MINIMUM of 4 hours per day out of their cage/hutch to run around in as much space as possible, it is also recommended to have an attached enclosure of atleast 6x4ft permanently attached to their cage so that they can exercise as much as possible for the other 20 hours they are caged up.

I agree with Tamsin, it doesn't sound like bun has enough space or enough to do and is either extremely bored or frustrated or both. He also needs neutering which should help calm some of his hormonally driven behaviour, but I am concerned that this bunny does not have enough space to live or play adequately and is begining to suffer emotional and maybe physical deteriment as a result. :?

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trust me hes not suufering phsical lol but i really do want to expand his cage but i have a problem with him not behaving while hes out i can extend the cage with his playpen but my problem is in my bed room i havent got enought space if i move things around again and get rid of my wardrobe then he could possible have an extension added, but even then this will take months because i have to have it chopped up and burnt and my brothers wont do it easily would do it my self but i have joint problems. and then after that i need something to have the bottom of the extenstion so he doesnt have a go at the carpet. someones tolod me to get big cardboard boxes and try them but i cant find any to be able to do this. ive also been told to use chew stoppa spray from petsathome.

Sorry but 10-20 minutes is nothing. He really needs longer. Can you not let him out while you get ready in the mornings? Or let him free-range as soon as you come home until you go out.

shadow05 said:

trust me hes not suufering phsical lol but i really do want to expand his cage but i have a problem with him not behaving while hes out i can extend the cage with his playpen but my problem is in my bed room i havent got enought space if i move things around again and get rid of my wardrobe then he could possible have an extension added, but even then this will take months because i have to have it chopped up and burnt and my brothers wont do it easily would do it my self but i have joint problems. and then after that i need something to have the bottom of the extenstion so he doesnt have a go at the carpet. someones tolod me to get big cardboard boxes and try them but i cant find any to be able to do this. ive also been told to use chew stoppa spray from petsathome.

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can anybody else suggest something that i could do with him in the mean time? apart from putting him outside.

Schuette said:

Sorry but 10-20 minutes is nothing. He really needs longer. Can you not let him out while you get ready in the mornings? Or let him free-range as soon as you come home until you go out.

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i would normally try to let him out for about another 10 to 15 mins in a morning but he wants his food and just goes back in his cage. i really would love to have him as a free range rabbit but the main thing is his bad behaviour when he is out. he just about attacks anything in his site and i do know that they can be quite destructive sometimes but he goes abit over the line. for some reason he wont touch wires or cable though but will have a go at anything else.

shadow05 said:

trust me hes not suufering phsical lol but i really do want to expand his cage but i have a problem with him not behaving while hes out i can extend the cage with his playpen but my problem is in my bed room i havent got enought space if i move things around again and get rid of my wardrobe then he could possible have an extension added, but even then this will take months because i have to have it chopped up and burnt and my brothers wont do it easily would do it my self but i have joint problems. and then after that i need something to have the bottom of the extenstion so he doesnt have a go at the carpet. someones tolod me to get big cardboard boxes and try them but i cant find any to be able to do this. ive also been told to use chew stoppa spray from petsathome.

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Have you considered bunny proofing your room? If he isn't getting enough space or exercise he will suffer physically. His muscles will waste away. Bunny proofing can be done. My room is bunny proofed. My lops have the entire run of my room, including my bed with a ramp :lol:, all the time 24-7. One of the best things for bunny proofing is these...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Seville-Cube-...UK_Storage&hash=item5635f4d482#ht_1547wt_1141
(there are others cheaper, I've just picked the first result)

I've used them extensively to block off cables, corners, wood, bookcases, etc. They really are fab for bunny proofing and you can build cages with them.

shadow05 said:

i would normally try to let him out for about another 10 to 15 mins in a morning but he wants his food and just goes back in his cage. i really would love to have him as a free range rabbit but the main thing is his bad behaviour when he is out. he just about attacks anything in his site and i do know that they can be quite destructive sometimes but he goes abit over the line. for some reason he wont touch wires or cable though but will have a go at anything else.

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He will be destructive, he's not neutered.

He needs to be neutered and out a lot more.

chul said:

He needs to be neutered and out a lot more.

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i do realise this but it going to be a little while until i can get the money together for this. is there anything that i could do while im wiating for this. u have to remeber that he lives in my bedroom and is not aloud anywhere else. my mom is at the moment deciding if he can have a friend which im hoping she will say yes but that bunny im not getting until hes done and my room is bunny proffed unfortunatly he could never roam free in my room due to brothers not shutting doors and my mothers dog. but he could have an extension put on but yet again that wont happen for a while still need to do some bunny proofing.

shadow05 said:

i do realise this but it going to be a little while until i can get the money together for this. is there anything that i could do while im wiating for this. u have to remeber that he lives in my bedroom and is not aloud anywhere else. my mom is at the moment deciding if he can have a friend which im hoping she will say yes but that bunny im not getting until hes done and my room is bunny proffed unfortunatly he could never roam free in my room due to brothers not shutting doors and my mothers dog. but he could have an extension put on but yet again that wont happen for a while still need to do some bunny proofing.

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Buy a pen and attach it to the cage? You can pcik one up fairly cheap and it would save bunny proofing yet

you really need to take note of the replies you have had, it is unfair on bunny to be shut up all the while, with little or no excerise, he's muscles will start wasting away, you really need to get him neutered, he probably plays up because he is so board and frustrated at being shut up most of the day, could you block the door with a piece of plywood so bun carn't get out of your room if the door was left open, you could get a water proof mattress protecter for your bed, and hide your wires, that way bun would have more freedom than been shut in a cage all day until you can get a run to attach to the cage, also make a digging box cat litter trays cost next to nothing fill it with hay and herbs, and toilet rolls they love to chew these up, just use your imagination you'll be suprised at the things you can come up with to keep bun a bit happier. i sorry if i have spoke out of term but really you should have gone into all this before you decided to have a rabbit.

maggiebuns said:

you really need to take note of the replies you have had, it is unfair on bunny to be shut up all the while, with little or no excerise, he's muscles will start wasting away, you really need to get him neutered, he probably plays up because he is so board and frustrated at being shut up most of the day, could you block the door with a piece of plywood so bun carn't get out of your room if the door was left open, you could get a water proof mattress protecter for your bed, and hide your wires, that way bun would have more freedom than been shut in a cage all day until you can get a run to attach to the cage, also make a digging box cat litter trays cost next to nothing fill it with hay and herbs, and toilet rolls they love to chew these up, just use your imagination you'll be suprised at the things you can come up with to keep bun a bit happier. i sorry if i have spoke out of term but really you should have gone into all this before you decided to have a rabbit.

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:thumb: This!

maggiebuns said:

you really need to take note of the replies you have had, it is unfair on bunny to be shut up all the while, with little or no excerise, he's muscles will start wasting away, you really need to get him neutered, he probably plays up because he is so board and frustrated at being shut up most of the day, could you block the door with a piece of plywood so bun carn't get out of your room if the door was left open, you could get a water proof mattress protecter for your bed, and hide your wires, that way bun would have more freedom than been shut in a cage all day until you can get a run to attach to the cage, also make a digging box cat litter trays cost next to nothing fill it with hay and herbs, and toilet rolls they love to chew these up, just use your imagination you'll be suprised at the things you can come up with to keep bun a bit happier. i sorry if i have spoke out of term but really you should have gone into all this before you decided to have a rabbit.

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I'm glad you said this. I'm having trouble being tactful but you've said it all in a very tactful way.

We'll all help you with bunny-proofing. I've got quite a lot of experience in it as mine have been house bunnies for 3-4 years now. Tarps over beds are quite good, with some large clips to stop it slipping off. The panels I mentioned earlier are good for blocking off furniture and wires. It can be done.

You really need to get him neutered and asap before he gets into a pattern of destructive behaviour. Can you ask for a small loan? Also if you're having trouble finding the money for neutering you may want to think about what you would do if he got ill. Vet bills for rabbits are expensive as they are classed as exotics and it can take a lot of investigative work to find out what is wrong sometimes.

maggiebuns said:

you really need to take note of the replies you have had, it is unfair on bunny to be shut up all the while, with little or no excerise, he's muscles will start wasting away, you really need to get him neutered, he probably plays up because he is so board and frustrated at being shut up most of the day, could you block the door with a piece of plywood so bun carn't get out of your room if the door was left open, you could get a water proof mattress protecter for your bed, and hide your wires, that way bun would have more freedom than been shut in a cage all day until you can get a run to attach to the cage, also make a digging box cat litter trays cost next to nothing fill it with hay and herbs, and toilet rolls they love to chew these up, just use your imagination you'll be suprised at the things you can come up with to keep bun a bit happier. i sorry if i have spoke out of term but really you should have gone into all this before you decided to have a rabbit.

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can i say one thing like i do realise that u have given advice and i have listened and taken it into account but i do not have the money to be able to do it straight away the neautering is gonna have to wiat until after christmas and even if i do let him out and hide all wires and put a plyboard up (srry for the bad spelling) i am still gonna have the problem that he will destroy things like carpet and stuff he already has a cat litter tray he is litter trained which i know is a bit unusal . he is a very stubborn and curious rabbit.

With this rabbit he did use to belong to my bf and was kept with another male rabbit they were both brought up when they were young but when they got to about 2 to 3 months old they had started fighting without anyone realising me and the bf went to check them one time and there had been something going off cause the guinea pigs were a bit ****** off with the rabbit and we check both of them and scooters leg was cut open and he had bites in other places so we split them up straight away the bf was told by his mom that he could no longer keep both of them and one had to go. so instead of him having to go to a sanctuary i adopted him cause even then i knew he had a bit of a bad behaviour. and i wasnt ready to just bump him off to a sanctuary at the smallest of problems and ive had him ever since ive never once though of getting rid off him. when i took him on i knew the basics and who doesnt take on an animal and only knows the basics and has learnt as they go on it is a learning process.

i am prepared to learn with him i came on here to ask more advice from more experinced rabbit owners not to be told off when i already know its bad. with the amount of room i have and the funds i have i think ive done quite well.

if u want to see wat ive got him in and the amount of room i have i will take some pics for u if u want and u can help and see if there is anything i can do.

i am sorry but whenever ive gone on any forum i always get this and i only ever go on here when im unsure of something.

Schuette said:

I'm glad you said this. I'm having trouble being tactful but you've said it all in a very tactful way.

We'll all help you with bunny-proofing. I've got quite a lot of experience in it as mine have been house bunnies for 3-4 years now. Tarps over beds are quite good, with some large clips to stop it slipping off. The panels I mentioned earlier are good for blocking off furniture and wires. It can be done.

You really need to get him neutered and asap before he gets into a pattern of destructive behaviour. Can you ask for a small loan? Also if you're having trouble finding the money for neutering you may want to think about what you would do if he got ill. Vet bills for rabbits are expensive as they are classed as exotics and it can take a lot of investigative work to find out what is wrong sometimes.

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thank u its mainly bunny proofing im having trouble with i do realise i am being a bit wats the word bad at explaing myself i have always been like this. is there a way to do bunny proofing without using to much money cause there are a lot of things that i have to save up for ill be glad when christmas is over frankly. But anyways back on track i am a student i only get 30 pound a week. i am having to replace his cage but that is happening after he gets done cause dont want him to damage it, then theres this bunny proofing, then theres getting him done if everything goes well with the neautering and i think that he would be okay with a friend then theres his friend that i have to buy as well. and for the vets bills i do quailfy for free vet treatment from pdsa and the vet will let me pay him back bit by bit. i do realise that i should probably be working but unfortunatly due to joint problems i cant until winter is over.

shadow i wasn't telling you off, just concerned about your bunnie, maybe if you gave him lots of things to play with he wouldn't turn on your furniture and carpet, it dosen't have to cost the earth, cerial boxes, egg boxes, toilet rolls stuffed with hay, wood chews you can get them for a couple of £.

maggiebuns said:

shadow i wasn't telling you off, just concerned about your bunnie, maybe if you gave him lots of things to play with he wouldn't turn on your furniture and carpet, it dosen't have to cost the earth, cerial boxes, egg boxes, toilet rolls stuffed with hay, wood chews you can get them for a couple of £.

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i know u werent having ago at me and i am sorry. im concerned about him to but at this moment im getting annoyed cause i cant make any more room for him so he can at least have a pen attached to his cage i already have . its just frustrating and everything. these are the panels i have i have about 3 sets of these panels giving to me by the bfs mother.
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/8706595/Trail/searchtext>PET+PENS.htm.