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need help with confusing biting please.

A

abbeybabybunney!kinz

Young Bun
My baby sage is a 7 week old female gray dutch. For only being with me a week, we seem to have both fallen quite in love. The problem im having is that while she licks my hand for several minutes at a time she will then randomly nip me, and then grab and pull my skin. I always groom her in return, so i doubt it is her wanting attention. And she runs around spasticaly and has no problem hoping onto my chest when im laying down and licking my nose, so i feel certain she isn't biting me maliciously. Please help me, i love sage so dearly, i just want to know what shes saying!
 
Welcome to the forum :)

Sage is too young to be away from mum and she is also at the age where she should be learning bunny social skills and she is missing out because she was separated too early, and she now lives alone. Likely, her behaviour is related to her lack of social skills. However, that is not something that can be changed now so you need to do the bst you can. What do you do when she nips you? Does she chew on a particular area of your hand?

It would also be worthwhile reading this thread http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?327923-Accidental-Litters-and-Taking-on-Babies

I also think we need to see photos of Sage because she sounds really cute :D
 
Ive tried giving her apple orchard sticks and hay when she nips me to reinforce that its okay to chew, just not on me. She seems to like in between my thumb and pointer finger, but will nip just about anywhere! I know shes terribly young, but my boyfriend got her from a pet store instead of a rescue for my birthday. I tried to scold him for it, but who can help but love a baby bunny? I have just decided i will do whatever possible to make up for her early seperation. Also, i will post a picture as soon as she stops putting her nose in the lense. :) thank you so much for any help, your advise is greatly appreciated.
 
I don't think it's about her chewing. I think she is either using her teeth to give you a message, or she is trying to 'chew' the 'knots' out of your skin (whch is why I asked if it was always the same place).

You need to be very careful not to reinforce that biting is ok and gets her what she wants, otherwise you might find you end up with bigger problems as she gets older.
 
She also chews on my leather necklace, and has nibbled my boyfriends previously pierced ears which have scar tissue, so it could be. I just read that link and i feel even more horrible, i knew 6 weeks was young when she was brought home but that is just ridiculous. Is there any way she could be looking to me like a seragate mother? ( i only cage her when im asleep or gone for her saftey due to her size, so she is often with me.) And if that is the case is there anything i can do to help make her more comfortable? I truely feel terrible for having such a young bun away from her mom, but i dont see an alternative at this point. ):
 
Just tell her off. My NZ can be a bit of a nibbler, I say NO, tap him on the nose (really, really gently) and put him on the floor, so he learns that biting me = not being able to sit on my bed.
Just be strict with her. Once she is old enough spaying usually helps calm biting. Getting her a friend would also help, as they can play with each other.
Hopefully this is useful.
 
tasteofchaos said:
Just tell her off. My NZ can be a bit of a nibbler, I say NO, tap him on the nose (really, really gently) and put him on the floor, so he learns that biting me = not being able to sit on my bed.
Just be strict with her. Once she is old enough spaying usually helps calm biting. Getting her a friend would also help, as they can play with each other.
Hopefully this is useful.
Click to expand...

I think that the 'No' can be sufficient without the tap on the nose.
 
I have tried saying no in a more stern voice than i normaly would speak to het but by then shes usually back to licking. Im scared i might confuse her into thinking her grooming me is a bad thing. & she will be getting spayed as soon as she hits 6 months.
 
As a baby I cetanly wouldn't be doing anything like tapping her on the nose because you could create even more problems that would be harder to shift.

If she bites, maybe just put her on the floor (unless it's a bite to let you know she has had enough, and then just carry on :lol: the joys of bunnyhood).

No, there's nothing you can do now other than minimise her stress and hope she is strong enough to survive :)
 
Thank you all so much. I love all animals so dearly, i feel closer to sage already than most of my friends. Just thonking about her not being sniggled up to me as i type this has brought tears to my eyes. Also, i managed a picture of her for you Sky-O, but im not sure how to post it here since im using my android.
 
I have no idea how to post from an android, to be honest, so likely it might need to be done from a computer unless you can upload to photobucket or something from a phone? I know nothing about Androids so that might be a stupid thing to say :lol:
 
abbeybabybunney!kinz said:
Thank you all so much. I love all animals so dearly, i feel closer to sage already than most of my friends. Just thonking about her not being sniggled up to me as i type this has brought tears to my eyes. Also, i managed a picture of her for you Sky-O, but im not sure how to post it here since im using my android.
Click to expand...

If you go onto Android Market or Google Play (depending on the version of Android you are using) and download the photobucket app, you can sign up and upload your photos to photobucket and then paste the link here. Alternatively, if you wish, you can email me a photo and i'll pop it up on your behalf if you find that too difficult. Mobile/Tablet apps aren't often ideal for doing things like that.

[QUOTE="Sky-O, post: 5372512, member: 11634"]I have no idea how to post from an android, to be honest, so likely it might need to be done from a computer unless you can upload to photobucket or something from a phone? I know nothing about Androids so that might be a stupid thing to say :lol:[/QUOTE]

:thumb: is another option - connect your tablet/phone to a PC/laptop if you have one and then use the internet to get to say, [url]www.photobucket.com[/url] and paste to your hearts content!
 
I dont know much about them either tbh, i hate smart phones. But it does make it quite convienant to have such smart people such as yourselves at my fingertips anywhere they may be. So, you dont sound silly at all.
 
2012-05-04100009.jpg

2012-05-04100051.jpg

Thats sage. :)
 
OH

MY

GOD

*thud*

I have just died of cuteness.

Sage is a complete replica of Fluffy, my little dutch boy i had when i was a child. :love:
 
I figured it out! Apparantly to miss sage here my tiny fingers resemble her water spout in her cage, when she wanted water she would nibble them like her spout! I put fresh water in my hand and she drank it all. Poor bun was just trying to tell me she was thirsty. :)
 
BLESS HER SHE IS GOOOOORGEOUS! :love:

Perhaps try giving her water in a bowl rather than a bottle. I found my buns much ptefer it x
 
My bunny Moustache is about the same age as yours. Maybe a tiny bit older, since we don't know her exact age, but she does the exact same thing with my girlfriend. She will start grooming her hands and then she'll gently nip/pull skin. I'm afraid that it is due to lack of social skills since she was pulled too young from her mother. When she does it, we tell her firmly no, stop petting her and give her a chew toy. After about 2-3 times of doing the same routine, she'll either stop chewing or get it on with the chew toy. Rabbits that young seem to have a big appetite for nipping/chewing/tasting new things.
 
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